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UPDATE: McClure is out for the season, Jalil will have surgery next week, and Jefferson & Willis are out for UCLA.
Your weekly sad face #Cal injury update: Stefan McClure out of the season following surgery, Mustafa Jalil to have knee surgery next week.
— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) October 11, 2013
CB Stefan McClure of @CalFootball out for season, but no ligament damage. Not a 9-month recovery, said coach Sonny Dykes.
— Jeff Faraudo (@JeffFaraudo) October 11, 2013
LB Jalen Jefferson and CB Joel Willis of @CalFootball both to miss Saturday game at No. 11 UCLA with head injuries,
— Jeff Faraudo (@JeffFaraudo) October 11, 2013
#Cal injury list. McClure out for season. #CalFootball pic.twitter.com/9G4N9r7wZy
— Ryan Gorcey (@RGBearTerritory) October 11, 2013
Excerpt from Cal media release:
Sophomore cornerback Stefan McClure will miss the remainder of the 2013 campaign after injuring his knee during last Saturday’s game against Washington State.
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The big news at the beginning of the week was injury-related: Mustafa Jalil was declared out for the season, and Stefan McClure out for the UCLA game. Both players had knee injuries requiring surgery - with Jalil's injury dating back to last year, and McClure's occurring in the 1st quarter vs. WSU:
McClure will have knee surgery Wednesday. Jalil late this week or early next week, Dykes says. #Cal #CalFootball
— Ryan Gorcey (@RGBearTerritory) October 8, 2013
The full injury report, as of Monday, is as follows:
*Out for the season
OUT: LB Nathan Broussard* (knee), DT Austin Clark* (knee), RG Matt Cochran (ankle), DT Mustafa Jalil* (knee), CB Stefan McClure (knee), DE Brennan Scarlett (hand), SS Avery Sebastian* (Achilles), DE Sione Sina* (knee)
PROBABLE: WR Maurice Harris (shoulder), CB Kameron Jackson (ankle), LB Jalen Jefferson (head), RB Khalfani Muhammad (head), Joel Willis (head)
At Tuesday's game-week press conference, Coach Sonny Dykes mentioned that Brennan Scarlett will likely redshirt, and also commented on injuries overall:
Dykes said he expects Scarlett to redshirt
— Hunter Hewitt (@HunterHewitt) October 8, 2013
Dykes says not a lot of conclusions to draw from injuries because they're not related to conditioning type stuff when you go through them.
— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) October 8, 2013
After Wednesday's practice, Coach Dykes was asked to provide an injury update:
Stefan McClure had his knee surgery today, Jalen Jefferson and Joel Willis did not practice again. Official injury report tomorrow
— Hunter Hewitt (@HunterHewitt) October 10, 2013
I've had a few questions about the lack of action for Todd Barr. Dykes said he had a bit of a groin injury & is slowly getting into the mix
— Hunter Hewitt (@HunterHewitt) October 10, 2013
Sonny also noted that Cal will fly to LA on Friday morning:
No big updates from Dykes post practice. Team will fly down to LA on Friday morning to get some extra time there and beat traffic
— Hunter Hewitt (@HunterHewitt) October 10, 2013
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In depth chart news, true freshman Khalfani Muhammad is listed as the starter at RB:
Muhammad and Lasco, listed 1 and 2 on this week's depth chart, seeing a majority of the work at running back so far this week
— Hunter Hewitt (@HunterHewitt) October 9, 2013
Daniel Lasco is the backup, and Brendan Bigelow is listed on the 3rd team:
Muhammad was listed with the first offense on the Bears’ latest depth chart and got first-team reps during practice Tuesday. Brendan Bigelow, who has lost four fumbles this season, is listed as the third-team running back.
Kam Jackson and Adrian Lee are slated to start at CB on Saturday, while there is some minor shuffling at WR:
Maurice Harris (shoulder) has practiced two days in a row and is working with the second team at the X-receiver position. Kenny Lawler and James Grisom split reps at the Z, and Harper remained in the slot.
Kam Jackson saw increased reps Tuesday and said he is feeling much better. He and Adrian Lee are listed as the starting cornerbacks in the latest depth chart.
In addition to Lee, there might be another new starter on defense - Lucas King at SLB, if Jalen Jefferson is unable to play on Saturday:
With Stefan McClure (knee) likely out for the season and Jalen Jefferson (head) questionable Saturday, two players will need to step up to fill the void on Cal’s defense. At cornerback, Adrian Lee is expected to start in place of McClure.
Jefferson’s status remains uncertain, but King said he is preparing as if he is the starter. He has taken all the first-team reps this week at strongside linebacker. Like Lee, King could be making his first collegiate start this weekend.
And to address the increasing lack of depth in the secondary, the coaching staff has moved sophomore receiver Maximo Espitia to safety:
Receiver Maximo Espitia is being given a shot at safety in an attempt to address the Bears' depth issues there. Dykes doesn't expect the sophomore to make an impact soon at his new position.
#Cal practiced Maximo Espitia at safety today.
— Ryan Gorcey (@RGBearTerritory) October 8, 2013
Bryce Treggs and Chris Harper continued to take some practice reps at CB this week, but don't expect them to play extensively:
Dykes on WRs at corner: "I think receivers at corner, let them play some man depending on some situations." Mentions 3rd-and-long.
— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) October 8, 2013
Treggs also said at Tuesday's presser that the team remains confident and sees Saturday's game as an opportunity:
Bryce: "We're going in with confidence despite our record." #Cal
— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) October 8, 2013
Bryce: "We see this as an opportunity to really turn things around." #Cal
— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) October 8, 2013