Saturday Night Musings
Will have more to add tomorrowQuick hits:Red Zone Offense was very productiveFG kicking was rock solid (two misses by Murray, one on a 57 yarder and another deep into the fog), First 6 or 7 attempts were all goodOL run blocking from both the 1's and 2's was strong. Very good push. AND, the DL run defense was stout despite Aidan Keanaaina and Cade Uluave sitting outTop three RBs hit the hole hard, have some initial quickness and are tough to bring down - High, Raphael and JohnsonAll the QBs had their moments. Tip of the cap to the defense in coverage and with the pass rush at times. Brown had a great TD pass of 25 yards to Landon Morris and JKS had several big throws, including one to Grayes after JKS bought himself some time in the pocketQuaron Adams probably had more catches and yards than anyone else. Tiny, but lighting quickDayton Aupiu (DayDay) had a big game with two picks and another near one. Three interceptions total, one by Ingrassia, one by Caminoing and one from a tipped ball at the LOS from BrownD had a really nice goal line stand when it was 3's vs 3'sBrent Austin looked very good in coverage on two playsMark Hamper had a nice catch for 15+ yards sitting down against zoneIn general, there were very few penalties, or glaring mistakesMy sense is that the D will not be happy with some run plays and red zone defense and the Offense would like to find more consistency with pass protection and WR catches down the field
10 days ago by
Greg Richardson
BI Camp Report
Practice #3 - Shoulder Pads (Thump)Interesting to witness two full practices with a split squad. You can see the benefit in terms of the # of reps for players going way up and the coach to player ratio being better.Good to see some BI folks out there including Paws and ARBear.Observations:This might be the healthiest team in America. Only Burrell and incoming Freshman OL Ben Howard weren't participating. The best in my 30 year experience of attending camp.This is a big team, lots of huge bodies and S&C has clearly had an impact. Go back and look at weights on the roster as they've been updating them. For example, some of the younger DBs have added a lot of muscle and there were more than a handful of guys who popped with their obvious gains including Cade Uluave, Legend Journey, Trond Grizzell, Ryan McCulloch and Nick Morrow who all looked markedly larger and more muscularEarly in Fall Camp, there's not a ton of 11v11, I'd expect to see that shift next week as the go to combined practices starting Tuesday and there's an emphasis switch from technique, installation and assignment to more playingSome quick hits on the Summer newcomers:Brandon High - He's built, a solid rock at 220 and very quick. Not a lot of wiggle but good burstKendrick Raphael - Bigger than I had imagined and a very muscular 200. Quick feet, looks natural as a pass catcher, not quite the explosion of High and Johnson. More wiggle and lateral agility than Brandon and LJLJ Johnson - Bowling ball build, powerful lower body. Quicker than I had thought. Runs with power, catching the ball may be a development area for himThe above three look, practice and play like grown men and you can see the difference relative to Wiley and League in terms of physical development and practice demeanorTyson Ford - Big man, huge frame, moves well.Jordan Sanford - He can run, looks like a hybrid safety/CB typeQuimari Shemwell - Thin but with a lot of twitch and juice. I can imagine him playing a lot this year. Chris Victor - Mature frame and looks the part of an OLB, had a really good 1v1 pass rush rep TJ Bush - Big person, very thick lower body. Played opposite McCulloch. Justin Hasenhuetl - He moves well and plays with a feisty edge. He popped at LT. Needs to add some weight, not quite sure he's 6'5+Harrison Taggart - Played with an old school neck roll. Looked like Bobby Bouchette out thereAnthony League - Had one nice run, looks naturally strong and a tackle breaker. Not super explosiveMark Hamper - He's strongly built, moves wellQuaron Adams - Twitchy and clearly can run. Can he consistently catch the ball?Jayden Dixon-Veal - Thin, twitchy player, made a few nice catches. Along with Adams, struggled fielding puntsLandon Morris - Broad shoulders and thinner legs. Fluid athlete. Looks like a jumbo WRBrent Austin - He played but didn't see him much as he was on the Student side boundary the entire practiceDaveion Harley - Not tall but solidly built, ran with the 2s today. Chase Murray - Didn't hit all his FGs in drills but he did in 11v11. Consistent strike, not a huge legAbram Murray - Big leg, slightly less consistent than Murray. He can hit from 55 and likely is the KO specialistZae Smith - Not tall, but long, long arms and he's a thick. Arms like a blacksmith. Quick get off and stout at the point of attack. Quarterback play: Not a ton to review here given the more constrained 11v11 they ran today. Both Brown and JKS had their moments. I liked Brown's decision making. Smart throwaways, a nice ball fake keeper and a really good read on a passing play where he tucked and run. Fast! JKS release and arm continue to impress. Had some show off moments in accuracy passing drills. Defense was ahead of the offense though I might give a slight nod to the OL vs DL on running plays. The secondary had a good day with a couple of nice pass break ups and a huge hit by Crosby on Grizzell and a deep seam routeA couple of way too early and perhaps obvious takes: The competition at NB and the Safety opposite Crosby are going to be fierce. Ditto on the OL, It feels like there's a top 9 or 10 emerging but the pecking order is far from obvious. WR appears to have more of a hierarchy but there are a lot of guys out there vying for snaps. Will be interesting to see who emerges as the #1 outside WRGuys who popped: Cade Uluave, Derek Wilkins, Luke Ferelli, Shemwell. Masses, Crosby, Manutai, Morrow, Robinson, DeJesus, Morris, Mini, High, Johnson (Note that I couldn't see everything and basically didn't see the WR/DB matchups on one side of the field during 11v11
11 days ago by
Greg Richardson
Some camp tidbits
First off, I'll have some thoughts from live observations this weekend so stay tuned.Some staff impressions of the new guys:- Anthony League showing he's the real deal. There's a lot of experienced depth in front of him so 2025 may not be his year but a bright future is projected- Quaron Adams is very bit as fast as advertised. - Chris Victor looks far better early than his rating- Brent Austin looking like CB1 thus far
21 days ago by
Jim McGill
ACC Kickoff: Cal QB Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele
Cal frosh QB talks about his adjustment to college ball as a true frosh, the latest WR additions, learning under OC Bryan Harsin and offensive assistant Nick Rolovich at ACC Kickoff
The 20 Most Vital Cal Football Players in 2025 - (#10 to #6)
We count down the essential and irreplaceable Bears as Fall Camp Approaches. The players who will be counted on the most. In this article, we'll go through #10 down to #6