NFL Draft Recap (Day 2)

A great day for the Bears and the NFL. Our Golden Bears were represented well in the NFL, with three Cal players drafted in rounds 2 and 3.

2nd Round
Mitchell Schwartz (37th Overall) - Cleveland Browns

The four year starter became the first Bear taken in the draft. With the 37th overall pick, Cleveland chose Mitchell Schwartz as their future right tackle to work alongside another former Cal offensive lineman Alex Mack.

If you had told me that Schwartz would have been drafted before Stanford's Jonathan Martin before the weekend, I would have been highly skeptical to say the least.

Although some Cleveland fans may not have heard too much about Schwartz, the guy is going to be a dependable lineman for a long time. Although Schwartz won't wow any scout as an athletic freak, he is smart, durable (hasn't missed a single as a starter), and has a solid set of skills. He's going to be the kind of lineman whose name you won't hear too often, as he won't often explode off the ball to dominate defenders, but he'll hold his own and rarely make mistakes.

It's a solid pickup for the Browns.

Mychal Kendricks (46th Overall) - Philadelphia Eagles

Although some might be surprised by Kendricks going in the second round, I wasn't surprised in the least. Kendricks went just about where I expected him to. The bigger surprise is Schwartz going before Kendricks.

Despite being undersize at just 5'11, Kendricks has a lot of what you'd like from a 4-3 linebacker. He's got the collegiate productivity (Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year) and the freakish athleticism (running the best 40 time from an inside linebacker in years).

But perhaps most importantly, Kendricks' biggest asset is his versatility. Kendricks in playing nearly every linebacker position for the Bears, but will likely battle for a starting outside linebacker spot in the Eagles' 4-3 scheme.

Third Round
Bryan Anger (70th Overall) - Jacksonville Jaguars

Last week Bryan Anger said he was confident he'd not only be drafted (a rarity for punters), but that he'd be the first punter to go.

Clearly, Anger knew more than most of us did.

I was fairly confident Anger was going to indeed be drafted, but I had no inkling whatsoever that it'd be in the third round. I certainly had no idea that he'd be the first punter to go in the Top 100 of the draft in nearly 20 years.

He's a multiple time Ray Guy award finalist and has about as good of a leg as you'll find in a punter. He's accumulated a bit of a cult following for his ability to drop the Anger Smash or drop a punt into McCovey's Cove. He's struggled with his consistency at times, but a lot of that has to do with what he's been asked to do rugby style punts. Plain and simple, Bryan Anger is one of the nation's best punters, and one of the best at his position for the Bears.

But here's the craziest part. Battling Anger for the starting punter job will be none other than Nick Harris, arguably the best punter the Golden Bears have ever had.

Wow.

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Spring Football Experience Videos

While you can watch the entire scrimmage here thanks to TouchedtheAxein82, the athletic department did a fine job in churning out these videos that really highlights the events of Cal's Spring Game this past year.

Anyone who has followed Cal football these past few years are probably wondering if this is the same athletic department. Seriously, for as starved for football access as we have been, these videos have been unparalleled.

Helmet cams for spring practice??? Whaa??

Spring Football Experience

Highlights Read the rest of the post and comments here >>

Spring Scrimmage Thoughts

Here are some quick thoughts on the Spring Scrimmage. Some units will have more written about them than others, and certain players warrant more of a mention based on a combination of performances and my own interest.

You can find Bear Insider’s scoring stats and summary of the game here.

Quarterbacks
By and large, I was pretty content with the quarterback play this year. Not speaking necessarily on individual performances just yet, but as a whole, I thought all five quarterbacks appeared capable and competent. No one appeared easily flustered or clueless, which has sadly not always been the case with our entire quarterback corps the past few years. The tricky thing about quarterbacks is that real refinement takes places over live reps, which is obviously limited this year. But all appeared to show flashes of really good things.

In terms of individual performances, I think Maynard’s improvement from last year should be apparent to anyone and everyone. He still has a tendency to float some easy passes, but he appeared confident and sure of himself in all of his throws. What I particularly liked was his ability to step up into the pocket when feeling pressure as opposed to immediately rolling left as he seemed to do all the time last year. He also did this while keeping his eyes down field. I’m still not sure how exactly he’s progressing in terms of the quickness at which he’s going through his reads, which was his weakest point last year in my opinion, but his performance on Saturday was encouraging.

