Thursday's Pressers: Life after Keenan

#21 has been one of my favorite players to ever put on a Cal uniform. It sucks to watch his career come to a close in such anticlimatic fashion, but I really can't see him coming back and risking an injury that could potentially damage his draft stock. I'd love more than anything for him to come back next year, but I really don't see that happening either. Hopefully, I'm proven wrong.

Tedford's Presser

On Keenan Allen:

"He has a PCL. Probably a 2 to 3 week recovery for him."

"He just landed on his knee. He didn’t get hit or anything like that. In the locker room after the game he was fine and had no idea about it until Sunday."

"He looks like he’s walking fine, were just not gonna risk something being unstable."

Watching the video, it's hard to believe someone as durable as Keenan actually got injured on that play. Regardless, Tedford seems on board with not risking any further injury to Allen. This whole situation seems kinda fishy to be honest.

Do you have any regrets about going for the onside kick?

"No"

Not really sure how I feel about this. I liked that he was playing to win, but I didn't like that Keenan was being put at risk on such a meaningless play. What do you think?

How does this change the dynamics of the offense?

"The other guys have to step up. Powe and those guys need to step up. Keenan is obviously a big part of what we do, but it gives someone else an opportunity."

Harper and Powe will be starting. Treggs will be playing, but seems to be out of the starting lineup because of injury. Look for Harris to be getting more reps as well.

Washington will now be able to play a lot more one on one man coverage, which will allow them to stack the box, blitz more, and essentially load up to stop the run. Desmond Trufant is also really good corner, and it will be a tough go for our young receivers to take him one on one. Keenan would originally have occupied Trufant and likely a safety over the top, which would have opened up the offense a lot more.

Some other notes from the interview:

Treggs will be punt returning in Allen’s stead.

McCain will play.

Scarlett will play.

Marc Anthony will be a game time decision.

Pendergast's presser

On McCain and Scarlett coming back:

"Yeah we hope that those guys are ready to go. Right now it looks like they will be. They obviously make a difference for us defensively."

I think both these guys are still pretty beat up. However, them just being out there brings some much needed depth to our interior defense. We had a lot of guys playing out of position last game (Todd Barr saw some time at backer for example).

On UW tigthend Sefarian-Jenkins:

"He’s pretty talented. He’s a big target in the passing game, and he’s a good run blocker. He’s kind of in a class of his own because he does have a very good all-around game."

"We gotta be aware of where he’s at and be aware of the things he likes to do from a blocking or pass catching stand point."

Based on how we covered the Stanford tightends, look for this guy to gash us just like they did. I have no real confidence in our coverage abilities at this point.

On Kameron Jackson:

"He came in and played well against UCLA and has had some spot play this year due to injury. He's got a full week of work this week. He knows he’s going to be called upon probably."

"He's prepared well this week."

The more playtime Jackson gets, the better. I think he can develop into a real talent at cornerback, so the more experience he gets for next year the better.

Michalczik's presser

On replacing Keenan Allen:

"We’ve had a lot of young guys. A lot of true freshmen have played a lot for us."

"It's been a growing process. They’ve been maturing. It’s not the end of the world, those guys will step up and we’re confident they’ll come out and have a heck of a game."

Same deal as with Jackson. I think the more experience these guys get at this point the better. No use in holding them back at all now. These will be our main receivers for the next 2-3 years.

On Darius Powe:

"He’s done great. He's a sharp young man and he works very hard. Very focused. Cant say enough good things about him. I think he just gets better and better."

"He’s very very hard worker. He studies, he picks things up, he’s a pretty smart young man."

Like to see Powe step up and have a break out game this week. He's been overshadowed by his freshmen counterparts in Treggs and Harper. Going into the season I thought he'd be at least the 3rd receiver.

On Desmond Trufant:

"He’s an exceptional player. Pretty good family heritage there too. You know, in the same respect you don’t want to go in there and tell these guys to be scared of him. These young guys they want to go compete and that’s the neat thing about them. So far this year the stage hasn’t been too big for them."

This guy is good. Our young guys are going to have a tough time with him one on one. But like Coach M said, they can't go into this game afraid of him. Pretty sure Keenan beat this guy for a 90 yd TD in last year's game (forgive me for being nostalgic).