Cal Football Spring Practice Day 4

BERKELEY - The Bears were back in action for day four of spring practice at Memorial Monday morning with frequent QB rotations with different personnel groupings the order of the day for the offense. The offense also kept the defense on their toes with a number of motions from receivers and tight ends to deliver different looks.

Redshirt frosh EJ Caminong stood out today, taking advantage of more opportunities with the first team line. Some of his highlights included 20-yard completions to TEs Jack Endries and Ben Marshall as well as to RB Kadarius Calloway and WR Myles Reber along with a 16-yard completion to Endries. He also showed good wheels on 10 and 15-yard runs.

Some of Brown’s highlights included a 15-yard completions to WR Trond Grizzell and TE Jack Endries and an 18-yarder to WR Jacob De Jesus‍.

Frosh Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele‍ had a 35-yard completion to DeJesus‍ when playing behind the first team line as well as a 10-yard completion to RB Justin Williams-Thomas, who looked quick after missing last season to injury. WIlliams-Thomas also had an 8-yard run and Calloway had the day’s biggest gainer with a 20-yard carry. Jaivian Thomas had a 7-yard run with some good moves up the middle as well along with a 10-yard run off tackle. Ott had an impressive change of direction run for 12 yards, showing the type of lateral speed missing after his injuries last season.

Standout plays on the defensive side included a Jasiah Wagoner a sack on Caminong, a BJ Canady sack on Sagapolutele, a tackle at the line of scrimmage by frosh CB Jae’on Young followed by a pass defended, an Aaron Hampton TFL on RB Jayden Parker, a Ryan McCulloch TFL on Ott, a Cam Sidney sack on Brown on a blitz, a Jayden Wayne‍ TFL on RB Jaydn Ott and a Nate Burrell sack on Caminong.

Portal transfer DBs Tristan Dunn‍ and Dru Polidore‍ have been standing out so far this spring, with Polidore starting at corner and Dunn making several interceptions at safety. Both talked about how they wound up at Cal.

"Cal was super high on my radar," Dunn, who the Bears also offered out of high school before his transfer from Washington, said. "Obviously, I knew Coach TB - Terrance Brown - back at the University of Washington, a couple other coaches. I knew Coach Sirmon. So right when I kind of hopped on the portal, me and Sirmon and TB, we all on the phone, got that visit all set up, and I was here on the 21st for my visit." 

For Polidore, the combination of stepping up a level and playing and studying at a respected university was the winning combo as well as their history of sending DBs to the NFL.

"Honestly, the success that they had with their DBs in the past, they have three guys who went to the combine this year, along with the fact that it's just Cal," Polidore said. "I was playing at the FCS level and had the opportunity to better myself and have better resources jumped out to me."

As for the types of players Cal fans can expect to see from both players?

"For me, I would say my size, speed and just my recognition of formations,” Dunn noted. “I like to play fast."

"Like he said, playing fast, instincts," Polidore said. "I love coming down to tackle."

Both players have played multiple positions before coming to Cal, providing the type of versatility the Cal staff likes to see in their defensive players in particular.

"I play everywhere in the back half," Dunn noted. "And throughout my whole college experience, my three years at University of Washington, I played free safety, outside linebacker. So I really don't limit myself."

"I ended up my past season started at free safety. I came in as a corner," Polidore noted.

Though the DB room has significantly changed with so many players off to pursue their NFL dreams or having graduated but the chemistry has been good for the new DB arrivals.

"The chemistry has been great," Dunn said. "The young guys and the guys who have been there just welcomed us with open doors and extremely good at teaching us everything we need to know. They've been extremely good on that part. Same with the coaches."

"It's a pretty tight knit group," Polidore said. "We've already been bowling together. We spend extra time on the field together. So everybody, like you said, open arms coming in, and chemistry is being built up right now."

Related:

Cal Football Spring Practice Day 3

Observations from Spring Practice