Combined feed (RSS)
Post-practice: Wednesday
By Jonathan Okanes
Wednesday, August 6th, 2008 at 9:58 pm in Training camp.
The Bears put on shoulder pads for the first time tonight and it resulted in a spirited practice with some actual hitting going on. It will be flat-out football on Friday when the team practices in full pads for the first time, but Wednesday’s practice included some collisions and a whole lot of enthusiasm on both sides of the ball.
One of the most notable developments was that running back Jahvid Best took his first hits since suffering his hip injury last November, and didn’t appear to be negatively affected by it at all. Friday will be the real test, but Best was encouraged by Wednesday’s developments.
“I was just thinking about driving my feet. I wasn’t really focused on worrying about my hip or getting injured,” Best said. “I’m just trying to go out there and do what I do, just focusing on executing the play.”
Actually, Best did say he did have one physical problem Wednesday. He practiced with a new pair of shoes that gave him some discomfort. Turns out they weren’t the right size, so he went back to his old shoes.
Fellow tailback Shane Vereen also took some hits, and he limped off the field after getting knocked down by linebacker Zack Follett. Coach Jeff Tedford said Vereen has a lower leg bruise.
A couple of other injury reports: Safety Brett Johnson missed practice with a knee injury and defensive lineman Cody Jones sat out because of an ankle injury. Tedford didn’t say when they would return.
Also, running back Tracy Slocum and defensive backs Syd’Quan Thompson and Gary Doxy were excused early to work on homework.
The Bears continue to open practice with turnover drills, something Tedford addressed after practice today. He pointed out that they are 28-2 when they win the turnover battle in his six years at Cal and 10-18 when they lose it (12-6 when it’s even). Nobody is excused from the drills.
“When you look at the stats, it’s pretty evident that we need to win the turnover battle,” Tedford said. “Everybody needs to know how to secure footballs, how to take footballs away, how to recover footballs, how to get tipped balls. That’s what it’s about. Anybody and everybody that could ever possibly come in contact with the football is doing it.”
Slocum has a great sense of timing, because on the very first rep of practice, when the Bears were working on their hurry-up offense, he tipped a pass from Nate Longshore into the air and it was intercepted by linebacker Eddie Young.
This was by far the best day for both Longshore and Kevin Riley. Both quarterbacks looked sharp, completing a high percentage of passes on a variety of different throws.
“They were pretty sharp today,” Tedford said. “They had a lot of zing on their passes. They threw with authority and made good decisions.”
Longshore appears to have improved his mobility. He actually tucked the ball and ran on a couple of plays when he was under pressure, and eluded the rush to throw the ball away a couple of other times.
Other highlights of practice were a long run by Best where he cut laterally a few times to elude defenders. The run drew hoots and hollers from his offensive teammates. Near the end of practice, LaReylle Cunningham made a terrific leaping catch in the back corner of the end zone on a pass by Riley, once again prompting his teammates to erupt.
Speaking of the quarterback competition, Tedford said Wednesday at some point Riley will get a chance to play with the first team. He didn’t say when that would be. So far, Longshore has worked exclusively with the first unit and Riley with the second group.
[You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.]
August 6th, 2008 at 10:29 pm
Hey JO, funny and wholesome post. I just hope that Slocum doesn’t read it, today. He might not find it funny that he was the root of a joke… I thought it was quality dry humor, though. Could you tell us something about Seawright or are you saving that for a later time? I’m dying to know if he has IT? GO Bears!
August 7th, 2008 at 9:15 am
Hey J,
Have you heard much about Alex Lagemann, WR from Saratoga? I know he was injured his redshirt year with a foot issue, but I hear he’s recovered. Will he be in the WR mix?
August 7th, 2008 at 11:52 am
Hey Jonathan
We heard JT say that the QB competition was going to be wide open but Nate Longshore (when healthy) has taken snaps exclusively with the 1st team.
If the QB position was wide open then wouldn’t the 1st team snaps be 50-50 rather than 100% NL?.