I think some people may have been disappointed with Allan Bridgford’s performance, but I think those expectations may have been heightened a bit with the hope that he’d give Maynard a real run for his money for the starting job. I thought Bridgford started off pretty shaky, but settled down and was pretty good in his decision making for the most part. His TD pass to Spencer Hagan that was negated by a holding call was real pretty. However, Bridgford’s new and improved quickened throwing regresses back to his elongated throwing motion when he feels pressure, which results in some batted passes and tipped balls. His interception in what appeared to be quadruple coverage was just a matter of forcing things flat and simple.

Like I said above in regards to the entire quarterback unit, Kyle Boehm and Austin Hinder seemed fine. They both appear to be big, athletic, strong-armed quarterbacks who could do some nice things if given opportunities to develop. I’m genuinely intrigued by both right now.

Zach Kline didn’t do too much, but the sheer fact that Kline went out, competed, and looked very competent as an early-enrollee says a lot of this kid’s talent and potential. He looked poised out there, showed a nice arm, and really threw just one errant pass. Kline finished 3-5 for 52 yards and a TD which included a nice play in which he stepped up in the pocket and lofted a nice ball over the defender right into the hands of H-back Hagan. Just the sheer fact that he kept his eyes downfield in a crowded pocket was impressive enough. Really nice to see.

Runningbacks
The biggest story for with this unit is CJ Anderson. He was an absolute revelation on Saturday. I almost didn't recognize him during his first few runs, because looked like a completely different back out there. He appeared slimmer, shiftier, and more elusive in the open field. If there was any knock on his performance, it was that he danced a bit too much on those stretch runs, but he also had a number of occasions where he made something out of absolutely nothing. Coming into the spring, I though CJ was the perfect third down back, and now I'm not so sure he shouldn't be getting equal reps with Isi Sofele at this point. He impressed me that much.

Dasarte Yarnway looked right at home at his new fullback position. The position switch makes sense because of the logjam at the runningback position, but because of his size and physicality. He'll still need to put on more weight, and he also whiffed on a number of block (understandably), but he was a nice weapon catching passes out of the backfield, churning up tough yards for a first down in short yardage situations, and showed nice pad level overall (one of his biggest weaknesses his first few years here).

Wide Receiver
The fact there was a productive unit out there on Saturday says a whole lot about this offense's efficiency, and the wide receiving corps. With Keenan Allen out, this was a bare bones, skeleton crew of players (just one scholarship receiver) and they actually looked pretty good.

I had held off getting too hyped about Maurice Harris this spring after hearing that he had a slow start to the spring. But he had a nice showing on Saturday, hauling in 8 passes for 83 yards, including a score early on in the game in which he was left wide open after a nifty fake wide receiver screen. He doesn't show ideal speed, but he's got a nice rangy frame and even better hands. He should be a contributor this year, for certain.


Tight Ends
The tight ends had a quiet day, though Richard Rodgers looked shifty on his one catch. Spencer Hagan should step up and see a couple more balls thrown his way this year. He makes plays more often than not. Given the lack of depth here, it's encouraging enough just to see the entire unit healthy.

Offensive Line/Defensive Line
It's always a double edge sword when you're evaluating the strength of your offense against the strength of your defense. Generally speaking, you want your defense to at least be in position to make plays, and your offense to be able to execute the very basics.

It's even harder to evaluate when you're already thin offensive line is split into two different units. By and large, I thought both units did...ok, with the defensive line with the clear edge at this point in the preseason. The defensive line for the most part maintained their gaps well, and stuffed the majority of the runs. The only back who appeared to have consistent success against either defensive front was CJ Anderson, and a number of those small wins were the result of some nice vision and elusiveness at the second level. But make no mistake, the offensive line did appear to have some nice push and opened some nice lanes on some runs.

Pass protection was a mixed bag, but it actually didn't appear as bad as it might have been because of the headiness by the quarterbacks to get rid of the ball quickly.

