Anyone who thought it was going to be anyone but Chase is delusional. Unless the second coming of Jared Goff is sitting on that bench, you aren't unseating a 5th year senior who has proven game experience as an above average Pac 12 QB. Query whether you can be a contender with Chase as your best offensive player, but nonetheless, he has unquestionably earned the role.
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Cal Football
Spring Practice Day 13 -- Musgrave Talks about Chase Garbers
Just three days ahead of Cal football’s Spring Game, which will be aired on Pac-12 Networks at 2:00pm this Saturday, the Bears took the Memorial Stadium turf again to compete and get valuable reps on this cloudy Wednesday morning.
A name that hasn’t been mentioned enough this spring is Cal’s No. 1 signal-caller, Chase Garbers. Musgrave spoke about the progressions he has been making this new year.
“He’s definitely more comfortable in the system,” said Coach Musgrave. “He’s getting more time on task. He’s gotten a ton of turns thus far in these 13 practices.” In today’s practice, “We had nearly 90 plays in 11 on 11 football, so he’s getting the lion’s share of those reps. All of the quarterbacks are getting invaluable turns at our concepts. The more they see, the better they can become. We’re really pleased with this spring thus far.
“I’m thinking back to some amazing games he had,” said Musgrave on Garbers’ 2020 campaign. “I know he threw for well over 300 yards against the Beavers, played well against Stanford, we beat Oregon.
“We didn’t have the production that we wanted, but we’re pleased with the way Chase played. Pleased with his progressions and accuracy. He’s feeling more comfortable. We’re not asking anybody to do crazy stuff out there, and Chase, he’s smart. Today he was making really risky throws in small windows, but at the same time if it wasn’t there, he was content to protect the football, and it’s tough to achieve that balance. Really pleased with his spring, and also he did a lot of good things last fall that we’re looking to build from that small sample.
“The more turns he gets at the concepts the more comfortable he is. The more he can throw it early with anticipation. Not waiting to see if the receiver is gonna break this way or that or where the pockets in the defense might be, but he’s anticipating much better, which is just natural for all QBs.” The former 49ers’ quarterback added, “That’s not isolated to Chase, it’s all quarterbacks. We just need turns to feel comfortable and then start throwing those balls on time and early where they can arrive when the separation still exists from the defense.
Asked directly if Chase is firmly the No. 1 going into 2021, Musgrave kept things simple.
“This is Chase’s squad. We’re riding Chase, and we’re gonna have a great year. Our defense is always gonna be good. We’re gonna pick it up on offense so we can get to the defense’s level. And then we’ll be cooking with gas.”
Aside from Garbers, Musgrave talked extensively about the tight-end unit and what those guys can bring to the table.
“Collin (Moore) had a big catch today on a deep crossing route from Zach Johnson that might’ve gone 40, 50, 60,” said Musgrave. “He made a good move on a safety out on the open field. Used a stiff arm. He’s creating some explosive plays in the pass game, very reliable in the run game.
Twitter / Cal Football
Terry catching a pass at practice
“Jermaine Terry had a strong day again. He’s blocking people. He’s catching the ball. He’s got dynamic ability. We’re really excited about his future.
“Nick Alftin is another guy that’s making a lot of plays. He shows up everyday making a crucial block or catching a ball down the field. He’s so big and has got such a big wingspan and catch radius. Quarterbacks love throwing to him. Just get it near him, a square mile, and he’ll come down with it.
“He’s (Keleki Latu) gonna bring a lot to the table. I talk to Keleki all the time. Cannot wait for him to get here in June. He’s got a new position coach in Geep Chryst. They’ve connected and we can’t wait for him to get here. There’s another guy with a huge wingspan, radius. Just get it near him and he’ll be able to pluck it. He can move, and he’ll retain that movement and be a force to reckoned with.
With both fullbacks from last year not on the spring roster, Musgrave confirmed that it’ll probably be a tight-end’s job to fill that role this season.
“Probably gonna be a tight-end doing fullback jobs at this stage. We’ve got some other options that may evolve this summer. Right now it’s tight ends filling fullback jobs.”
“We’ve had Nick Afltin doing some of those. We’ve had Elijah (Mojarro) filling fullback jobs. Gavin Reinwald, Jake (Muller) has been doing a little bit. Some good candidates and it’s really been working out well. Very pleased with the results.”
Finally, we couldn’t let Musgrave go without asking him about the strides that freshman Tommy Christakos has made since fall.
“I think a level of comfort (is what has improved). He showed up last June. We didn’t have any summer lifting or player run practices or any fall camp. In the fall, he really came on late. Those last couple weeks, whether it be the Oregon week, the Washington State week, Tommy started showing up in practice, making big plays, a lot of eyebrow-raising plays. So he’s picked up right where he left off this spring, every single day doing something out of this world. He’s another ascending young wideout.”
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