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Cal Football

Sam Jackson V Named Cal Starting Quarterback

August 24, 2023
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BERKELEY – Travers Family Head Football Coach Justin Wilcox announced Thursday that Sam Jackson V will be the starting quarterback for the Golden Bears' 2023 season-opener at North Texas on Sept. 2. Jackson, a transfer from TCU in his first season at Cal, had been in a three-way competition for the team's starting signal-caller position in training camp along with Ben Finley and Fernando Mendoza.

"We had an intense three-way quarterback competition during training camp," Wilcox said. "All three did a great job, and I have a great deal of confidence in all of them. But Sam began to separate himself recently. He is a dynamic athlete who can succeed both in the passing game and by making defenses account for his outstanding running ability. When your quarterback does both of those things well, it can be challenging for the defense. I'm excited to see what he does with this opportunity."

Cal also released its entire depth chart Thursday for the game at North Texas to be televised by ESPNU (3 p.m. CT/1 p.m. PT).

The Bears will host perennial national and SEC power Auburn in their home opener Sept. 9 when the Tigers visit Berkeley for the first-ever meeting between the teams. The Saturday night ESPN game and Gold Out contest will kick off at 7:30 p.m. PT under the lights at California Memorial Stadium, which is celebrating its 100th anniversary in 2023.

Visit CalBears.com for tickets and more information about Cal's entire slate of 2023 games and check out the Cal Athletic Fund online to support the Cal football program via the Championship CALiber initiative.

Below are notes on Jackson with an extended bio available by clicking on his name.
 
Sam Jackson V, QB, 5-11, 195, R-So., 3rd Collegiate Season/1st Season At Cal (Chicago, IL/TCU/Naperville Central HS/Bolingbrook HS)
Cal (2023)
– Joined Cal in January of 2023 after transferring from TCU, participating in both spring football practices and training camp
 
TCU (2021-22)
– Saw action in a combined seven games as a 2021 true freshman and 2022 redshirt freshman, completing all six of his passes for 140 yards while adding 15 rushes for 79 yards and two touchdowns on the ground
– Played in five games in 2022 and completed 5-of-5 passes for 63 yards while adding nine rushes for 64 yards and two scores on the ground for a team that reached the National Championship Game, finished second in the final AP Top 25 and AFCA Coaches Poll, and won both the Vrbo Fiesta Bowl and the regular-season Big 12 title while finishing 13-2 overall
– Participated in two contests in 2021 and connected with Taye Barber for a 77-yard completion on his only passing attempt, while rushing six times for 15 yards
– Enrolled and arrived at TCU in January of 2021
 
Naperville Central HS (Class Of 2021)/Bolingbrook HS (Class Of 2017)
– Had his 2020 senior season postponed by COVID and did not play prep football during his school's four-game campaign in the spring of 2021 after joining the TCU program in January of that year
– Played a single season of quarterback as a prep as a 2019 junior and passed for 1,727 yards and 16 touchdowns
– Had 50 receptions for 847 yards and 14 touchdowns as a wide receiver during his 2018 sophomore campaign for a team that was 7-4 overall, won the Dupage Valley League title with a perfect 4-0 conference mark and reached the second round of the Illinois State 8A playoffs
– Spent his 2017 freshman campaign at Bolingbrook HS

2023 Cal Football Schedule

Date – Opponent (Time, TV)
Sept. 2 – at North Texas (3 p.m. CT/1 p.m. PT, ESPNU)                                                                                    
Sept. 9 – Auburn (7:30 p.m., ESPN)
Sept. 16 – Idaho (1 p.m., Pac-12 Bay Area)
Sept. 23 – at Washington (TBA, TBA)*
Sept. 30 – Arizona State (TBA, TBA)*
Oct. 7 – Oregon State (TBA, TBA)*
Oct. 14 – at Utah (TBA, TBA)*
Oct. 28 – USC (TBA, TBA)*
Nov. 4 – at Oregon (TBA, TBA)*
Nov. 11 – Washington State (TBA)#*
Nov. 18 – at Stanford (TBA, TBA)*
Nov. 25 – at UCLA (TBA, TBA)#*
Dec. 1 – Pac-12 Football Championship Game (5 p.m., ABC)+

Discussion from...

Sam Jackson V Named Cal Starting Quarterback

5,779 Views | 10 Replies | Last: 1 yr ago by calumnus
concernedparent
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Depth chart is wild. Walk-on Trond Grizzell beat out all the transfers for the starting Z spot.

We managed to lose 3 (didn't realize the Purdue transfer was hurt too?) of our transfer RBs too.

No projected starters on the DLine... and 260 pound Curlee Thomas is in the 3 deep.
BearHunter
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Yes.
WalterSobchak
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Base 2-4-5 for NTX with tons of DL rotation in the heat. No Calhoun or Long in the rotation is a bit of a surprise, are they hurt? Also no Rutchena. Grizzel the next Chad Hansen?
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attheplay
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Any news on M Dortch?
Econ141
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attheplay said:

Any news on M Dortch?


Good question - am I missing something or is he not even listed on the depth chart?



kal kommie
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As someone who didn't follow camp very closely, there are some interesting outcomes at WR. Mavin Anderson not listed as a starter (Monroe Young listed as #1 slot, though I'm sure Mavin will see plenty of snaps regardless) and walk-on Trond Grizzell listed as co-starter with Brian Hightower and Taj Davis.

I see Mason Starling is absent from the depth chart. Is he still dealing with injury? Does his absence here indicate he's unlikely to be a contributor?
Oski87
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kal kommie said:

As someone who didn't follow camp very closely, there are some interesting outcomes at WR. Mavin Anderson not listed as a starter (Monroe Young listed as #1 slot, though I'm sure Mavin will see plenty of snaps regardless) and walk-on Trond Grizzell listed as co-starter with Brian Hightower and Taj Davis.

I see Mason Starling is absent from the depth chart. Is he still dealing with injury? Does his absence here indicate he's unlikely to be a contributor?
It looks like the Z is Trond or Hightower or Davis. Just like the D-line. I take that to mean all will play a lot. North Texas is going to be hot. I think everyone on this chart will play a lot.
oski003
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Cal Football: From SoCal to Utah to Berkeley, WR Trond Grizzell Finding His Way

https://www.si.com/college/cal/news/trond-grizzell
Bear83
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Thomas last updated was 270 and he is very fast . It's hot in Texas so they will definitely need a rotation
calumnus
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kal kommie said:

As someone who didn't follow camp very closely, there are some interesting outcomes at WR. Mavin Anderson not listed as a starter (Monroe Young listed as #1 slot, though I'm sure Mavin will see plenty of snaps regardless) and walk-on Trond Grizzell listed as co-starter with Brian Hightower and Taj Davis.

I see Mason Starling is absent from the depth chart. Is he still dealing with injury? Does his absence here indicate he's unlikely to be a contributor?


Air Raid offenses rotate a lot of WRs, so who is listed as the starter is not as critical, you might as well list the highly-rated front runners, which makes listing a walk-on as a co-starter heading into the first game an interesting message.
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