I’m heading out to practice in a bit but I wanted to follow up on Thursday’s practice, in which Jeff Tedford announced afterward that Kevin Riley is the backup quarterback.

Tedford stressed this in no way means that Riley is the heir apparent to Nate Longshore, that he and Kyle Reed were extremely close in the competition and that he simply had to pick someone right now. The thing that surprises me is that if that’s the case, that he didn’t go with the older guy in Reed.

Neither quarterback has looked particularly great in camp, but each has held his own. Tedford has said that physically the two are about equal, and that the decision would be based on other things such as team management, understanding of the offense, etc. I get the feeling they are close in that regard as well, but that Riley might have a slight edge. That’s what could have put Riley over the top.

As for Reed’s future at Cal: Kyle declined to comment Thursday and I will try to talk to him when he agrees to. I know there are some people who think he might transfer. But he may be more inclined to stay if he truly believes that Riley isn’t necessarily the heir apparent to Longshore now.

It makes sense. Longshore is only a junior and a lot can happen over the next two years. Reed could outplay Riley next spring, next fall, the following spring or the following fall. Of course, Riley could continue to stay ahead of him on the depth chart as well. But Reed may still see plenty of opportunity to move up.

And then there’s this: By the time Longshore leaves, Brock Mansion will be a redshirt sophomore. Mansion has looked very good in camp as a true freshman and will only get better with time. You figure he will be a legitimate candidate to start by the time the position is open once again. It could make for some heated competition.

Of course, we’re still talking about the backup quarterback right now, and unless Longshore is injured, the decision won’t have much of an impact, especially because Tedford says the competition essentially is ongoing.

Cal fans should be happy to know that Longshore has looked very sharp in camp. I think he’s going to have a huge season.

Cal practices this morning, and the it will be Contra Costa Times Fan Appreciation Day afterward. The Bears are off Sunday and then practice Monday through Thursday in preparation for Tennessee. For those of you who have been counting down the days, you can finally say the season is only a week away!

As many of you may have noticed, due to technical problems, the blog was out of order for a few days. But we’re back up and running.

I’m sure most of you have kept up with the proceedings through the paper, but here are some more tidbits to pass along from the past few days:

–While it looks as though Brandon Hampton has won the open cornerback job, Darian Hagan has been coming on. Earlier in the week, he made a fantastic interception of a pass from Kyle Reed, blanketing LaReylle Cunningham down the left sideline before hauling it in. Defensive coordinator Bob Gregory was unhappy with Hagan’s work habits at the beginning of camp, but says Hagan has really been improving. I don’t think the coaches would be hesitant to use Hagan if Hampton stumbles.

–There was kind of a funny moment during Wednesday’s practice. The Bears were going thorugh a mock game, working on substitutions and changing packages in different situations. They even wanted to get the training staff some practice because center Alex Mack faked an injury after a pretend extra point. A trainer came on to the field and “helped” Mack to the sideline.

–The Bears started game planning for Tennessee on Wednesday. They will have eight practices to prepare for the Volunteers.

–Coach Jeff Tedford has yet to name a No. 2 quarterback, but Reed still appears to be the frontrunner. Tedford could make it public as early as tonight’s practice, but he may wait until the beginning of next week. There really is no reason for him rush. If it were the starting job, obviously that would be different.

–It looks as though Cameron Jordan is in the mix to play this season on the defensive line as a true freshman. HIs athleticism for his size (6-4, 260) is remarkable. Fellow freshman defensive lineman Ernest Owusu likely will redshirt.

There seems to be some technical problems posting comments on the blog right now, so I thought I’d respond to a couple recent comments through this entry.

Jan, regarding Cameron Morrah: He does appear to be a good pass-catching tight end, but I’ve heard his blocking could use some work. Plus, the Bears have arguably the best tight end in the Pac-10 with Craig Stevens, so Morrah is probably at least a year away from making a significant impact.

Laughing, yes, Zack Smith is the Duke transfer. He really hasn’t gotten enough reps to form an opinion.

More, I haven’t herad from Jay.

Matt, I wouldn’t read too much into the kickoff returns. It’s more of a time for the special teamers to work on their coverages, so the returner really has the advantage.

As expected, starting fullback Will Ta’ofu’ou has been diagnosed with a sprained medial collateral ligament. Coach Jeff Tedford said Ta’ofu’ou will be sidelined 3-6 weeks. Brian Holley and Zack Smith will fill in.

Cal’s first team offense only played one series during Thursday’s scrimmage, but looked sharp. On the first play from scrimmage, quarterback Nate Longshore hit DeSean Jackson with a 21-yard pass. The possession ended with a 13-yard touchdown run by Justin Forsett.