Matt Summers-Gavin got beat pretty badly on two different occasions which continues to reinforce for me the notion that though he may be the Bears' best offensive lineman, tackle is clearly not his position. He simply handle the skill set of quick defensive ends or backers well enough, though given the Bears tackle issues, we may just need to continue to make the best of it.

Oh and Mustafa Jalil was flat out dominant. Geez, this kid's going to be real good when it's all said and done.

Secondary
This was one of the more confusing units to evaluate. On one hand, they showed really nice closing speed, and kept most of the passes ahead of them. On the other, there were some deep balls they were beat on, and they gave up a number of passes on third down. Avery Sebastian might exemplify this best. The youngster made a number of impressive plays include some nice hits and picking off Allan Bridgford's punt. Yet he was also beat a few times, and gave up the middle. This is one of those positions that are wide open, and will be an interesting battle to follow in the fall.

Closing Note on Event
As a whole, I thought the event was a smashing success. Close to 9,000 fans turned up, really just based on a week’s notice, and everyone seemed to walk away happy. Some Big-10 and SEC fans may scoff at that number, but it's not bad at all given the lack of history of a spring game. And remember, many casual fans have things to do on a beautiful day in the Bay, unlike...Ohio or Arkansas.

The fan team interaction including the halftime events was a nice touch, and it’s always fun when the game comes down to the wire. I know the likelihood of this event happening in the future will depend largely on the health of players, but I really do hope this becomes and annual event. It really seemed to be good for everyone involved.
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Spring Game Videos

TouchedtheAxein82 does it again. He's got the entire Spring Game up for those who were unable to make it out, or just want something to hold themselves for the next four and a half months until they get to watch the Bears hit the field again.


Quarters 1, 2, 3

Quarter 4 - The Game Winner! Read the rest of the post and comments here >>

Spring Preview - Linebackers

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images North America)

On Monday, I wrote that Cal’s defensive line unit had me the most excited, but I’ve got to say I’m most intrigued by the Bears’ young linebacking corps. When it’s all said and done, this group has the potential to be the most dominant group for the Bears.

2011 Position Wrap-Up
With the Bears breaking in young starters at the OLB spots, there was a bit of uncertainty with the linebacking corps. There was little question however, that senior linebackers DJ Holt and Mychal Kendricks would dominate on the inside.

And dominate they did.

Kendricks and Holt emerged as the best inside linebacker duo in the conference, combining for 187 tackles, 24.5 tackles for loss, all-conference honorable mention for Holt and the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year distinction for Kendricks.

On the outside, the Bears relied on their talented, but inexperienced freshmen linebackers.

Grayshirt freshman Chris McCain caught the attention of the coaching staff early on in Fall Camp, earning the nickname “Gadget” from Coach Tedford due to his rangy frame and ability to make plays. McCain notched just 29 tackles all season, but displayed his playmaking ability as 7 of those 29 tackles were for a loss. It was a solid debut for the highly touted linebacker from North Carolina.

Fans were in for a surprise when sophomore Dan Camporeale was named the starter for the season opener. With the level of youth on the outside, the coaches seemed to prefer Campo’s experience and ruggedness in run support. Though Camporeale struggled a bit in pass coverage, he was rarely out of position in defending the run, and notched 19 tackles with a respectable 4.5 tackles for a loss.

Dave Wilkerson was recruited as an inside linebacker, but made the switch to the outside with the coaching staff needing Kendricks and Holt to quarterback the front seven. They were also pleased with his pass rushing ability, and Wilkerson emerged as the Bears’ pass rusher of the young outside linebackers, recording 4 sacks, and 5.5 tackles for a loss. Wilkerson struggled with the injury bug though, playing just 10 games and recording just 17 total tackles.

Grayshirt freshman Cecil Whiteside may have seen the least playing time of the four OLBs, but seemed to have the most penchant for making plays. Though he had just 17 total tackles, he also had 4 tackles for a loss, 3 sacks, two forced fumbles and two pass breakups. In sum, Whiteside’s youth was exposed, but he was going to make plays more often than not.

