Longshore Stays Sharp, Best Gets Heavy Reps and Defense Prevails at Finish
By Andrew Kim
The Cal football team donned full pads for the first time today, letting the boys loose on all-out contact. Cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson returned for a full day, while Shane Vereen sat the the evening out. Nate Longshore took reps with the first team, and Kevin Riley manned the 2's. Longshore looked sharp in his final 11-on-11 appearance, going 3-for-3 on a couple short gains and a neat floater to tight end Cameron Morrah while linebacker Devin Bishop was freely charging the pocket. Tailback Jahvid Best's number was frequently called during later drills, and he never seemed to shy away from contact.
In one instance, he took a quick pass from Riley and dashed upfield, shedding a tackle from cornerback Sean Cattouse toward the end of his run. In a couple other plays, he was swallowed by a gang of defenders during downs near the end zone. "I feel like that's the lesser part of my game," Best said about being a more powerful runner. "So that's the side I've gotta get up to outside running. If I get both of those equal, I'd be, I don't know, I'd be pretty good." In Vereen's absence, Tracy Slocum also received a hiked share of reps with both the first and second team units. The first three plays of Riley's final 11-on-11 set were ran through Slocum, and the sophomore displayed short but good, hard runs.
The defense had the last laugh at the end of the day, stopping both Longshore and Riley's end-zone sets short of a touchdown. The front-seven was able to contain Best and Slocum for the most part, adjusting to a variety of pitches, handoffs and delays. "We just got a little session of going live, getting after it," Williams said. "That's what full pads is all about. Goal-line defense, you know, is a critical thing for every defense. We just want to practice on that. We want to make sure we incorporate that, not just defense in general, but specifically goal-line defense." Redshirt freshman Brock Mansion had better luck with his third-team unit, darting a touchdown pass to tight end Garry Graffort on his first attempt at the end zone. He also sent off freshman Covaughn Deboskie for a tidy 10-yard touchdown run a play later. Deboskie enjoyed one of his better days thus far, bursting good runs throughout practice.
Defensive coordinator Bob Gregory briefly touched upon the positional battles following practice and maintained that the nose tackle slot is still somewhat open for competition. "We've got some guys battling there," Gregory said. "I think Derrick Hill is playing well in there, Mika (Kane) is playing good, I think Kendrick Payne is pushing all those guys, and he's a young guy. So I think we've got good competition." As is the second corner slot. Gregory said Chris Conte and Darian Hagan are keeping it close. "You know, I think Chris Conte is doing OK, I think Darian Hagan right now after five days is playing as good as he has played since he's been here," Gregory said. "So that's really, really good to see. He needs to keep it going and be consistent. Gregory also mentioned that sophomore Bryant Nnabuife has a chance to contribute, but it's still unsure whether he'll play outside or inside.
The team participated in various blocking drills throughout the day, partially focusing on 1-on-1 drills between defensive and offensive linemen as well as between linebackers and running backs/fullbacks/tight ends. The wideouts also ran their own drills simulating run-blocking situations. The special teams unit also practiced fielding kicks as a group.
No comments:
Post a Comment