Cal was back to work Wednesday morning with another shorter practice, but there were more opportunities to see the team putting in some work. I will say the intensity has been pretty good the first couple days. There's been a couple, what I'd call, dust-ups between the offense and defense with plenty of competition on both sides.
This time of year is all about fundamentals, so there is a ton of teaching going on but the Bears had a couple team periods and an end-of-practice situation period that had good intensity as well.
Here's a few quick notes to hold you over until I can put together a full writeup from Wednesday's practice.
– Talking with Mike Bloesch after practice, he mentioned the desire to want to stretch the field and that was on display Wednesday. The quarterbacks took more shots on Day 2 than they did on Day 1 and it worked out for the better. The highlight was a 50-yard pass from Chandler Rogers to Tobias Merriweather that energized the offense to close out the 7-on-7 period.
– Fernando Mendoza continues to look sharp through his first couple days of the spring, and Bloesch said he should be considered the starter right now as the team figures out the competition. He had a nice deep ball to J.T. Byrne during the 7-on-7 period and continues to look as confident as ever. He even had a very nice run that would have went for about a 60-yard touchdown had it not been called dead because of the no-contact nature of practice. Mendoza showcased some nice burst that hasn't been seen much from him previously.
– Defensively, Matthew Littlejohn continues to have a strong showing in the secondary. He had a nice battle going with slot receiver Mikey Matthews during Wednesday's practice and did a good job of keeping the Utah transfer in check throughout the team periods.
– Freshman Josiah Martin was able to showcase his abilities that landed him a ton of offers with a 37-yard touchdown catch from Belay Brummel with Mayze Bryant in coverage. Martin had to go over the top for the catch and he hauled it in for a score in the final team period.
– At the running back position, Jaivian "Jet" Thomas shined on Day 2. He had a couple really nice runs but did his most damage in the passing game. In a situational period to end practice, he caught a screen pass from Mendoza that he took 43 yards for a touchdown up the left sideline to end the day. It was a brilliant play call that had Mendoza throw across the field to make the play fooling the defense a bit.
This time of year is all about fundamentals, so there is a ton of teaching going on but the Bears had a couple team periods and an end-of-practice situation period that had good intensity as well.
Here's a few quick notes to hold you over until I can put together a full writeup from Wednesday's practice.
– Talking with Mike Bloesch after practice, he mentioned the desire to want to stretch the field and that was on display Wednesday. The quarterbacks took more shots on Day 2 than they did on Day 1 and it worked out for the better. The highlight was a 50-yard pass from Chandler Rogers to Tobias Merriweather that energized the offense to close out the 7-on-7 period.
– Fernando Mendoza continues to look sharp through his first couple days of the spring, and Bloesch said he should be considered the starter right now as the team figures out the competition. He had a nice deep ball to J.T. Byrne during the 7-on-7 period and continues to look as confident as ever. He even had a very nice run that would have went for about a 60-yard touchdown had it not been called dead because of the no-contact nature of practice. Mendoza showcased some nice burst that hasn't been seen much from him previously.
– Defensively, Matthew Littlejohn continues to have a strong showing in the secondary. He had a nice battle going with slot receiver Mikey Matthews during Wednesday's practice and did a good job of keeping the Utah transfer in check throughout the team periods.
– Freshman Josiah Martin was able to showcase his abilities that landed him a ton of offers with a 37-yard touchdown catch from Belay Brummel with Mayze Bryant in coverage. Martin had to go over the top for the catch and he hauled it in for a score in the final team period.
– At the running back position, Jaivian "Jet" Thomas shined on Day 2. He had a couple really nice runs but did his most damage in the passing game. In a situational period to end practice, he caught a screen pass from Mendoza that he took 43 yards for a touchdown up the left sideline to end the day. It was a brilliant play call that had Mendoza throw across the field to make the play fooling the defense a bit.
