The defense has been ahead of the offense for most of the spring, but Saturday's open practice and scrimmage at Valley Christian High School in San Jose left Jeff Tedford unhappy:
The Bears had between 5 and 10 false starts off the top of my head, and probably about four or five bad snaps from center. Quarterback Zach Maynard, who got the most first team reps, threw two interceptions and also made a inaccurate pitch back to running back Isi Sofele that went for a substantial loss. Tailback Mike Manuel also lost a fumble, one that was returned 39 yards for a touchdown by defensive back Tyre Ellison.
Quarterback Allan Bridgford had the most success of any of Cal’s quarterbacks for the second straight Saturday, but he still has been void of many first team reps. He also had one bad moment when he tried to throw in to traffic on the run and it was almost picked off by safety Avery Walls.
Practice can be sloppy sometimes in the spring, but after two weeks of practice, Tedford expected more efficiency from his offense, especially after a strong week. "We really had a good week of practice but today was not very good at all," Tedford said. "Offensively, today didn’t look anything like what it has been looking like."
After the jump more spring practice recaps, more NBA draft declarations, a Cal baseball sweep and lots of weekend action across the spectrum of Cal sports!
Football:
Defense has upper hand in San Jose
Jon Wilner offers his take on Saturday's scrimmage, along with some quick QB thoughts.
Video of Tedford's post-practice comments
Basketball:
Cal gets a verbal commitment from 6-foot-9, 200-pound junior Kaileb Rodriquez. A player out of Colorado with a latin surname? Well, it certainly worked the first time!
Wilner projects Cal as the 2nd best team in the Pac-12 next year, a projection both exciting and frightening at once.
DeAngelo Casto has declared for the NBA draft, continuing the Pac-10's talent drain. Good for Cal's conference championship chances, bad for the conference's NCAA chances.
Baseball:
The baseball Bears finish a road sweep of the Washington Huskies, rising to 2nd place in the Pac-10 standings in the process.
Baseball alum and Detroit Tiger Brennan Boesch was relieved to see the program receive reinstatement.
Softball:
Cal finished off a sweep of the #17 Oregon Ducks with a 5-2 win Sunday. Those 2 runs represented the only runs Oregon scored all weekend.
Gymnastics:
In what we all hope isn't their final competition, the Cal men finished 4th in the NCAA team competition. A number of Bears earned individual All-American recognition for placing in individual competitions.
Track and Field:
The Cal men and women had solid performances but both ultimately fell to Stanford in the 117th Big Meet.
Rugby:
Cal's younger players rolled to an 84-27 win against UCSC in Santa Cruz.
Lacrosse:
Cal lost their final regular season game to Denver, 13-10, and now have a nervous wait to see if they will qualify for the post season
Tennis:
The #9 Cal women fell to #2 Stanford 5-2, though #1 in the country Jana Juricova did knock off Stanford's Hilary Barte, the #3 ranked individual in the nation.
Water Polo:
#2 Cal fell to #1 Stanford in the always spirited Big Splash. Cal fell behind early and couldn't complete the comeback.
Crew:
The Cal men dominated the Stanford Invitational, winning nine races including varsity 8.
The Cal women finished first or second in every event at the Lake Natoma Invite.