Cal Football

Pawlawski Breaks Down Kedon Slovis vs. Cal

By Bear Insider

June 3, 2020

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In the first of an ongoing series of film breakdowns by Cal Hall of Fame QB Mike Pawlawski, the Cal great reviews one of the top surprises in the Pac-12 last season -redshirt frosh QB Kedon Slovis.

Last year coming into the season, USC thought they were set at the quarterback position. They had JT Daniels out of Santa Ana who was a phenom in high school, with experience as a freshman for them the year prior where he played extremely well. But the first game against Fresno State, he blew out his knee and was done for the season. In comes Kedon Slovis, a freshman who wasn't highly-recruited by power five conferences.

In high school, Slovis’ coach was Kurt Warner, so he had a chance to learn from one of the greats in a system that was incredibly detailed. He had to manage and function that role as a quarterback playing the position with lots of information. Then he went to USC, a system that is an air-raid style offense, which doesn't put a ton of pressure on quarterbacks. It's a play by the seat of your pants style offense.

Often on offense, the quarterback makes adjustments to receivers and passes are based on green grass reads. There is not a lot to remember and there's not a lot to manage. It's just reading, reacting, throwing, and being accurate. It was the perfect combination for a young quarterback who had great game knowledge coming into a system that allowed him to play free.

For a look back at Slovis’ evolution, Pawlawski breaks down his performance vs. Cal last season, when Slovis went 29 for 35 and threw for 350 yards. This review looks at his skill level, technique, and raw talent. The focus is only on one of his best games last season, though he also had some freshman-like games like vs BYU, along with some other great games. Pawlawski wanted to capture a game where he’d had some seasoning, after Slovis had been knocked down a little, where he had to make some plays, and was comfortable with the offense.

One of the big things Pawlawski looks for is poise. Usually true freshman aren't poised at all. They're antsy. They have quick feet, happy feet. They're moving around in the pocket a lot. They're not going through the reads. This film breakdown demonstrates how Slovis handles pressure and what kind of poise he has.