Cal Football: Justin Wilcox Sees Offensive Progress in Second Fall Camp Scrimmage

Four quarterbacks saw action, offensive line was shuffled, kicking game was sharp

Coach Justin Wilcox saw what he wanted during Cal’s second fall camp scrimmage on Saturday: Progress.

“We’ve definitely improved, which we would expect with another week of practice and more reps,” Wilcox said. “I thought the guys came out and competed hard. Overall, really pleased with their energy today.”

The Bears began with the offense operating in the red zone, and they scored touchdowns on all six possessions.

“Really nice job by the offense starting the scrimmage,” Wilcox said. “Really had some nice drives throughout.”

The Bears ran close to 100 plays and moved the ball much more efficiently than a week ago. 

“I think we scored every time we were on the field in the red zone, all groups of offense,” senior quarterback Chase Garbers said. “We carried one what we’ve been doing in practice and kind of put it together today.”

Garbers saw plenty of snaps with the first offense and was 13 for 23 for 155 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. He threw a 19-yard TD to Nikko Remigio, a 1-yarder to tight end Gavin Reinwald and a 5-yarder to Monroe Young, who made a nice diving grab on a low ball. Garbers also made a 39-yard connection to Trevon Clark.

Senior transfer Ryan Glover, who began practicing this week, was the second quarterback on the field. He finished 4 for 11 for 36 yards with a touchdown (13 yards to wide receiver Mason Mangum) and no interceptions.

*** Here's more on Glover's performance Saturday.

Freshman Kai Millner was 6 for 12 for 101 yards with TDs of 16 yards to wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter and 1 yard to freshman tight end Keleki Latu. He had the longest pass completion of the day — 57 yards to Tommy Christakos — but also was picked off by cornerback Tyson McWilliams in the end zone.

Sophomore Zach Johnson, who emerged from spring ball as the Bears’ No. 2 quarterback, saw more limited action and was 3 for 3 for 22 yards, without a touchdown or interception.

Junior walk-on Robby Rowell, who got playing time at the end of last week’s scrimmage, got no snaps in this one.

Wilcox talks more about the offense in the video below, including concerns about penalties by the offense being “a major factor” in the scrimmage.

Overall, Wilcox was generally encouraged by not just the offense, but progress made by the entire team.

“I think we’ve made strides. And we need to. It would not be good if we were up here talking about how it looked the same as last week,” he said. "We just need practice. There’s a lot of guys who are continuing to develop.

"They’re taking their craft seriously and they’ve invested in our team and we’re improving because of that.”

CINDRIC AT CENTER: Since starter Michael Saffell retired due to medical reasons just before the start of camp, redshirt sophomore Brian Driscoll got most of the early reps at the No. 1 center.

Junior Matthew Cindric was rotated into the spot on Saturday and saw extensive time with the starters. Cindric, who was projected as the starting left guard, started two games at center in 2019 when Saffell was injured.

Cindric, in the video below, said he is comfortable at both spots and explained how he sees the O-line coming together.

“They’re both really good centers,” Garbers said of Cindric and Driscoll. “I’ve worked with both of them . . . we’re just happy that we have two guys we can use at center.”

Cal’s five linemen who opened with the first offense Saturday were: RT Valentino Daltoso, RG McKade Mettauer, C Cindric, LG Ben Coleman and LT Brayden Rohme.

Here’s Wilcox on the center position and his thoughts on the offensive line overall:

PERFECT ON FIELD GOALS: Cal’s kickers were 8-for-8 on field goal attempts, all of the between 40 and 45 yards. Starter Dario Longetto was 5-for-5 (40, 42, 42, 43, 45 yards) and backup Nick Lopez was 3-for-3 (40, 42, 45).

“We were better than a week ago, we could all see that,” Wilcox said, referring to the snap, hold, protection time and the kick.

Longhetto’s kicks last year were occasionally low, and Wilcox said the goal is to have the ball elevated to 10 1/2 to 11 feet by the time it gets to the line of scrimmage, presumable out of reach of defenders trying to block the kick.

INJURY UPDATE: Cal played without an assortment of key players, presumed to be sidelined by injury. But Wilcox said there is nothing new to report on the status of those players.

Missing from action Saturday were offensive tackle Will Craig, safety Craig Woodson, defensive lineman Ricky Correia and wide receiver Kekoa Crawford. Most of them have been on the shelf for two weeks or longer.

“There’s nothing to announce in terms of the season-ending injury list, yet. If there is, we’ll do it when it’s appropriate,” said Wilcox, whose policy is to not provide injury updates on players aside from those who are deemed out for the year. “It’s a daily check-in with them and the trainers. We hope to have those guys as soon as possible.”

Cal did get back two players who had missed time due to injury: inside linebacker Mo Iosefa and wide receiver Christakos both played in the scrimmage.

Cover photo of Cal coach Justin Wilcox

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