Monday, August 18, 2008

Daily Cal: Fall Camp Notebook: Day 14

Link.

Extended Session Features Spirited Team Competition

As the band ran formations of its own on neighboring Maxwell Family Field, the Cal football team's Sunday practice was so long that it contained shifts in momentum. The defense came out to play early, but the quarterbacks had the last laugh in a session that totaled nearly three hours.  Quarterbacks Nate Longshore and Kevin Riley exchanged TD passes in four consecutive plays that put a nice finishing touch to the evening during 11-on-11s from the defense's nine-yard line. For the first pair, Longshore and Riley found wideouts LaReylle Cunningham and Nyan Boateng, respectively, on the same slant route.   Longshore then answered with a toss to receiver Sean Young the very next play, to which Riley responded with a trademark scramble behind the line of scrimmage followed by a toss to freshman tight end Anthony Miller dragging across the end zone. "They threw some nice balls," coach Jeff Tedford said. "Down there, when you're in tight quarters the last play of the game, they threw some strikes down there to score."

After short warm-ups and drills within units, the Bears' first set of 11-on-11s was a two-minute situational with the ball placed near the offense's own 30.  Quarterback Nate Longshore took first-team reps for most of the evening, but his first sequence was certainly not his best. After a couple overthrows, a dropped ball and a near sack, the senior trotted off the field having turned over possession on downs with a 1-for-4 performance.  Young, Cunningham and Jeremy Ross lined up at wideout for Longshore, with tailback Jahvid Best filling in for what became mainly pass-blocking duties in the backfield.  With receivers Alex Stroud, Nyan Boateng and Marvin Jones as his main targets, Kevin Riley came out firing and went 3-for-3 initially, completing two tosses to Boateng and one to Jones. Boateng had some nice looks throughout practice, but for all his ability to create separation on and off the turf, coach Jeff Tedford seemed to consider his production a mixed bag.  "Consistency," Tedford noted as Boateng's weakness. "He'll make some plays, but he's got to be more consistent."

But as the pass rush found its way through and applied heavy pressure nearly every play thereafter, Riley was blanked in his next three attempts. Defensive tackle Michael Costanzo posted a sack, while end Cameron Jordan hurried him twice, once alongside Ernest Owusu. Both Costanzo and Jordan looked inspired all evening.

The second 11-on-11 drill tested the offense's ability to score in the red zone, with the ball gradually being moved in a handful of yards or so by the coaching staff following each play.  Longshore's first attempt produced arguably the evening's top highlight when fullback Will Ta'ufo'ou laid out for a toss in the secondary amid linebackers and safeties, rolling into the end zone. Longshore was sacked by linebacker Worrell Williams on the subsequent play, but the coaches allowed the sequence to continue, and Longshore eventually found tailback Shane Vereen, who caught the pass underneath and sprinted into the end zone.  The next few plays, which took place near or inside the 10-yard line, didn't offer too much success for Longshore, who was sacked once by end Rulon Davis -- his second of the night in between oh-so-many hurries -- and failed to connect with a couple targets.  Riley, meanwhile, didn't find the end zone until late in his set. One defensive highlight was from nose tackle Kevin Bemoll. Bemoll, a recent convert from the offensive line, deflected the Riley's toss and 17-year-old linebacker Mychal Kendricks nabbed the loose ball for a pick. Riley found Jones in the corner of the end zone the very next play.

Bemoll's is one of the feel-good stories of camp, or at the very least, one that has kept observers interested. The lineman entered the Cal campus as a redshirt in 2005 and saw zero action the next couple years due to various reasons, but the coaching staff is giving the junior another shot on the opposite side of the field.  Bemoll said that Tedford approached him after he'd been reinstated following the 2007 season and mentioned the possibility of playing him at tackle if the defense were to switch formations. Talks simmered during spring ball and through the first couple weeks of camp, but a few days ago, defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi finally approached him with the offer.  Bemoll's stint in a blue defensive jersey remains a trial as of today, but it appears that the move could be the catalyst that spurs the once-touted recruit -- the nation's No. 6 offensive guard prospect in his class according to Rivals.com -- to make a fitting impact come Saturdays.   "(Offensive line) coach (Jim) Michalczik is a great coach, and the guys are great, but I was just noticing myself being like, 'OK it's the same old thing, pass sets over and over again,'" Bemoll said. "Not that I was as good as I would ever be, but I just didn't have that motivation to get really better. When I got to switch, you know, it's a whole new deal now. It's a different game, so yeah, it's real motivating trying to work hard.  "For the first time, I've been all smiles out there

The day (Lupoi) said, 'You're gonna play jumbo,' the day after, I just said this is the most fun I've had on the football field since high school."  While most of the incumbent defensive tackles on the squad don't exactly fit the traditional physical mold of a 3-4 nose, the 6-foot-4, 325-pounder does. His size and strength do come in handy, but only time will tell whether Bemoll turns into a goal-line clog for Cal.  "Our only job, really, is to strike and take the A-gap to where the ball's being around, so as long as you can be explosive and kind of hold your gap," he said. "My biggest thing is I have to learn how to strike out of a real light stance and read the center. Once I can do that, then hopefully things will work out."

Tedford spoke highly of Chris Guarnero following the end of practice, noting that he would start at guard if the season were to start tomorrow.  "He's doing a phenomenal job," Tedford said. "He's really doing a nice job. He can play guard, which is what he's doing now mostly, but he can play center as well. He's a guy who knows both and is doing a great job."  Guarnero redshirted in 2006, earning Scout Team Player of the Year honors, and saw action in just one game last year while spending the bulk of the season sitting behind center Alex Mack on the depth chart.  Though he likely won't see any time at center in the upcoming season, Tedford seemed confident that Guarnero wouldn't have too much trouble making the change.  "The ball in your hand is a major deal, but with him, he understands the inside play," Tedford said. "They work so close and the communication is so tight in there that it's a nice carryover."

Defensive tackle Mika Kane was seen with his boot removed, while wideout Michael Calvin remained in one with a sprained toe. Both Kane and fellow tackle Derrick Hill are out with ankle sprains.  Tedford ruled out cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson for Tuesday's scrimmage and set the end of the week as a more realistic timetable for his return. Calvin and linebacker Zack Follett could possibly play Tuesday, according to Tedford.

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