Unfortunately for the Bears, they may have lost starting fullback Will Ta’ufo’ou during the drive. Ta’ufo’ou caught a short play action pass from Longshore nad was hit hard by strong safety Bernard Hicks. Ta’ufo’ou limped off the field with a injury to his left knee.

Ta’ufo’ou was examined Friday morning. Coach Jeff Tedford didn’t have any update on the severity of the injury after Friday morning’s practice, but said it likely was an MCL. That could keep Ta’ufo’ou out for 3-4 weeks, at the very least. Tedford said Brian Holley and Zack Smith would be the leading candidates to replace him.

Tedford decided to delay his decision on the backup quarterback. Kyle Reed had a better scrimmage than Kevin Riley, but neither clearly stood out. Reed still seems to have an edge because he’s been in the program one year longer than Riley. Tedford said he would likely make a decision by the middle of next week.

While Jahvid Best has been getting a lot of attention during camp, fellow freshman running back Shane Vereen quietly has been impressing the coaching staff as well. He took several snaps with the second unit during the scrimmage, and showed some toughness by coming back in after sitting out one play after getting his bell rung, and scoring on a 1-yard touchdown run.

Junior defensive end Rulon Davis appears to making a move to challenge for a starting spot. He started the scrimmage playing with the second team but saw some action with the first unit as well. He registered a sack on Reed, although Tedford said that was a result of a missed assignment by an offensive lineman.

Redshirt freshman running back Tracey Slocum has become somewhat of a forgotten man with the Bears’ impressive stable of running backs, but he had one of the better runs of the scrimmage with an athletic cutback for 23 yards. He also had a 7-yard TD run, and a potential 20-yard scoring run was wiped out by a holding call.

Jahvid Best had an 86-yard kickoff return for a touchdown and Brandon Hampton added a 94-yarder.

Tom Schneider made field goals of 48, 40 and 38 yards and missed a 52-yarder. Backup kicker Jordan Kay missed two attempts, both from 42 yards.

Longshore looked sharp on his one possession, completing all four of his passes for 46 yards. Vereen was the Bears’ leading rusher, totalling 52 yards and one TD on nine carries.

Tedford and defensive coordinator Bob Gregory raved about true freshman cornerback Chris Conte afterward. Conte played with the first unit because Syd’Quan Thompson sat out with a minor ankle sprain. Thompson was back at practice Friday morning.

Another player who missed practice Friday was Hicks, who sustained a mild concussion during the scrimmage when he was accidentally kicked attempting to make a tackle.

The Bears typically run sprints after practice, and starting right tackle Mike Tepper stood out Friday. Tedford has been very pleased with the improvement Tepper has demonstrated during camp.

Tedford said it’s still too early to determine which freshman will play immediately and which will redshirt, but it looks as though Cal will have more true freshman see time this season than usual. Conte looks like a lock, and defensive line coach Ken Delgado has said at least one freshman likely be part of the regular playing rotation. Right now the most likely candidates are Cameron Jordan and Ernest Owusu. Best is so special it may be hard to resist the temptation to find a spot for him on the field.

A glimpse of the future from Friday’s practice had Conte breaking up a pass to freshman Michael Calvin. Calvin made a terrific play just to come close to catching the pass, and Conte made an even better play to knock it out of Calvin’s possession.

Some other highlights from Friday’s practice:
–Middle linebacker Worrell Williams used pinpoint anticipation to intercept a pass during 7-on-7 drills
–Marcus Ezeff also had an interception during two-minute drill work, and Jon Karacozoff and Greg Van Hoesen recorded a sack of Reed.
–The Bears spent some time working on changing offensive and defensive packages on the fly, practicing getting the right players on and off the field.

Just in case there was any confusion, all of Cal’s scrimmages and practices are closed to the public.

A few notes and thoughts from Tuesday and Wednesday:

–Cal coach Jeff Tedford gave his players a reward for their hard work this camp by cancelling evening practice Monday. The Bears were scheduled to have a double-day, but they practiced only in the morning. Instead, the team went to the movies and saw “Rush Hour 3.”

–Running back James Montgomery and left tackle Mike Gibson returned from injuries on Tuesday night. Freshman running back Jahvid Best had a minor case of back spasms and was held out of some action Tuesday night and Wednesday morning. Free safety Thomas DeCoud is recovered from a twinge in his hamstring.

–The Bears will hold their first of two intrasquad scrimmages Thursday, and they appear ready. The final installment of 11-on-11s near the end of Wednesday’s morning practice got a little chippy, with a few incidents of offensive and defensive players barking at each other and getting a little rough.

