Cal QB Sam Jackson V Provides 'Birdies,' but Also Some 'Bogeys'

Using a golf analogy, Cal offensive coordinator Jake Spavital issued a clue of what to expect from new Bears quarterback Sam Jackson V: eagles and birdies, but with the occasional triple-bogey, all which Jackson provided in Saturday’s scrimmage.

“Sam has a little gunslinger mentality,” Spavital said of Jackson, a transfer from TCU who is expected to be Cal’s starting quarterback in 2023. “I had a golf coach tell me, ‘Do you want a quarterback that shoots even par or a quarterback that can get you a hole-in-one or birdie or eagle and maybe a triple-bogey at times. You can try to handle the rest and get rid of the bogeys, but try to get some birdies and eagles, and that what Sam brings. It’s fun to watch him play.”

Cal is hoping the bogeys (fumbles, interceptions, negative plays) are reduced and the eagles (long runs or passes on scrambles) are accentuated when Jackson is on the field. It's difficult to know what Cal will get because Jackson, who will be a redshirt sophomore next season, played so little as a freshman and redshirt freshman at TCU.

The Cal offense is the focus of every Golden Bears scrimmage, and Jackson is the focus of every offensive play in those scrimmages. It’s not an overstatement to say Cal’s 2023 success will depend on Jackson’s play.

The Bears’ offense performed much better in Saturday’s scrimmage than it had on Friday, and Jackson continues to get more comfortable in the Cal offense, although his statistics were not great Saturday.

Actually the most impressive performer on Saturday was kicker Michael Luckhurst, who was 5-for-5 on field-goal attempts during the scrimmage, and that included a 48-yarder. The ball seems to explode off his foot, and the Bears should be in scoring position whenever the offense puts together a decent drive.

However, the Bears’ success will depend on Jackson, who played very little for TCU this past season as a redshirt freshman. He shows the potential to pull off big plays (eagles), but also to make some mistakes (bogeys).

In five possessions workingd against Cal’s first-team defense, Jackson went 8-for-17 for 107 yards, a touchdown and an interception. He also fumbled a handoff exchange with Jaydn Ott, which were the bogeys. But he had one Patrick Mahomes-like moment, when he scrambled to his right and pushed an end-over-end shovel pass to tight end J.T. Byrne for a short completion, which was the birdie.

“I did OK,” Jackson said of his Saturday showing. “A lot of the self-inflicted wounds were on me, like the pick that we had and the fumble we had. I definitely could have been a better leader.”

His first pass in the scrimmage portion was a perfectly lofted 36-yard completion to Jeremiah Hunter. Jackson finished off that scoring drive with a 13-yard touchdown pass to Monroe Young. The first-team offense moved the ball consistently throughout the day, but that was its only touchdown.

Jackson completed only 3-of-8 passes on his penultimate possession, and his only pass on his last drive was picked off by safety Raymond Woodie III.

Regarding his passing game, Jackson said, “I feel it’s a lot I’ve got to improve on.”

He added one long run, and his speed and running threat figure to be his biggest assets when the Bears start to play games next fall. But it’s impossible to gauge his running skill yet, because quarterbacks are not allowed to be touched by defenders during spring-ball scrimmages.

Spavital says Jackson gets better every day, and Jackson says he is much more comfortable in the offense than he was a few weeks ago.

“Huge change from Day One to now,” he said.

Cal expects rapid improvement from Jackson, whose limited college game experience will be a handicap for a while.

"He just needs a lot of repetitions," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said.

Statistically, the better Cal quarterback Saturday was Francisco Mendoza, although he was going against the second-team defense. Mendoza was 14-for-21 for 134 yards, a 29-yard touchdown pass to Kenden Robinson Jr. and a 4-yard touchdown run.

However, Mendoza figures to be a quarterback who will shoot even par. Jackson is the player Cal is counting on to make a few holes-in-one -- perhaps making something out of nothing when he gets on the edge.