Cal returned to action Saturday for one of the most important days of camp so far. The team's second scrimmage took place on Day 15, and there is only one week left of camp before the Bears dedicate their time to preparations for UC Davis. The depth chart is feeling like it is beginning to become more solidified at this stage, but one key job remains wide open.
There was a lot of energy on Day 15, and the crowd gathered at CMS was able to get one last glimpse of the Bears before the opener two weeks from today.
Practice 15 (Scrimmage 2) notes and observations
- The defense has been building some momentum this week, and Peter Sirmon's group again controlled the action Saturday. The most tangible element of its production Saturday was the fact that the first unit kept the No. 1 offense out of the end zone for the entirety of practice. The staff decided to rotate quarterbacks with the first group on Day 15, but it didn't matter who worked with that unit, there were no touchdowns allowed. There were also several sacks and tackles for loss plus an interception for the defensive group.
The interception came by way of defensive back Isaiah Crosby who hauled in a pass from CJ Harris on a fourth-and-9 to end the final main team period Saturday.
The defense also did a nice job of controlling the run and ultimately held the running game in check. The numbers are a bit skewed because of how many sacks were allowed, but in all the defense was able to hold the offense to fewer than 10 yards rushing on the day.
The success was widespread throughout the defense, but the defensive front did a nice job overall of being disruptive and making plays against the run and pressuring the quarterbacks. Xavier Carlton and David Reese were especially impressive during the scrimmage as each came up with a sack (Carlton had 2.5) while Cheikh Fall and Nate Burrell also contributed with sacks of their own on Saturday.
That's not to say the secondary was left out of the fun either. The defensive backs were active as well with several pass breakups throughout the practice. Newcomer Ryan Yaites had particularly active hands on Day 15 with a couple pass breakups while Cam Sidney, Marcus Harris and Khamani Hudson all were in that same boat with pass breakups of their own.
- The now daily quarterback competition update yields no real new developments unfortunately for the Bears. Both Fernando Mendoza and Chandler Rogers had bright moments on Saturday but the struggles in getting the ball in the end zone continued, particularly when both worked with the first unit. Mendoza and Rogers both threw touchdown passes in the second scrimmage with Mendoza hitting Trond Grizzell on a 28-yard play to the right side of the field on his first drive of the day (working with the second unit).
Rogers didn't have his touchdown drive until later in practice when he found Nyziah Hunter on a 38-yard connection on the first play of his last drive during the team period. Like Mendoza, Rogers' touchdown came while he worked with the second unit.
If you were to give an advantage to either quarterback on Day 15, it would probably go to Mendoza who was at least able to get the first unit on the board with a field goal during the second team segment. He was sacked a couple times on the drive but did enough with a pass to Jack Endries and a short throw to Mavin Anderson to get the offense in position for a 52-yard field goal from Ryan Coe. Mendoza also guided the second unit to a field goal after linking up with Hunter on a chunk play to set up a 43-yard field goal for Coe.
- Third quarterback CJ Harris worked with the second unit for a bit on Saturday but his best work again came with the third group as he guided that unit to a touchdown during his first drive of the day. Harris found Ben Marshall on a nice play for a 14-yard score.
Walk-on Belay Brummel and freshman EJ Caminong guided the final portion of practice and Brummel led a touchdown drive during his time taking the snaps. He hit freshman Carson Perry-Smith for 27 yards on the scoring play.
- Coe was used once again quite a bit in the second scrimmage, and there were some more game-like moments for the transfer kicker. First, all three of his kickoffs went for touchbacks and his first attempt was a booming kick that had zero chance of being returned. It drew some applause from the crowd and his teammates. He eventually settled in and connected on a pair of long field goals (52, 43) but was short on a 56-yard try during the second team segment. He did connect on both of his extra point attempts.
Freshman Derek Morris had two of his three kickoffs go for touchbacks, and he was true on his one PAT try on the day. He did not attempt a field goal in the scrimmage.
- Cade Uluave was given the day off Saturday, but Teddye Buchanan more than held his own without his first-team running mate. The UC Davis transfer impacted the scrimmage in a variety of ways Saturday including having a sack and pass breakup for the defense. Hunter Barth stepped into Uluave's role with the first unit on Saturday and came up with two tackles and a sack.
- Similar to the first scrimmage, penalties were an issue Saturday once again. The offense had a handful of penalties including a costly holding on the drive that ended with a field goal for Mendoza's group. The defense had a key penalty early in practice as a pass interference call followed by an offsides penalty led to Mendoza's touchdown as it kept the drive alive and moved the offense into scoring position.
- New Cal chancellor Rich Lyons was at practice on Saturday and spoke with the team briefly afterward before getting the opportunity to break down the team to end the day. It was a nice moment, and Justin Wilcox made sure his players understood the importance of having the chancellor out there with the Bears. Mendoza spoke about it afterward as well.
To wrap things up, here are the scoring plays from Saturday's scrimmage ...
- Fernando Mendoza 28-yard pass to Trond Grizzell (Coe PAT) | Drive: 9 plays, 65 yards
- CJ Harris 14-yard pass to Ben Marshall (Coe PAT) | Drive: 8 plays, 75 yards
- Ryan Coe 52-yard field goal | Drive: 8 plays, 13 yards (Mendoza at QB)
- Ryan Coe 43-yard field goal | Drive: 7 plays, 41 yards (Mendoza at QB)
- Chandler Rogers 38-yard pass to Nyziah Hunter (Morris PAT) | Drive: 1 play, 38 yards
- Belay Brummel 27-yard pass to Carson Perry-Smith (no PAT) | Drive: 6 plays, 55 yards
Post-practice interviews
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