Rusty Simmons
Cal coach Jeff Tedford said Tuesday that he wanted a quarterback to establish himself as the starter. After Thursday's scrimmage, the first of training camp, he's still waiting. Senior incumbent Nate Longshore and sophomore Kevin Riley took equal series with the first and second teams and had similar stats. Longshore was 8 of 17 for 78 yards with a touchdown and an interception, and Riley was 10 of 16 for 70 yards and two scores. "They were pretty solid as far as running the show," Tedford said. "There were a couple of things as far as mechanics are concerned that need some work. Both of them missed some balls that you hope they would complete, but mostly, they were good."
Longshore's two best plays were a pretty pass over the middle that went for 22 yards to tight end Tad Smith and a bullet that he sneaked in to Sean Young for a 13-yard score. Riley found LaReylle Cunningham with a 3-yard jump ball for a touchdown and hooked up with Marvin Jones for an 8-yard touchdown as time expired during the two-minute drill. Through the first two weeks of training camp, the quarterbacks have taken turns working the starting unit and taken turns with their ups and downs. Longshore started off well and has been consistent, and Riley has come on lately. "Right now, it kind of goes back and forth," Tedford said. "We'd like someone to establish himself in the next couple of weeks. If not, we'll make a decision on who's going to take the first snaps. I'm not a big fan of the two-quarterback system usually, so it would be nice if someone separated himself."
The run-around: With sophomore tailback Jahvid Best being rested, redshirt freshman Shane Vereen and sophomore Tracy Slocum shared the bulk of the carries. Vereen, who is coming off a right ankle injury, had 71 yards on 11 carries, and Slocum had 67 yards on 10 rushes.
Briefly: The Big Game will be at 12:30 p.m. Nov. 22, Cal announced. ... Junior cornerback Syd'Quan Thompson (shoulder) came out after the first series and didn't return. ... Middle linebacker Worrell Williams (abdominal strain) missed the scrimmage. ... The offensive highlight of the day was a 46-yard leaping catch by Jones on a pass from redshirt freshman Brock Mansion. Jones led the team with 72 yards on three receptions. ... Sophomore defensive end Cameron Jordan had two sacks, and linebacker Michael Mohamed and safety Brett Johnson each had five tackles. ... Darian Hagan and Chris Conte are even in the competition for the second cornerback spot. ... Sophomore Chris Guarnero took all of the first-team repetitions at left guard. Sophomores Richard Fisher and Mark Boskovich had been splitting time earlier in camp.
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