Jake Plummer, Cal Coaches Assess the Quarterback's First Game

His ability to maintain his composure and confidence after a slow start speaks to his experience and personality

It's premature to draw grand conclusions about Jack Plummer based on his first game as Cal's starting quarterback, but he and the Golden Bears coaches had some observations.

In short, they were pleased with Plummer's leadership and his ability to keep his composure despite a slow start, and how a quarterback deals with adversity may be his most important quality.  However, Plummer and the coaches suggested he was not as accurate as he usually is with some of his passes.

On Cal's first three possessions, Plummer was 0-for-2, including an interception (which was not his fault), and was sacked twice as Cal totaled minus-15 yards on those first three possessions and fell behind UC Davis 7-0

But for the rest of the first half he was 12-for-13 with two touchdown passes and no interceptions as Call took a 17-7 halftime lead.

"He played with a certain calmness out there, even when we were spinning our wheels at first," Cal offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave said.

"I thought he did a good job of playing through a poor start on offense," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. "I think he'll continue to play better."

Plummer played in 21 games with 13 starts over his final three seasons at Purdue, so he has plenty of game-day experience. He was pleased with some aspects of his performance on Saturday.

"I think I did well going forward in the pocket and stepping up and taking the hit when I needed to," he said, "but I think I could be a little more accurate."

There were a handful of passes in which a perfectly placed throw could have led to a big gain.

"He made some outstanding throws that we see every day in practice," said Musgrave. "He had a couple uncharacteristic ones where guys might still be running if he had put it on them."

"There were probably seven or eight, or he would tell you, passes in there he usually makes in his sleep," Wilcox said.

A few of the misdirected balls were short swing passes or screen passes. 

"Throws I've been able to make since I was a little kid," Plummer said.

Plummer was frustrated by those passes, but not worried. He feels confident he will make those throws in future games.

Plummer finished the game 23-for-35 for 268 yards, three touchdowns and one interception, and his 152.6 passer rating ranks sixth this week among Pac-12 quarterbacks.

"Jack got more comfortable as the game went along, which is probably to be expected," Musgrave said. "I think he'll get more and more comfortable as the season evolves as well."

We will see what his comfort level is in Saturday's home game against UNLV, then see the following week how he performs in Cal's first road game, a contest against Notre Dame.

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Cover photo of Jack Plummer by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports

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