Rusty Simmons
When true freshman cornerback Chris Conte arrived Aug. 6 for his first official day as a Cal football player, he had a gold stripe dyed down the middle of his dark hair. "I knew camp was going to be tough, and I wanted to come in with a mind-set to be kind of crazy and up for anything," he said. "I wanted to do something that would show that I was ready to be crazy. I wanted to make a statement." Mission accomplished. Conte, a 6-foot-3, 190-pounder from Loyola High-Los Angeles, started Thursday's scrimmage, subbing for Syd'Quan Thompson, who has a slight tweak in his ankle. With the opportunity, all Conte did was tie for the team lead in tackles with five, show solid coverage skills and even pressured the quarterback on a blitz. "Conte has played very well, and he is not intimidated or in awe of the whole deal," defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said. "He's been very impressive so far. He plays very, very calm and makes plays. He's a good football player."
So good, that coaches say he has pulled even with redshirt freshman Darian Hagan for the third corner spot. Thompson, who could have played according to coach Jeff Tedford but didn't risk it, and senior Brandon Hampton are currently slated as the starters. "(Conte) is a big, tall, physical corner who can run and has nice cover skills," Tedford said. "He is really making a move to be a guy who will contribute very strongly for us." That was Conte's plan. "I knew it would be hard, coming in as a freshman," Conte said. "But I was preparing myself to play or at least working as hard as I could to play right away." As for the hair? "Maybe it took a little courage, but I haven't gotten too hard a time," he said. "But some of the coaches call me 'Skunkhead.' " Who's No. 2? Tedford said he will probably announce the No. 2 quarterback, a competition between sophomore Kyle Reed and redshirt freshman Kevin Riley, by the middle of next week. Reed completed 7 of 12 passes for 55 yards, and Riley was 4-for-13 for 47 yards and a 23-yard touchdown to receiver Sean Young. Tedford said the duo is essentially neck and neck.
Lining up: The defensive line, which lost three starters, is starting to take shape. Sophomore defensive end Tad Smith has been impossible to miss the last week of practice, and senior Rulon Davis consistently pestered quarterbacks during the scrimmage. "The one guy we really wanted to see do some things was Rulon Davis, and he did some good things," Gregory said. "Without seeing film yet, he is really the guy who jumped out at me." Gregory said Smith, Davis and Cody Jones are in a competition for the starting end spots, and it could be decided as early as today. Either Mika Kane or Tyson Alualu will start inside with Matt Malele, who missed the scrimmage with a sore knee according to Tedford.
Tailback stable: On the day Emmanuel Moody announced that he will transfer, leaving USC with nine standout tailbacks, Cal proved it has a remarkable group, too. Starter Justin Forsett ran four times for 24 yards, including a nifty 13-yard touchdown scamper, redshirt freshmen James Montgomery and Tracy Slocum combined for 88 yards on 12 carries and true freshmen Jahvid Best and Shane Vereen proved they are ready to play right away. Best returned a kick 86 yards for a touchdown and zig-zagged about 55 yards to gain 6 on a busted screen play. Vereen, who ran nine times for a team-leading 52 yards, was forced from the game after a brain-busting hit from Robert Peele, but he returned a play later to push in a 1-yard score. "The young kids are everything that's been advertised," Tedford said. "They are great talents and great kids. We'll need to utilize those guys this year."
Briefly: Fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou took a vicious hit to his left knee and is scheduled for an MRI. ... In its only series, the first-team offense needed eight plays to march 70 yards for a touchdown. ... Tom Schneider and Andrew Larson each booted kickoffs into the end zone. ... Hampton had a 94-yard kick return for a score, and Brett Johnson blocked a punt.
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