Cal QB Devin Brown Bounces Back, Pleased With His Scrimmage Performance

An essential quality of a quarterback is the ability to bounce back from adversity, whether it be within a game from one game to the next.

Devin Brown admittedly did not play well in Cal’s previous scrimmage two weeks ago, but both he and coach Justin Wilcox were pleased with Brown’s performance in Saturday’s scrimmage.

“He probably had his best day in a scrimmage,” Wilcox said after Saturday’s workout with officials.

“I would agree,” said Brown. “I thought it was one of my better days. You know, I didn’t play well last scrimmage so it was good to get out here a throw a couple touchdowns, and play pretty well. I was very happy with my performance.”

He could not pinpoint what he did better this time; things just worked out this week.

“You know, it was just one of those days last time where nothing was going right,” he said. “We were just kind of sloppy. Today I felt we have everything down, and we knew what we were doing on offense. Much cleaner up front. Guys running clean routes, and it just made my job a lot easier.”

Wilcox lauded his ability to bounce back from his previous disappointing showing.

“He’s a very, very mature that way,” Wilcox said.

Brown was never the No. 1 quarterback at Ohio State (although he started in the Cotton Bowl following the 2023 season), but he did play in 16 games in his three years at Ohio State system. That included participationg in nine games in 2024 when Chip Kelly was the Buckeyes offensive coordinator.

His maturity is what differentiates him from the two other players competing for the starting quarterback job – redshirt freshman EJ Caminong and freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele.

When asked to name Brown’s best asset, Wilcox said this:

“The intangible part I would say maturity and his approach to the game. He’s got the physical tools. There’s no doubt about that. Big, got a strong arm, and all that. But I think it’s his approach to the game, if I said there was one thing.”

During the first two weeks of spring ball, when practices were open to the public, Brown spent most of his time working with the first-team offense.

His challenge now is to develop a comfort zone with his receivers, since he is still in the infant stages of his time in the Cal program.

“I think I just need to continue building timing with this team and with the receivers,” Brown said. “Obviously it’s a different group of guys that I’m working with, so building a relationship with them is a lot different than throwing routes against air than actually going live with them. So just building timing and a relationship with them.”

Brown is also getting used to Berkeley and Cal after spending three years at Columbus and Ohio State.

“It’s night-and-day difference,” Brown said. “I’d say the first thing is the weather. I love the weather. It’s always gray and rainy in Ohio, which sucked.

“Team-wise, I’d say the coaching is very similar . . . The talent’s there [at Cal]. We’ve got a great group of guys. I feel really confident with the guys we have.

“The university’s different. A much higher prestige of academics, that’s for sure. It’s really hard to get in the Haas Business School here. No. 1 public institution for a reason. It’s an honor actually to get my degree from here."

As far as Berkeley vs. Columbus, Ohio, Brown noted his love for the food in Berkeley.

“The food is really good here,” Brown said. “Not many options in Ohio of the food I like, but here the food is amazing, better Mexican food, that’s where I’m from, I’m from Arizona.”