Cal Football 2015 Spring Practice: March 18 Report

Practice. Practice? We talkin' bout practice?
Yes. Yes, as a matter of fact we are. Practice Number 5 to be exact.

Here is the recap of what happened on Wednesday at Kabam Field.

Special Teams Practice:

• Oh man. Guys are going at it now. Practicing both, shedding blocks to make tackles and making blocks to stop those tackles. Coach Tommerdahl is making sure that we don't give up any long returns this year. But more than that, the defense gets more chances to work on open field tackling with a live blocker in front.
• Devante Downs is a man on a mission. He will not stop moving and trying to get to whoever he needs to tackle. In this case, a inflated pylon.
• Best part of this segment? Arthur Wainwright tried to rush his blocker, leading to a HUGE hit. I mean, the sound echoed through Memorial and everyone took notice.
• Punting and Kicking were huge parts of today's practice. Blocking up front for these plays was the emphasis today. Punters kicked from around the 35 yard line, and on averaged returners were catching them around the 18 yard line. Punters were also working on both normal kicks and also rugby style kicks.
• QBs ran the happy feet drill, and also practiced their touch via the trash can toss. Cool Fact: Jared Goff, Luke Rubenzer, Chase Forrest, and Cole Webb all made one each today.

Positional Drills:

• The Lines went at each other in 1-on-1 drills today. And the highlight from that was Aaron Cochran pushing Noah Westerfield back 5 yards or so. Cochran just drove his legs and would not give up, he looked like he was in bulldozer mode.
• Luke Rubenzer looks increasingly comfortable in his role as safety. Coach Dykes did say after practice that, he has a slight shoulder injury and would be wearing a red no-contact jersey for the remainder of spring camp as a precaution. Slightly disappointed, because that means we wont be able to see Rubenzer take hits or give hits.
• Ross Bowers had another accurate throwing day, but he still does not have the power on the 20+yard throws. He gets it to where the WRs are but if it were a game they look pretty easy to be picked off.
• Once again, the center battle is going to be a long one. Addison Ooms once again had a great day, and with this competition, both players will be getting better in order to make the starting line up.
• Wide Receivers worked with Quarter Backs on simple route running and catching. Jared Goff made some great touch throws, one of which was a fade right caught over the shoulder by Maurice Harris. Chad Hansen also had some great catches, particularly on the sidelines.

1-on-1 Drills:

• WRs worked against DBs running routes with the QBs rotating in to throw. In my opinion, this is one of the highlights of practice.
• Stephen Anderson ran a great down and out route to break away from Rubenzer, securing the catch in the endzone.
• Trevor Davis had a great day catching the ball today as well, catching one over the top of Darius Allensworth ripping it from his hands. He also got hit by the defender on a fade route, yet shed the block and caught up to the ball to make a catch on the 10 yard line, after starting from the 45 yard line. His highlight reel grab happened today, when he jumped infront of Allensworth to grab a ball fully extended and to land one foot inbounds before being forced out. He showed outstanding body control and awareness to complete the catch.
• Kenny Lawler had a great cut move on Cedric Dozier today. Tottaly beat him on a down and out cut to break away.
• Jack Austin also impressed today. Although still wearing a red jersey, he made some incredible grabs along the sideline and end zone to complete the catch.
• Running Backs also worked with O-Line, D-Line, and Line Backers on the run game.
• Vic Enwere had a great day again. Exploding through the gaps, moving the pile, did everything a power back would do. Also did his Marshawn impression on one play where he turned his back on contact, and kept churning his legs to move the ball forward.

Team 7s:

• Chase Forrest passed with some zip today, throwing the ball into tight windows. He looked comfortable in the pocket and even made a mature move on one play by stepping up when he realized the pocket was collapsing.
• Team spent a lot of time in 7s because it wasn't a full pad day. Only shoulder pads were worn.
• Not much happened in 7s, lots of short completions. Linebackers showed off their coverage and closing speeds. Was most impressed by Downs and his play today.

11s:

• No touchdowns to report in 11s today, which was also a relatively short segment because the team was not in full pads.
• It was mostly the run game that was showcased today during 11s. Enwere had back to back runs of 11 and 8. Lasco had a long run of 18. Tre Watson had runs of 7 and 4, Lonny Powell had an 8 yard run.
• The highlight of 11s was Vic Enwere getting a 65-Yard TD run off the right tackle. Showed power, patience, acceleration, and vision all in that run. Afterwards had a run of 20 as well.
• Jared, of course, hits a fade for 47 yards. This time to Kenny Lawler.

Miscellaneous notes:

• 2 scuffles broke out today. One between Jordan Rigsbee and Trevor Kelly. The other between Will Barton and Vinnie Johnson.
• JC Transfer Antoine Albert was on hand, taking in practice and closely watching the secondary. Had some fun goofing around with Tartabull and Willis on the sidelines as well.
• Mike Pawlawski was also at practice today.

Ending Notes:

• DBs may look like they are being dominated by our WRs, but the fact of the matter is we aren't at full depth at those positions, especially with the incoming freshman class as well, not to mention junior transfers as well. If anything our DBs get to work with arguably the best WR corps in the PAC-12, which will help all of them come fall camp.
• The competition people are not talking about wil be for K. Cole Leininger has the P position locked up, but with 4 Kickers looking to be the starter, no one has solidified their grasp on the spot. To end the day, the kickers tried from 46 yards. Anderson, Cervenka, and Beito all missed. McInerny was the only one to make it.

Next practice will be held this Friday, it was scheduled to be a closed practice, but has now been opened up for the public. Forecasted to include full pads, PAC-12 Refs, and full hit scrimmaging. Stay Tuned to California Golden Blogs to stay up to date with Cal Spring Football!

Go Bears!