A quick run-down of Day 3's developments [and, as always, not intended to be-all-end-all recap of everything that occurred]:
Quarterbacks:
On Monday, Jared Goff took most of the reps, and seemed to have the strongest performance out of the Klindergoff trio.
On Tuesday, it was Zach Kline's turn, and he too, had the best performance.
Given that pattern, everything suggested that on Wednesday, Austin Hinder would shine.
But, as any avid follower of the Klindergoff saga knows by now, very little goes according to expectation - and in his turns with the offense, Hinder did not perform particularly well, committing several turnovers on the day. One of these - an interception to Jalen Jefferson - opened up practice. Another came when Hinder fumbled a clean snap, and exacerbated the problem by running backwards in an attempt to regain lost yardage. He was not without his moments, but the turnover total - higher than Kline's, and exponentially higher than Goff's zero - put a huge damper on his Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Jared Goff looked smooth and collected, a nice bounce back from yesterday's struggles. The true freshman created one of Wednesday's highlights when he threw a beautiful fade into the end zone, which Chris Harper managed to snag falling out of bounds. This throw was part of a strong 7-on-7 period from Goff, who also managed touchdowns to Stephen Anderson and Jackson Bouza, as well. He even had the presence of mind to scramble for 15 yards on a broken play during the full 11-on-11 period.
All of this drew praise from Coach Dykes, who said he thought that "today, probably, was Jared's best day."
"I thought he looked a little more comfortable today than he did either of the other two days," Dykes added.
Zach Kline's performance on Wednesday was a clear step back from the day before, and his familiar problems managed to rear their head yet again - throughout the day, Kline threw several passes into tight coverage that were either batted away, or nearly picked off entirely.
Still, with Goff's performance today - and a solid effort Monday, Dykes stopped short of saying there was a leader.
"I don't know that there's been that kind of separation just yet. It's still probably a little early. We'll start to see one of those guys get a little bit more settled, a little more confident."
Notes and Observations:
- There was not much to report in the way of depth chart news, but that should continue to develop over the weekend, and heading into the team's first scrimmage on Monday. The freshmen who may contribute this fall - whoever they may be - will begin sneaking up the depth charts around that time.
- And more on Monday - expect that to be a key date in the Klindergoff Saga, as it will mark day 7 of fall camp.Considering the fact that Coach Dykes wants a quarterback named by day 10 or 12 at the latest, it is fairly clear that that scrimmage will be a major data point in deciding who the starter is. If one of the Klindergoff trio manages to play well - or conversely, not play well - the pecking order could become a lot clearer.
- Coach Dykes gave an update on Alex Logan's health, explaining why the senior safety had not seen the field at camp yet: "He's got...a small fracture in his foot that he got at the end of summer." Logan is healthy enough to practice, Dykes said, but the team was taking it slow with him. Logan's health will be re-assessed next week.
- Bill Tyndall (ankle) and Brennan Scarlett (knee/hand) are both in similar situations as Logan. Both will be re-evaluated soon.
- J.D. Hinnant is not expected to fully participate for a while, as he continues to recover from the injuries suffered in his car accident - Coach Dykes said the freshman center "could spend most of the fall in a red jersey."
- In more positive injury news, Freddie Tagaloa was back, and showed no ill effects from the rolled ankle he suffered Tuesday. The massive behemoth of a left tackle won a good number of match-ups during drills, stonewalling Ted Agu and Dan Camporeale, and battling a hard-charging Chris McCain to a near-draw.
- Steven Moore has caught the eye of the staff working at left tackle - so much so that Coach Dykes expressed interest in letting him try out at the currently vacant right tackle slot. Moore seemed to do well in the day's pass-rushing drills too, at one point fending off both Marcus Manley and Kyle Kragen on successive plays.
- Jacobi Hunter was spotted taking some reps with the 2nd team today.
- Commenting on another candidate at right tackle, Coach Dykes said that Christian Okafor has "done some good things", and believes the redshirt freshman could "potentially be pretty dang good", but thus far has been "a little inconsistent", and is "probably thinking a little too much".
- Jalen Jefferson - who opened practice with the aforementioned interception of Hinder - drew rave reviews from Sonny Dykes for his play, which has been "fast".
- The number of fights that have been breaking out - there were two or three on Wednesday - is not a major concern for Coach Dykes or the staff just yet, as it indicates that guys care enough to fight.
- The defensive backs made a good number of plays on Wednesday, recording more interceptions than they had on Monday and Tuesday combined, but there were also a fair amount of busted coverages and wide open receivers, too. Bryce Treggs was a beneficiary of several of those. All defensive backs not named Stefan McClure or Kam Jackson continue to be a work in progress, although this group - specifically Ikem Okwudiafor, Damariay Drew and Cedric Dozier - was largely responsible for forcing the day's turnovers.
- Kenny Lawler, who hadbeen relatively quiet after a strong start to spring practice, found himself on the receiving end of a touchdown pass for the second consecutive day, and perhaps more impressively, both those touchdown passes have come against Stefan McClure. To his credit, McClure responded by breaking up the very next pass thrown at the redshirt freshman.
- The Fresno Flash showed his first signs of life at Wednesday's practice on two different plays. The first, which happened in 11-on-11s, consisted of Bigelow taking in a little screen on the right side from Austin Hinder, and then simply breezing into the end zone past Damariay Drew and other defenders. In the second, he snuck behind Hardy Nickerson during a 7-on-7 session for a touchdown pass.
- Expect bonus coverage from CGB starting this weekend, as we'll be talking to individual players and running those interviews separately from these practice reports. We want your input, though! Who would you like to see us talk to? [There are no promises that we'll get all your requests, but I can promise you that your requests will be considered.]
Jared Goff 1, trash can 0... https://t.co/ggsXiDCPeG #Cal @JaredGoff16
— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) August 8, 2013