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The Bears have not had great depth at tight end in many years. Once a staple of the Tedford offense, tight ends have not been utilized much in recent years due to injury and their duties in max protect packages (MARSHAAAALLLLL). With up to four tight ends this season, we may finally see their re-emergence on offense.
With both Hagan and Rodgers out, though, the two newcomers -- JC transfer Wilfley and true freshman Espitia -- made the most out of the opportunity.
"Those guys are getting a lot of reps, but it's good that they're getting those reps, especially for Maximo," Tedford said. "Him and Harrison, those two guys are getting a lot of reps in there, and it's good learning for them."
Wilfley -- at 6-foot-5, 255 pounds -- is more of a true tight end, while Espitia is more in the mold of Hagan as a versatile H-back at 6-foot-2, 220 pounds.
"Maximo is really a very good athlete," Tedford said. "He really fits in that position really well. He's very smart. I'm really pleased at the way he has absorbed the offense, so that's been great. Same with Harrison. He's absorbed it really well, mentally. He's a very tough kid. He's taken a lot of reps. He's a guy who's going to be in the rotation this year."
Wilfley has been impressive particularly because he took two years off from organized football to attend to his Mormon mission.
"He's getting better every day," Tedford said. "He had some rust on him a little bit early catching the ball, but he's doing a good job."
Let's hope these guys carry the proud tradition of past Tedford tight ends such as Craig Stevens and Cam Morrah.
Calympics
Football
- The Pac-12 Networks will show 850 live games this season, with football (35) and men's basketball (143) accounting for only a small portion of the total content. Bay Area residents should be able to find the Pac-12 Network channel number here.
- After the second of Monday's two practices, Tedford speaks about how the depth chart is coming together.
Basketball
- Jorge Gutierrez is in Serbia to try out for Partizan.
- Cal is fourth in CBS' preseason Pac-12 power rankings.
- The men's team is holding its first ever select-a-seat event at Haas on August 22nd. Season ticket holders can see which seats are available for upgrade.
- For the 10th consecutive year the Bears are ranked in the preseason poll (17th).
- CalBears.com continues to catch up with past Cal players by jersey number. With 12 days left until the start of the season, they talk to former number 12 Ashleigh Turner.