Wednesday Report: Sirmon, Musgrave, Wilcox, Garbers on the Mic

In their Wednesday Zoom sessions with the media, defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon and offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave had some fun with the fact that Musgrave’s nephew Luke is an integral part of the Beavers team. He is not only a tight end for OSU, but was a special teams standout last week. Against Utah, he helped block a punt, then scooped up the ball and returned it 27 yards for a touchdown. Bill said he hadn’t really had a good look at the play. 

“It looked like nephew Luke blocked a punt and it took a great hop, he was aware enough to see it,” Bill Musgrave said. “That was a big play it looked like it changed the momentum of the game.”

Sirmon was asked if he had consulted Bill for some scouting intelligence on his nephew.

“Bill and I haven’t gotten together yet,” Sirmon said with a smile. “We don’t typically see each other until staff meetings. He is in one end of the building. I am in the other. We pass each other in the lunch line.”

Sirmon has known the younger Musgrave since he was being recruited.

“We had Luke was down here when he was in high school being recruited,” Sirmon said. “He is a very talented young man. He is doing a nice job he has developed really nicely on special teams and at tight end.”

Does he have as much athleticism as his uncle?

“Not a chance,” Sirmon said with a smirk.

“That’s true the other way,” Musgrave countered. “I could never run as fast as he does.”

Some other highlights from Wednesday:

• Head coach Justin Wilcox said that DeCarlos Brooks was still “day-to-day” with his injury and that Kuony Deng would miss yet another game, although the coach was not ready to rule him out for the season.
• Musgrave was impressed with Garbers’ performance against Colorado. “I thought Chase threw the ball accurately on Saturday. He put it on guys and gave them a chance to make plays. He was just real sharp in terms of our run game. We have a bunch of checks at the line of scrimmage and he gets them done. His decision-making is very sound. He played with a surly manner Saturday…..He made us difficult to beat….He played a clean quarterback on Saturday.”
• Garbers was a little harder on himself. “I am always going to be the harshest critic of how I play. There were some points in the game where I could do better,” he said. “And offensively we can do better also.”
• Garbers could be allowed an extra year of eligibility should he want to return to Cal in 2022. He said he has not made the decision yet, and probably would not until the end of the season. 
• Wilcox said he understood the difficulty of Garbers’ decision. “It’s different for everybody,” Wilcox said. “New for everybody, where you’re a senior, kind of. It is unique.”
• Garbers’ last four touchdown passes have been to four different tight ends. “I wouldn’t say that (throwing to tight ends) has been a focus,” Garbers said. 
• One reason the Bears were able to pressure the Colorado quarterbacks is that Cal’s front line won a majority of the one-on-one matchups. “That was great to see,” Sirmon said. “There was line movement, there was quite a bit of variety in the rush plan and how we were going after some of the protections. It was great to see guys finish, but that is still a point of emphasis.”

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