BearTalk

Jeff Tedford moved practice to Monte Vista High School in Danville today in an effort to find sunshine. He found it.

It was a bright, warm day in Danville, as the Bears held their second and last practice completely open to the media. It provided some revelations, but in other ways the revelations were limited because of the amount of injuries piling up right now.

Tedford apparently got fed up with the weather in Berkeley last night after another chilly evening practice at Memorial Stadium. The unseasonably cool summer has resulted in some downright cold evenings for training camp, and Tedford wanted to see how his team practiced in the heat. He also thinks the cold weather is the reason for several hamstring issues the team is having, and the warm weather could help in that area as well.

Although it wasn’t scorching, it was still warm this afternoon. The Bears put in some good work for 2 1/2 hours, much of it drillwork with a couple of team sessions worked in.

There were at least 10 players wearing red jerseys, meaning they were completely out of practice. New players to add to that list are wide receiver Michael Calvin (groin) and defensive end Cameron Jordan (bruised shoulder). Although Tedford said Jordan’s injury shouldn’t keep him out very long, he wasn’t so sure about Calvin.

It has been one injury after another for Calvin during his career at Cal. After excelling on the scout team in 2007, he started 2008 with big expectations but was limited by a sprained toe. Then he tore his ACL in practice and was lost for the season. He had knee scoped  before last season and never made a dent in the depth chart. He also battled a groin problem last spring.

 ”It’s just the same story every time,” Tedford said, clearly frustrated with Calvin’s plight.

Meanwhile, tailback Shane Vereen spent time running around the track during practice and said he is only a couple days away from returning. Although Vereen is an accomplished enough player that he may not need as much camp as some others, he said he wouldn’t feel comfortable playing in a game unless he had a full week of practice first.

Among others wearing red jerseys today were WR Alex Lagemann (hamstring), FB Will Kapp (concussion), TE Spencer Ladner (back), LG Matt Summers-Gavin (bruised knee), NT Derrick Hill (knee) and S Sean Cattouse (hamstring).

One thing that struck me from watching practice today is how many newcomers are getting signifcant reps. Part of that is because of the injuries, but also because there are players that the coaching staff feels can help immediately. Indeed, Tedford said after practice that “we’ll play more young guys this year than we ever have.”

Tedford had previously said that new receivers Keenan Allen, Kaelin Clay, Tevin Carter and Coleman Edmond will all be in the rotation this season. Today, he added that linebacker Dave Wilkerson and tight end Jacob Wark will also play this year. He also said that linebacker Nick Forbes “most likely” will play and that defensive end Gabe King still has a chance.

Wilkerson was in a yellow jersey today with the hand injury that has bothered him the past few days.

For perspective, in recent years Cal has had only two or three true freshman play in any given season. It looks like this year the Bears could be pushing double-digits.

And now on to some highlights from today’s session:

• In the first 11-on-11 session, safety D.J. Campbell reached in to break up a pass intended for tight end Jarrett Sparks.
• On third down, quarterback Kevin Riley completed a medium pass to Edmond.
• Keith Browner batted down a screen pass at the line of scrimmage.
• Riley completed a long pass to Jeremy Ross, who beat Marc Anthony
• WR Tevin Carter had a catchable pass go right through his hands.
• Freshman safety Michael Coley made a good, instinctual play to break up a pass intended for Clay.
• During 7-on-7s, Marvin Jones made a nice catch over the middle despite being blanketed by Anthony.
• During special teams drills, Ross took the first team punts, Isi Sofele the second and Emond the third.
• Third-string kicker David Seawright kicked for the scout team on kick return and drilled three straight kicks into the end zone.
• During red zone 11-on-11s, Allen caught a quick out from Riley and then made a nice move to make Josh Hill miss in space.
• The offensive line provided solid protection, allowing Riley to find Sparks wide  open for a short touchdown pass.
• Clay caught a short pass from backup quarterback Beau Sweeney over thhe middle, then broke a tackle attempt from safety C.J. Moncrease and raced to the right corner of the end zone for a touchdown.