–Cal opened Wednesday’s practice with some work on the two-minute offense, and quarterback Nate Longshore hit tight end Craig Stevens with a long touchdown pass. Later, backup defensive end John Allen sacked backup quarterback Kyle Reed.

–This may be the best freshman class in Jeff Tedford’s time at Cal. There is quality all over the field, including a handful of guys who could be potential stars. I’ve mentioned Best a few times, but watch out for wide receiver Michael Calvin. He’s big and may have the best hands of any receiver on the team. He’ll surely redshirt this season because of the Bears’ depth at receiver, but Calvin certainly will be a player to watch down the road. He made a terrific leaping catch down the left sideline Wednesday morning, prompting a high-five from Tedford.

–Many of the starting spots are coming into focus, so Thursday’s scrimmage may be more important for determining the second team. Defensive coordinator Bob Gregory said the scrimmage will help determine such things as the backup defensive tackles and second unit cornerbacks.

–It looks as though there are six defensive lineman vying for four starting spots: Cody Jones, Tad Smith and Rulon Davis on the outside and Matt Malele, Tyson Alualu and Mike Kane on the interior.

–Of course, the biggest competition has been for the No. 2 quarterback spot between redshirt sophomore Kyle Reed and redshirt freshman Kevin Riley. They appear pretty even at this point, and it seems Reed may have the edge just because he’s been in the program a year longer.

The Bears worked out in the morning on Monday. There was nothing particularly noteworthy, although defensive end Tad Smith had his second strong practice in a row. Freshman Jahvid Best also stood out once again. On one play during 11-on-11s, he took a short pass over the middle from Nate Longshore and raced to the outside for a long gain.

Typically, the Bears run sprints after practice. They did again Monday, but this time the entire Cal coaching staff did them first. “It hurt,” Cal coach Jeff Tedford said.

Speaking of Longshore, his experiment with blue hair didn’t last long. He dyed it black a couple of days ago, in preparation for Sunday’s team photo day.

Sophomore Matt Laird ran with the first unit on the offensive line, primarily because Chet Teofilo spent the morning undergoing surgery for a dislocated thumb. Teofilo has been running with the first unit because Mike Gibson is still limited with a hamstring injury. Tedford said the offensive line is pretty much set, if everyone is healthy: LT - Gibson, LG - Brian De La Puente, C - Alex Mack, RG - Norris Malele, RT - Mike Tepper. Tedford said Tepper is having an excellent camp and is “coming into his own.”

It was a bad day for the offense and good one for the defense. The offense was plagued by fumbled snaps and botched exchanges, while the defense got a good dose of pressure on the quarterbacks throughout 11-on-11s.

Defensive end Tad Smith had a particularly impressive day. On back-to-back plays, he forced quarterback Nate Longshore into a hurry, then broke through the line quickly and jarred the ball loose from Longshore. Smith generally was in the backfield a lot when he was in there. He’s currently running with the first unit on the defensive line along with Cody Jones, Matt Malele and Tyson Alualu.

Linebacker Anthony Felder had a good practice, including a hard hit on running back Justin Forsett as he broke past the line up the middle.

Linebacker Zack Follett had the easiest of fumble recoveries, when Longshore and center Alex Mack couldn’t get together on the snap and the ball popped into the air and right into Follett’s waiting arms.

Fans might be interested to know that DeSean Jackson played the role of kick returner during special teams practice. The drill was for the kick coverage team, but it reinforces the idea that coach Jeff Tedford is going to take a look at Jackson as a kickoff returner this season.

Tedford called the race for the No. 2 quarterback job between Kyle Reed and Kevin Riley is still close. The team is holding a scrimmage Thursday, and Tedford said he will probably name the backup after that.

Tedford clearly was unhappy with the performance of the offense Sunday. “It was a very sloppy day for the offense. Missed assignments is what it is.”

On the injury front, Tedford said backup running back James Montgomery should return to practice in the next couple of days. Montgomery suffered a concussion Friday. There still is no word on when defensive lineman Derrick Hill will be ready. He hasn’t practiced yet because of back spasms.

Incoming freshman D.J. Holt hasn’t reported to camp yet because of academic requirements, according to Tedford. He’s expected to be ready by the end of camp or the beginning of the fall semester.

Redshirt freshman running back James Montgomery sat out practice after sustaining a concussion late in practice Friday. Starting free safety Thomas DeCoud practiced in only limited fashion as he nurses a twinge in his hamstring. Defensive tackle Derrick Hill continues to miss time because of back spasms.Offensive lineman Mike Gibson has missed the past few days because of a hamstring injury.