As whole, the Bears’ season at the linebacker spot could be summarized as follows: the inside linebackers were solid and reliable, while the outside linebackers had performances demonstrating both their athleticism and inexperience. The young outside linebackers showed great closing speed in getting to the ball, but also struggled with shedding blocks and quickly diagnosing plays when facing zone-read rushing attacks.

And still, the Bears are still patiently waiting for an outside linebacker to step up as a dominant pass rusher, ala-Zach Follett.


Spring Preview
While the Bears’ questions last year resided on the outside, it seems to be flipped this year. The Bears will have to replace both Kendricks and Holt on the inside.

Sixth year Robert Mullins and junior Steven Fanua are an experienced pair of linebackers who’ve seen little playing time throughout their career, and will need to fend off younger linebackers who appear poised to breakout.

Dave Wilkerson has switched back to his more natural position of inside linebacker, but has been hampered again by injuries this spring. If he can stay healthy, Wilkerson has the ability to be a very solid ILB.

Also making the switch is Jason Gibson, a four-star outside linebacker who redshirted last year. If there has been any player who has garnered the most acclaim this spring, it just might be Gibson. Gibson has been praised for his playmaking ability, and has just begun getting reps with the ones after dominating with the twos.

Nick Forbes is another four-star talent at inside linebacker who finally appears healthy after having both his redshirt and freshman season end before ever really starting due to injury. Forbes has also been pointed out a viable candidate for the starting job.

On the outside, the Bears are hoping that the experience gained by their young starters last year will pay off major dividends this year.

Chris McCain appears poised to take the next step, especially after having gained some weight to his lean, rangy frame. McCain is up to 230 pounds after coming in as 200 pound freshman and playing at the 220 mark last year. He’ll need the weight if he’s going to be relied on to defend the edges.

Dan Camporeale has been getting reps with the first unit and will at the very least be a dependable option for the Bears.

Cecil Whiteside has also been running with the second team, but everyone involved is hoping for the talented sophomore to step up and consistently make plays.

Redshirt freshman Jalen Jefferson is out due to injury, and Nathan Broussard will provide depth on the outside.

And though he’s out of Spring Ball now recovering from last year’s season ending knee injury, I’ve still got high hopes for Brennan Scarlett. The big-bodied sophomore has legitimate track speed, and is only a season’s worth of experience away in my mind, from being a dominant DE/OLB player for the Bears.

As a whole, one can’t help but be excited at the potential with the group. You’ve got any number of situations where the Bears’ have the best linebacking corps in terms of talent. There are a lot of blue chip prospects who just need the experience and opportunities to help the Bears return one of the best defenses in the conference.
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ESPN's Ted Miller Interviews Jeff Tedford

Tedford looks absolutely thrilled to take questions from Ted Miller.

But seriously, it's a fairly standard interview, and Tedford seems to have his Spring Practice rhetoric down pat at this point. There weren't any "no question about it"s, but Tedford reiterated some of the major points that he's shared with the media the past several weeks.



A quick summary:

- It's "night and day" when looking at Maynard's command and comfortability with the offense, and even Bridgford seems much more confident and capable this year. The coaching staff appear to be comfortable with either of the two QBs at the helm, though there seems to be little doubt with anyone that Maynard is the starting QB.


- The biggest defensive playmakers so far of the younger players seem to be Jason Gibson and Nick Forbes at the inside linebacker positions, Avery Sebastian in the secondary, and Moose Jalil and Deandre Coleman at the defensive line.

- Tedford anticipates needing at least three freshmen wide receivers to step up in the fall due to a lack of depth there. I'd put money down on Bryce Treggs and Darius Powe being at least two of them.

- The coaching staff seem to think they're got a nice four-deep at the RB. They know what Isi Sofele and CJ Anderson can do, but Brendon Bigelow finally seems healthy and Daniel Lasco has been nearly everyone's pick in being "the one to look out for."
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Spring Practice Recap Video

The Cal Athletics Video Production department seems to be doing more than ever in terms of releasing footage of Spring Ball. While Coach Tedford has shut down nearly any media access, it's a bit refreshing to see something of what the Bears are doing. We're starved for anything we can get.

If anything, you can watch from the 0:29 mark over and over again. Brendon "Bam Bam" Bigelow provides viewers with a sick spin move. Makes one think that surgically repaired knee might indeed be doing just fine...


