BearTalk

As I mentioned earlier, I wasn’t able to attend practice this afternoon at Laney College because of other duties. But I did get a tape of Jeff Tedford’s meeting with reporters afterward.

There was not much to report. Cal commit C.J. Anderson, who is coming to Berkeley from Laney, was on hand to watch the proceedings. For the second straight practice, Tedford singled out outside linebackers Cecil Whiteside and Chris McCain as players who caught his eye. He also another linebacker, Dave Wilkerson, flashed today.

But in the same breath, Tedford warned that it’s only been two practices and they’ve haven’t been in pads yet.

“Until you actually play football, you can’t make a determination,” Tedford said. ”

When asked about the progress so far of JC transfer Matt Williams along the offensive line, Tedford said he and Bill Tyndall have “shown some nice skill at that position. They’re athletic big guys.”

Tedford also praised new strength and conditioning coach Mike Blasquez for fostering a competitive and team-oriented environment in the weight room, something he says is carrying over to the field.

“Coach Blasquez has done a real nice job of that in the weight room, how they work together and push each other and coach each other,” Tedford said. “They’re involved in each other’s workouts. That helps on the field. If they can coach each other in the weight room, they can coach each other out here. It’s not so much coaching. It’s accepting the coaching.”

Cal will practice in full pads for the first time this spring on Saturday at Laney College. It’s the first session this spring that is open to the public.