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Cal football: Spring practice preview — secondary
By Jonathan Okanes
Monday, March 9th, 2009 at 8:35 pm in off-season stuff.
RETURNING STARTERS: Cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson, cornerback Darian Hagan, safety Marcus Ezeff, safety Brett Johnson.
WHO TO WATCH OUT FOR: Cornerback Marc Anthony
POSSIBLE SURPRISE: Safety D.J. Campbell
THE BREAKDOWN: Despite the fact that all four starters return, defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said the secondary will be the most competitive during spring practice. Syd’Quan Thompson and Darian Hagan developed into one of the best cornerback tandems around last season. But while Thompson was an All-Pac-10 first team pick and may be the best corner in the Pac-10 next season, Gregory implied Hagan could be pushed by others this spring.
There’s no question Hagan showed monumental strides and had a very good season. But Gregory, who has been on Hagan to fulfill his significant potential since he arrived at Cal with huge expecatations, still believes he can be even better.
“I think Darian made progress last year,” Gregory said. “He clearly got better. I still think he can get a lot better. Young guys push everybody. It’s a healthy thing.”
Gregory really likes corners Marc Anthony and Josh Hill, who will each be redshirt freshman next season. You can bet Gregory will be watching both players closely this spring to see if they are ready to push Hagan for playing time.
Other than a couple of linebacker spots, there doesn’t figure to be too many position battles on defense this fall. But there is one safety spot that should provide a good battle between Brett Johnson and Sean Cattouse. Johnson emerged as a starter last season, replacing the NFL-bound Thomas DeCoud, but suffered a shoulder injury late in the season against Oregon State. That opened the door for Cattouse, who had been making an impact in a reserve role.
Cattouse started the Emerald Bowl, but Gregory said Johnson still enters the spring as the starter. He said although Cattouse deserved the start based on his performance, Johnson wasn’t totally back to full strength. That being said, Johnson actually got more snaps than Cattouse in the game.
One player to watch could be safety D.J. Campbell, who showed his athleticism on special teams last season.
“He’s one of the guys spring will be really good for,” Gregory said. “He’s still developing.”
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March 9th, 2009 at 9:04 pm
JO,
Any news on the elusive Great White Defensive Back, Chris Conte? He’s had some really good flashes the last two years and made some nice plays on the ball in the Emerald Bowl. He would’ve had two easy picks if he wasn’t wearing that wrist cast which covered his entire hand.
A lot of people think his real future is at safety, but he definitely provided quality depth for our CBs last year.
March 10th, 2009 at 4:52 am
Jo, wonderful I was wondering with another season with the 3-4 under our belt and I remember coach Gregory went to Dick Lebeau(Steelers) to learn the scheme last year do u think he’ll (Gregory) start using his safties more like Palamalu (Blitzing)
March 10th, 2009 at 7:54 am
Locamotion Says:
March 10th, 2009 at 4:52 am
…do u think he’ll (Gregory) start using his safties more like Palamalu (Blitzing)>>>>> Fight On Troy.
March 10th, 2009 at 8:35 am
FROM TED MILLER, ESPN PAC 10 WRITER.
No doubt USC coach Pete Carroll is a complicated man.
Few question his commitment to helping people in the Los Angeles area. And to those few who do, this is a big cup of hush.
But Pete is a competitive son of a gun in all things and certainly doesn’t like it when things don’t go his way.
And now we have this from touted prep tight end Orson Charles, a Tampa product who chose Georgia over USC and Tennessee last Friday.
Charles was asked how Carroll reacted when told he’d come in second:
“He was mad,” Charles said. “He just thought I would have a better chance of playing on a winning team and for a national championship if I signed with USC. He also was upset that he went to a lot of trouble with [heralded quarterback prospect Matt Barkley] to get the No. 7 jersey. [Carroll] kept me on the phone for awhile.”
THIS IS EXACTLY WHY USC WINS CHAMPIONSHIPS!!!! READ IT AND WEEP.
March 10th, 2009 at 9:03 am
Bunch of Trojenz p’u$c.
March 10th, 2009 at 10:23 am
I also heard that Pete Carroll wasn’t too happy when you showed up late to clean up his dog doo doo last weekend, moron.
March 10th, 2009 at 11:52 am
Will, Amy spends her days in a straight jacket except for occasional janitor duties, when she is heavily sedated. This explains her random thoughts at 5 am. Need evidence? She can’t even make Cal games, so why do you think she’d go to Carroll’s house?
On another matter, I actually find it amazing she types with a pencil in her mouth during the other parts of the day.
March 10th, 2009 at 1:58 pm
From CGB, interview with a dance team member:
Did you ever have any negative experiences with a lecherous fan?
Too many. However, the worst was at the 2004 U$C game, which was in LA. We were dancing and their fans were the absolute worst. They were saying things like “I’ve seen better legs on a flamingo” and stupid crap like that. I mean, who says that? I think they also threw one of their cups at us, but luckily they had bad aim. The end of this game was the worst because we had lost and all their fans were telling us to go home and to stop dancing. It’s difficult to keep smiling and dancing when all I wanted to do was bitch them out and flip them off.
$C fans…the epitome of a class act. I bet moron would have been front and center if he could actually afford tix.
March 11th, 2009 at 11:08 am
I just wanted to publicly comment on the irony of the “MoreNCsAreComing” handle. Amy has been trolling Cal boards for years, but in all that time, no more NC’s have come to the Trojans. I think we can all agree one isn’t likely for them this year, so he’ll have been spouting off his useless garbage for 5 years and we’ve all been laughing at him the whole time.