August 7th, 2008 at 4:20 pm
Hey Stay Golden (AKA One who has man crush on Kevin Riley)
Read the last paragraph.
Its been only 3 days of practice. There are 3 more weeks of practice. So get a grip man. Maybe it was designed to be Longshore first week with first team and Riley second week with first time? Who knows. But there’s no need to bring this crap up every single day.
August 7th, 2008 at 5:10 pm
J.O. great updates. Thank you! Can you give some news on who is in the starting defensive backfield and how they are looking?
August 7th, 2008 at 5:44 pm
I sure hope Kevin gets a fair shot at QB. If Longshore wins the job then more power to him. I just hope he’s more mobile. I mean, you and I (and everyone else watching the game) knows where Longshore’s going to be 4 seconds after the snap: right in the middle of the pocket. If we know that then surely the defense does, and it’s one less thing for them to worry about. Knowing that Riley might (and hopefully) play is a big reason why I’m looking forward to the season.
August 7th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
J.O.-
In your column on the wide receiver corps, you mentioned that Cunningham, Young, and Ross did not come into the program as highly ranked recruits, and you seemed to imply that it was the reason they were low on the depth chart and could possibly be bypassed by the incoming freshman.
I understand that Scout and Rivals are very credible organizations and do a good job rating prospects. I’m sure college coaching staffs put a lot of credence in their rankings and employ them in their prospect evaluations along with first hand viewing at games/combine camps, highlite films, recommendations of coaches, etc. However, evaluating high school athletes is an inexact science as we all know. Highly rated prospects sometime fail or disappoint and walk-ons sometime become starters and even stars.
But more importantly in this particular instance is that the players in question are seniors and a sophomore (Jeremy Ross). They have all had at least three years in the system under Tedford. The coaching staff should have a pretty good handle on their abilities by now, so why would their high school credentials/evaluations have much, if any, validity at this point? Frankly, I was surprised you even raised the subject as it seemed a moot point at this stage in their Cal careers. This isn’t meant to be a criticism, just a rather bemused observation and question of the importance of high school credentials in regard to upperclassmen.
August 7th, 2008 at 9:41 pm
Steve in Concord Says:
August 7th, 2008 at 7:14 pm
J.O.-
However, evaluating high school athletes is an inexact science as we all know. Highly rated prospects sometime fail or disappoint and walk-ons sometime become starters and even stars.
But more importantly in this particular instance is that the players in question are seniors and a sophomore (Jeremy Ross). They have all had at least three years in the system under Tedford. The coaching staff should have a pretty good handle on their abilities by now, so why would their high school credentials/evaluations have much, if any, validity at this point? Frankly, I was surprised you even raised the subject as it seemed a moot point at this stage in their Cal careers. This isn’t meant to be a criticism, just a rather bemused observation and question of the importance of high school credentials in regard to upperclassmen.
Steve – For once I agree with you. We gave a scholarship to a young man from Sacramento who few schools wanted. His name is Tupou. Does that ring a bell? He redshirted last year but was a terror on the scout team. He should have playing time this year and then look out Pac 10. He was a 3* rated player. It is all about coaching and the desire of the player.
August 8th, 2008 at 2:19 pm
Jan, Seawright hasn’t especially stood out yet, but neither has Kay. I’m sure it’s going to take much more of camp for the coaching staff to get a feel for just how much they want to use Seawright this season.
TM, Lagemann is not in camp but is still on the team. I believe it’s still because of the foot, but I’ll find out to make sure.
Stay, Riley ran with the first team yesterday.
Hi, Robert. The starting defensive backfield has Syd’Quan Thompson and Chris Conte at cornerback, Marcus Ezeff at strong safety and Bernard Hicks at free safety. Thompson has looked pretty good during this first week.
Steve, the reason I raised the point is because they simply are unknowns. That was the whole point. All we have to go in really is their potential. And for the record, Ross and Cunningham aren’t low on the depth chart. They are both listed on the second team.