Cal Football Video: Beau Baldwin Pleased, Not Surprised by Devon Modster's Big Game
Imagine being Devon Modster right now.
He's coming off his best performance as a Cal quarterback: Completed 18 of 24 attempts for 230 yards with three touchdowns and no interceptions. Plus he ran for a touchdown as the Bears beat Washington State 33-20.
It was the Bears' best offensive performance all season, it snapped a four-game losing streak and gave hope to their bowl aspirations by providing their fifth victory.
And yet, Modster is not a sure thing to start in the Bears' next game, Saturday at home against USC.
In fact, he's probably not going to get the call because redshirt sophomore Chase Garbers -- the starter when the season began -- has been cleared to play after missing the past four-plus games with an undisclosed upper-body injury.
In any case, Cal offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin is feeling pretty good these days.
Three weeks ago, Garbers and Modster both were hurt and unavailable and there was little alternative but to start true freshman Spencer Brasch when the Bears visited Utah.
Cal's 35-0 loss to the Utes certainly wasn't all Brasch's fault -- far from it -- but he did little to stop the avalanche.
Now both Garbers and Modster are up and ready to go, and Baldwin talked after practice on Tuesday about Modster's performance against the Cougars.
Baldwin said he wasn't surprised, that even though Modster missed the previous game his strong showing was a matter of finally having some reps in the Cal system under his belt.
Obviously, it also helped that center Mike Saffell was back, guard Valentino Daltoso was feeling better after struggling for weeks with an ankle injury and wideout Kekoa Crawford returned after missing four games with an injury.
But the quarterback position must function well for football teams to win these days, and Modster was at his best. His best so far, anyway.
We'll find out later this week whether it was enough to earn him a shot at USC on Saturday night.