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Spring Preview - Defensive Line

(Image: GoldenBearSports)

My Goal? To get through this Spring Preview Series before spring practices finish. I shall get it done. Today, we begin previewing the defense with the deepest unit on the defensive side of the ball: the defensive line.

2011 Position Wrap-Up
The Bears continued their recent trend of strong defensive line play despite losing first-round draft pick Cameron Jordan the year prior. Though the defensive line was never outstanding, they were easily the most consistent and solid unit on the field.

Senior DEs Trevor Guyton and Ernest Owusu combined for a respectable 20.5 TFLs, and 10.5 sacks. While neither earned the type of praise that their predecessors in the aforementioned Jordan and Tyson Alualu did, they were by most accounts solid and reliable, and stalwarts for an impressive defense.

There was a bit of a rotation at the nose tackle position. Kendrick Payne began the season as the starter, though Aaron Tipoti earned more and more playing time throughout the season. Tipoti had some performances where he was flat out unblockable, and seemed to get better and better with each game.

Perhaps the most heartening surprise of the season was the emergence of solid depth at the line, possibly hinting at the future. True freshman Mustafa Jalil was a revelation at the position, earning significant playing time which is impressive for any freshman. Deandre Coleman also played quite a bit, and seemed to get more comfortable as the year went on.

2011 also saw the emergence of true freshman Villami Moala, though he failed to have the level impact that follows the notoriety of a 5 star prospect. Still, Moala gained valuable experience, despite playing behind two other upperclassmen at the nose tackle position, and also saw the field on special teams as well.


Spring Preview
The Bears will have to replace two senior starters on the defensive line, but may be poised to be even better and deeper at the position.

Sophomore Mustafa Jalil and junior Deandre Coleman are likely the next to step up, both offer an impressive level of skill and size. Coleman is an absolute load at 6'5, 311 pounds and as been praised by Tedford as possibly being "one of the best that we've ever had. He is playing great right now." That's high praise for a group that sent two NFL first-round defensive linemen in the past three years.

Jalil also checks in at 6'2, 302 pounds and shot up in the depth chart last year as a true freshman. Again, to provide context, none of the starting defensive linemen last year weighed more than 280 pounds. The is a big unit.

In an interesting move, Aaron Tipoti will make the move to defensive end. Where this places him along with Jalil and Coleman remains to be seen, but Tipoti was playing about as well as any d-lineman last year. DE is the more natural position for Tipoti due to his size at 6'2, 274 pounds, but it will be interesting to see if he can entrench himself as a starter.

On that note, it will be interesting to follow Kendrick Payne. Payne is nearly the same size at Tipoti, but has struggled to remain healthy and play at a consistently high level throughout a season. He provides the experience you want, but will have to fend off sophomore Villami Moala for the starting NT spot. Moala struggled last year to fight off double teams, but has the prototypical size you want in a nose tackle at 6'2 and a massive 347 pounds. The coaching staff will want Moala to continue to refine his body, but Moala appears ready to make a far greater impact than he did last year.

Again though, the most optimism surrounding this group isn't just the sheer talent and size with the starters, it's the ridiculous depth with the group.

Highly touted RS frosh Todd Barr will be one to watch. He doesn't have great size at DE, but has a lot of skill and plays with a high motor. RS sophomore Gabe King has hit the weight room hard and definitely passes the eye ball test at a staggering 6'5, 293 pounds. Puka Lopa and Keni Kaufusi round out the group the DE spot, but at this point we're talking about 3 or 4 deep group. Ridiculous.

This is a deep and talented group, consisting of all highly touted and hungry players. New defensive line coach Todd Howard has walked into about as optimal of a situation as he could have asked for in his first year. The cupboard is the opposite of bare, it's spilling over.

At this point Howard needs to breed a culture of competition and skill. Nearly all of the aforementioned players have the size and talent, but it will be on Howard to refine their skills to compete against the conference's best offensive line talent. And nothing hones a player's skill and drive better than coaching and competition.

As you can probably tell, this is a group that I'm most excited about. There are a number of questions surrounding the unit, but not a single person can tell me there isn't potential for this group to be flat out dominant.

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