Bears Run Final Two-a-Day in Preparation For Tomorrow's Scrimmage
By Matt Kawahara
With a scrimmage planned for tomorrow afternoon, the Cal football team scaled back the intensity a little in its final double-day of fall camp. The Bears had a pair of two-hour sessions, practicing in shells in the morning and just helmets in the afternoon. The team spent much of the day on special teams, working on onside kicks, spiking the ball in late-game situations and the victory formation. Basically, they ran through just about everything that hadn't been covered--a sign that, after tomorrow, the season truly begins. Coach Jeff Tedford did not elaborate much on the importance of tomorrow's full-contact scrimmage. He did confirm that decisions will be made in the next few days concerning the depth chart, and that tomorrow is yet another opportunity for players to show how they handle game situations. "You always like a dress rehearsal being a scrimmage where we're flying around, we're not making mistakes, and we're closer to where we want to be before we play Michigan State," Tedford said. "We're getting close and tomorrow will be one more opportunity for guys to show what they can do and then from there we have to create a depth chart." Still, as Tedford has maintained for the past couple weeks, competition for starting spots will continue throughout the duration of camp. "It's always important to produce and that's something that's continual, as far as monitoring and making sure that people are doing their jobs and making plays," Tedford said. "It's a constant evaluation process."
It is likely that the scrimmage will function largely to determine this year's scout team, while the depth chart for Cal's 64-man roster will remain mostly in flux. One thing that will be different tomorrow is the field presence of tailback Jahvid Best. Best sat out the team's first scrimmage as part of his designated time for rest, but he'll be in for full contact tomorrow--something that will benefit the defense just as much as their counterparts. "The elusiveness, the quickness, the speed at which he plays makes the defense play fast," Tedford said. "Fast but under control. When people are playing that fast on the field and you can practice at that speed every day, you're much more prepared for real game time."
Cornerback Chris Conte sat out of seven-on-seven and team drills during the morning session with his ankle wrapped in tape. Tedford said that he has a slight sprained ankle, but that "he should be okay." The ankle was not taped in the afternoon. Conte is currently the team's No. 1 corner with junior Syd'Quan Thompson still being plagued by a shoulder injury and definitely out for the scrimmage. In his absence, Conte and sophomore Darian Hagan have taken over first-team duties. Tedford said that, if the season were to start today, Hagan would be starting.
Wideout LaReyelle Cunningham had an impressive morning, making a couple of acrobatic catches during one-on-ones and one as part of the hands team on onside kick return. Cunningham has really come on in camp to where he is now a fixture of the first-team receiving group. "Camp's going great," Cunningham said after practice. "Getting the offense down, getting the young guys into it. I'm just here doing my role, whatever the coaches need me to do." With redshirt freshman Michael Calvin still wearing a protective boot for his sprained toe, the receivers have been shuttling between the 1's and 2's. Cunningham, Jeremy Ross, Nyan Boateng, Sean Young and Marvin Jones have all seen regular reps with the first team. Meanwhile, Cunningham--the corps' resident senior with three years of varsity experience--is taking time to mentor some of the new faces. "A lot of the young guys ask me what they have on this, what they have on that," he said. "So being able to be not only a student of the game but a teacher is helping a lot." Cunningham doesn't seem worried that this year's receivers will have problems filling the shoes of the departed DeSean Jackson, Lavelle Hawkins and Robert Jordan. "We're a different type of receiving corps," Cunningham said. "We've got big, tall guys. We're going to make our own shoes. We'll be all right."
For the second straight day, a defensive lineman played a big part in an interception during team drills. After Kevin Bemoll deflected a Kevin Riley pass into the arms of linebacker Mychal Kendricks on Sunday, Ernest Owusu followed up Monday morning by taking matters--and the ball--into his own hands, picking off a short pass by Nate Longshore.
No comments:
Post a Comment