Cal Football: Sam Jackson V Wins No. 1 QB Job as Bears Reveal First Depth Chart

Transfer Ben Finley and redshirt freshman Fernando Mendoza are listed as co-No. 2 behind Jackson.

Sam Jackson V has been named Cal’s starting quarterback for its season opener on Sept. 2 at North Texas.

The Bears released their first depth chart, showing Jackson, the redshirt sophomore transfer from TCU, as No. 1.

“Obviously, I’m very excited to hear I won the starting job,” Jackson said. “I really appreciate the coaches for letting me build that trust with them.”

North Carolina State transfer Ben Finley and redshirt freshman Fernando Mendoza are separated by “or,” indicating they are co-backups. Coach Justin Wilcox said no decision has been made about the No. 2 quarterback.

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“It was an intense battle the last month. I think all three of those guys we feel confident with and all three of them improved,” Wilcox told reporters. “Sam really took a step forward in the last two weeks, just his command of the offense, the decision-making, threw the ball accurately and he can do some unique things because of his athleticism.

“We have confidence in all those guys but Sam has earned the right to start and we’re excited to watch him grow with this opportunity.”

As recently as last weekend there was some suggestion the Bears might play two quarterbacks in the opener. That’s not the plan, Wilcox said.

“Sam’s the starter and we want to get him out there and get him into a rhythm.”

Jackson came out of spring ball as the presumed starter, but Finley arrived on campus this summer and Mendoza showed a significant leap as fall camp got started. All three quarterbacks battled through fall camp, the fortunes of each seemingly rising and falling by the day.

“This quarterback competition was one of the closest ones I’ve been involved in,” said first-year offensive coordinator Jake Spavital. “I really thought the last 10 practices, roughly, I saw a light kind of click for him. I thought he did a really good job of moving the ball.”

Jackson said he started fall camp poorly and went to Spavital to find out exactly what he needed to do to win the job.

The message was that he didn’t have to try to hit a home run on every play. Stay in the pocket, go through your progressions and make the best play.

“They just told me they wanted me to play quarterback,” Jackson said. “Sometimes I was trying to make a play every play. That was kind of how it was coming up through high school.

“That was the biggest jump I’ve made. Honestly, I was pretty uncomfortable at the beginning because I’ve really never done it. My high school films show me just scrambling around. I was just playing backyard football in high school. There were some growing pains with it but it’s helped me feel more confident.”

Jackson said he now feel more decisive, more consistent.

“What really separated Sam was he ended up getting into the end zone probably like 15 more times than the other guys,” Spavital said.

The 5-foot-11, 195-pound native of Chicago threw just six passes in two seasons at TCU, completing all of them. He saw no action as the Horned Frogs’ third-string quarterback in their national championship game loss to Georgia.

There were very few other surprises on the first depth chart.

The logjam at wide receiver is reflected with walk-on Trond Grizzell and transfers Brian Hightower and Taj Davis all sharing the No. 1 spot at the “Z” position.

Defensively, redshirt sophomore Kaleb Elarms-Orr got the nod at inside linebacker over transfer Sergio Allen, alongside All-Pac-12 senior Jackson Sirmon.

The secondary features three transfers among five starters, with San Diego State’s Patrick McMorris at safety, UNLV’s Nohl Williams at cornerback and Citrus JC arrival Matthew Littlejohn at nickel.

Cover photo of quarterback Sam Jackson V 

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo