The first full week of Cal training camp is officially in the books. The Bears will have Wednesday off before getting back to work Thursday. The big change Tuesday was the addition of full pads for the first time. There was a lot of emphasis on fundamentals of tackling Tuesday, but there were still some competitive periods later in the day.
A lot of talk in recent days a big part of the focus has been the intensity around practice. It felt a little more subdued overall on Day 6 and maybe a little less intense than the other practices this week, but the positive was there wasn't much time wasted with any extracurricular activities.
The offense had put together a couple strong days, but the defense punched back Tuesday with some impressive moments on Day 6. From my perspective, it was the most efficient practice for both sides of the ball and a nice way to end the first week.
Day 6 notes and observations
- I'll begin with the defense since that group stood out most Tuesday. It started early for Peter Sirmon's group as Jasiah Wagoner intercepted Chandler Rogers early in the 7-on-7 period. It was a nice play by the Oklahoma defensive back transfer, and it kicked off a big day for the defense. It was the first of two interceptions on the day for the defense with Nohl Williams picking off a pass to open the second team period late in practice. Justin Wilcox had the offense start at its own 3-yard line to open that period, and Rogers forced a pass to Tobias Merriweather up the right sideline and Williams stepped right in front of it on the first play of the period.
Sticking with the secondary, cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns III came up with with a pass breakup working against quarterback CJ Harris and receiver Trond Grizzell during the second team period. Cornerback Marcus Scott II came up with a fumble recovery during the first period at the end of a 15-yard play between Harris and receiver Nyziah Hunter adding another takeaway for the defense. Cornerback Collin Gamble nearly came up with an interception against Rogers as well during the first team period on an overthrown pass.
Up front, the defense was able to get a couple new names to flash throughout the day with outside linebackers Cheikhsaliou Fall and Serigne Tounkara both coming up with sacks during the second team period. Ricky Correia also came up with a sack durning that period as he was able to get to Rogers, who was working with the first unit at the time. Redshirt freshman R.J. Stephens came up with an impressive tackle for loss during the first team period as he worked with the third unit and took down freshman running back Jamaal Wiley.
- After not having a turnover on Day 5, the offense certainly struggled a bit to take care of the ball Tuesday. The three total turnovers put a blemish on what otherwise would have been a positive day for that group. The offense is dealing with quite a few injuries right now, but it's allowing some other players an opportunity to see the field more. Mavin Anderson is someone who has quietly been putting together a strong camp, and he worked with the first unit in the slot on Tuesday.
The offense line has started to become a little more concerning at this stage in camp. There was an errant snap exchange during the second team period with the offense starting at its own 3-yard line. The mishandled ball ended up moving the offense back against the goal line before Fernando Mendoza found Jaivian Thomas for a 13-yard completion to give the offense some breathing room. There were some breakdowns up front once again Tuesday, so there could still be some more movement happening as Mike Bloesch looks for his best five. The group is not at full strength with Sioape Vatikani still on the mend, but that unit needs to tighten the screws a bit as camp rolls on.
The biggest mistake came in the red zone on Day 6. An impressive drive brought the offense inside the 5-yard line and on third-and-3 the offensive line jumped moving the ball back to the 8-yard line. A running play was stuffed by Akili Calhoun, and the offense was kept out of the end zone. It was certainly a frustrating sequence the drew the ire of Bloesch.
- In all, there were two touchdowns scored by the offense with CJ Harris finding Trevor Rogers in the back of the end zone on a 29-yard play to end the first team period. That duo has combined for multiple touchdowns on similar looking plays already in camp, and the defense has had a difficult time stopping the Ohio transfer quarterback and the speedy freshman receiver.
The other touchdown came on a 40-yard throw from Mendoza to Mason Starling who is back from injury this fall and has been one of the real bright spots in camp for the Bears. He had a couple opportunities to work with the first unit Tuesday, and he's looking like he could end up being a factor in the rotation at the wide receiver spot. The throw from Mendoza was a good one, but the real credit should go to Starling who made up most of the play with his yards after catch.
- Outside of the touchdown plays, the star on offense for Day 6 was running back Jaivian Thomas. The running back group is dinged up right now, and Jaydn Ott has been limited out of precaution as well. That means some of the other players are getting their opportunities to run with the first unit, and Jet was certainly making the most of that chance on Tuesday. He had a 32-yard run toward the end of the first team period that was preceded by a couple big runs earlier in the segment including a 17-yard rush up the middle and a 13-yard run that set up the red zone opportunity that eventually ended because of the false start.
In the second team period, he broke off a big 26-yard run while working alongside Mendoza. He also caught a screen pass and took it 13 yards during the second team period. I didn't think this at the beginning of camp, but right now he could end up really challenging for the No. 2 spot if he's able to keep it up and the Bears aren't able to get healthy at the position.
- For the first time in camp, we finally got a look at freshman quarterback EJ Caminong in a team period. He stepped in with the third unit to wrap up practice on Tuesday, and he immediately had a big connection with redshirt freshman Myles Reber that went for 23 yards up the sideline. He was eventually sacked by Tounkara to end practice, but there were some positives shown by the freshman. He looked confident and wasn't afraid to take some chances. Caminong isn't expected to factor into the quarterback battle at all this year, but it was good to see him in action during 11-on-11 Tuesday.
Post-practice interviews
Practice 6 clips
Practice 6 photo gallery
GoldenBearReport - PHOTOS: Cal training camp 2024 (Day 6)
A collection of photos from the sixth day of training camp for the Bears on Tuesday.
cal.rivals.com
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