Cal returned to the field Sunday as the team regrouped after a day off for Day 4 of training camp. As has been the case for three of the four days now, there were multiple dustups within practice. Sunday's was the most heated of the practices, but there were still plenty of elements to take away from the 11 periods of action for the Bears.
Here is a rundown of what I saw watching Sunday's practice.
Notes and observations
- I'll start with the heightened emotion from Day 4. Things have been building to a day like this with a few different scuffles taking place each practice outside of the first day so far. Today's shoving matches got to be a little too much, and it resulted in Justin Wilcox halting practice and having the players run gassers before finishing up the final team period. He was certainly stern in his post-practice conversation, and it is certainly starting to cut into practice time. We'll see if it gets under control, but Mike Bloesch summed it up well when he barked out "undisciplined" to his group. It's a little early in camp for this to be going on, so we'll see if it gets put to bed after the team was forced to run because of it today.
- Onto some more positive news, it was the best day for the offense as a whole on Day 4. There is still very much a more consistent level the offense needs to reach before the start of the season, but there was a lot more production from the offensive group Sunday. In all, I had the offense down for three touchdowns, which is the most by far in camp. A 44-yard pass from Fernando Mendoza to Kyion Grayes nearly went for another score early in the first team period. He got brought down at the 1-yard line.
It was a nice day for Grayes who has not been afraid to chirp at the defensive backs already in camp. He's backed it up in most instances, and you can see it a little bit in the practice video below.
- The three touchdown plays (during the 11-on-11 team periods) came by way of a 5-yard screen pass from Chandler Rogers to Kadarius Calloway, a red zone touchdown from CJ Harris to freshman receiver Trevor Rogers to end the first team period (video below) and a 26-yard touchdown pass from Mendoza to tight end Ben Marshall late in the second team period.
- Those were just some of the highlight plays by the offense on Day 4. Mendoza also found Mavin Anderson, who has quietly put together a strong camp, for 25 yards early in the first team period. Anderson was used with the first unit during the period, so he has been making a positive impression on the staff. Rogers had a 42-yard run in the first team period that eventually took the offense to the 2-yard line. Harris had a nice connection with freshman Jamaal Wiley that went for 23 yards during the first team period.
Jaydn Ott opened the second team period with a nice 17-yard run though his use has been mostly limited again in camp. Harris also hit Rogers for 13-yard connection late in practice.
- The other big news from Day 4 were the changes made up front by Bloesch. The offensive line looked different for the first time in camp, which had remained the same since late in the spring. Bastian Swinney was moved back to center with the first unit Sunday replacing Matthew Wykoff, who ran with the second unit at center on Day 4. Swinney kicking back inside opened up the left guard spot, which went to Rush Reimer on Day 4. Sioape Vatikani was dinged up on Day 4 resulting in newcomer Will McDonald (Coastal Carolina transfer) to slide into the right guard spot next to T.J. Session.
- Defensively, Craig Woodson wasn't able to finish practice and ended up in sweats on the sideline, and the Bears turned to Cam Sidney as his replacement with the first unit on Day 4. Sidney has mostly played the nickel position up to this point, but he was in at safety alongside Miles Williams with Matthew Littlejohn at nickel.
- The big play of the day defensively during the team period came via Xavier Carlton, who "sacked" (QBs aren't being tackled in camp) Chandler Rogers early in the second team period. Linebacker Teddye Buchanan also batted a pass while defensive lineman Curlee Thomas IV pressured Harris into a throw out of bounds as the third units squared off. David Reese did the same late in practice. Collin Gamble nearly came up with an interception (he should have had it) as he jumped a screen attempt and instead the play ended with a 15-yard gain as Mason Starling hauled in the pass from Mendoza.
- As camp plays out, one thing that feels like it is becoming clear is that Tobias Merriweather is looking like a clear No. 1 receiver for the Bears. He looks faster than he did in the spring and has been able to consistently get separation through the first four days of practice. I talked with him afterward and you can see a clip of him during one-on-one drills below as well.
Post-practice interviews
Practice clips
Day 4 photo gallery
GoldenBearReport - PHOTOS: Cal training camp 2024 (Day 4)
A collection of photos from the Bears' fourth day of practice on Sunday.
cal.rivals.com
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