Cal Dealing With a QB Catch-22 With Sam Jackson V and Ben Finley

Bears’ quarterbacks need playing time to get better, but they need to get better to get playing time.

The Catch-22 of inexperience at the quarterback position is crippling Cal.

Only playing time in a game can smooth out the rough edges and turn a quarterback into a polished performer.

But a player is not granted that needed playing time if he is not performing well enough in games.

Both Sam Jackson V and Ben Finley know game experience is the key, since neither has much of it, but neither is complaining about his situation, which involves not knowing which one will be the Bears’ starting quarterback from week to week.

“Neither one of has been that consistent,” Jackson said this week. “I see why we’re going through what we’re going through.”

Each has started two games this season and they have split the playing time fairly evenly. So instead of one player having four games of experience and going through the highs and lows of playing quarterback at the Power 5 level, each has just two games of experience.

“It’s the life of a quarterback,” Finley said, “You just have to be ready for what’s thrown at you.”

Neither quarterback has been consistently effective, and Justin Wilcox has not announced who will be Cal’s starting quarterback against Arizona State on Saturday. The best guess is that it will be Jackson, who played better than Finley in the 59-32 loss to Washington, even though Jackson’s playing time came in the second half after the outcome had been decided, when assessments are less meaningful.

Neither has played every offensive play in any of Cal’s four games, so it’s very possible that both will get into Saturday’s game. It’s even possible that Cal will game plan to play both during the game. Everything is on the table, and when everything is on the table, game experience suffers and only playing in a game can solve Cal’s quarterback shortcomings.

Each quarterback can name his biggest shortcoming without hesitation.

“Right now, especially after Washington, it’s pocket presence. It’s been horrible,” said Finley, who threw three first-half interceptions against the Huskies to take Cal out of the game. “It’s something you can’t replicate in practice. You can’t replicate it in a drill. The only way you can do it is [game] reps. I’ve got to get better at that over time. It’s caused me to force throws downfield when, honestly, I should be hitting a back or maybe even taking a sack. At this point taking a sack is better than throwing an interception.”

Jackson pinpoints his biggest problem immediately.

“Decision-making; that’s it,” he said.

And how is that corrected?

“Each week [in practice] you try to simulate the game, but nothing is like the game,” Jackson said.

All he can do, he says, is keep his head up and keep working, knowing there is more he could do to help Cal win games.

“Once you start to feel sorry for yourself, then you start complaining,” he said, “and [then] once you get the opportunity you’re not able to take advantage of it.”

He said he’s got to get to a point where he trusts his decision-making.

“That’s what comes from being able to get those reps in a game,” he said, “because you can simulate anything throughout practice, but it’ll never be like a game. If you’re not getting those reps in a game, it’s going to be pretty hard to trust it. I think that’s what I need.”

Obviously Jackson and Finley both can’t get the needed playing time, and complicating the issue is that the Cal quarterback who has replaced the starter has played better than the starter in each game this season.

Wilcox and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital may need to pick one quarterback and get on with what may be a painful process in 2023 before moving to the ACC next year.

Cover photo of Ben Finley

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