Cal Football: OC Beau Baldwin Talks Incoming QBs, Cal Poly Job, Etc.

Bears offfensive coordinator covers a lot of ground

Cal offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin met the media for the first time sine being hired as Cal Poly's head coach, and he covered a lot of ground, including an assessment of an incoming quarterback.

Baldwin will remain the Bears' offensive coordinator through the Dec. 30 Redbox Bowl, then will assume full-time work at Cal Poly.

He noted that hiring Cal running backs coach Nick Edwards as his offensive coordinator at Cal Poly "was a no-brainer." He also discussed the challenge of changing the offensive system at Cal Poly, which ran a triple-option attack this year.

But the most interesting discussion revolved around incoming quarterbak Zach Johnson, who signed with Cal on on Wednesday as part of the Bears' 2020 recruiting class.

Jaden Casey was the higher rated of the two quarterbacks Cal signed, but Baldwin said he was impressed with Johnson when he saw him work out.

"Just the way the ball came out of his hand, the accuracy, the timing, the anticipation -- all those things jumped out at me," Baldwin said. "And then I started watching him [throw] hash to sideline. And I felt there isn't any routes in our tree he can't throw.

"The only reason I felt he was under-recruited, maybe he just didn't have some of that juice early as a young player, and sometime it takes that early [performance] to get on pople's radar. And sometimes people get caught up at times in size, and I don't with him. I don't think that's going to be a factor with him."

Johnson is listed at 6-foot-1, 195 pounds.