By Jonathan Okanes
Cal's passing game still is very much a work in progress, even after a contest in which quarterback Kevin Riley threw for the third-most yards in school history. Riley amassed 423 yards during the Bears' 35-27 loss at Maryland, but the major chunk came in the hurry-up offense while the Terps nursed a big lead. Riley and his new corps of receivers have yet to find any consistency during the early stages of the season, something that will need to change moving forward. "It's not really something to evaluate off of," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "You have to do it throughout a game; you can't just do it in a two-minute type drill. But it did give our young receivers a chance to catch the ball in a game situation." The Bears turned over almost their entire wide receiver corps this season, and the coaching staff has trotted out several pass-catchers in search of productivity. Six receivers have caught at least one pass so far, and none has more than nine on the season. Senior LaReylle Cunningham had a big day against Maryland with career highs of seven catches for 138 yards, but again most of that came during the Bears' frantic comeback effort.
Tedford said the Bears will continue to use several receivers in Saturday's home game against Colorado State. "Nobody has really separated himself," Tedford said. "They're all contributing and they're all playing hard." Redshirt freshman Michael Calvin, who was expected to be Cal's top wideout this season, has yet to get untracked with just six catches for 81 yards. Calvin has been bothered by a painful sprained toe, which isn't completely healed. "He's a little fresher this week," Tedford said. "We let him off last week to make sure he heals up. He's been three-quarters speed."
Extra points
Test results on freshman wide receiver Marvin Jones confirmed he has a sprained knee. Tedford was unsure how long Jones would be out, other than to say that he'll miss Saturday's game. "... The Pac-10 announced Cal's game against Arizona State on Oct. 4 will begin at 12:30 p.m. and air on ABC. "... Offensive linemen Mitchell Schwartz and Chet Teofilo continue to practice on opposite sides of the line, with Schwartz moving from right tackle to left tackle and Teofilo going the other way. "We're going to continue to look at it," Tedford said.
No comments:
Post a Comment