Chase Garbers Shines in Cal Spring Game
Chase Garbers played only two series and attempted only five passes, but he was the star of Saturday's Cal spring game, which was more about the development of young players than a showcase for the starters, most of whom sat out.
Garbers was 5-for-5 for 71 yards, one touchdown and no interceptions in his brief participation. What was more impressive perhaps was that the Cal offense scores on both drives with Garbers at quarterback, traveling 65 yards on a possession that started at the Bears' 35-yard line, then scoring after the ball was placed at the opponent's 48-yard line.
No. 2 quarterback Zach Johnson showed promise as well, completing 10-of-15 passes for 78 yards with an interception, but Garbers showed why he is the starter.
"I thought you saw it today," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said of Garbers in the video below. "I thought he was very comfortable. Threw the ball on time. Had one really nice play where he stepped up in the pocket and kind of flicked it to Monroe [Young] on a crossing route, threw a nice comeback to Jeremiah [Hunter], threw the deep ball to to Nikko [Remigio] I believe it was. I think he just looks comfortable in the offense."
It should be noted that few of members of Cal's first-team defense took part on Saturday's scrimmage, so Garbers did most of his work against second-teamers.
The highlight was 35-yard reception by Remigio that he brought down despite heavy defensive pressure, putting the ball at the 1-yard line on the first series of the scrimmage.
"It should have been a touchdown," Garbers said in the video below.
Garbers followed that with a 1-yard touchdown pass to tight end Elijah Mojarro.
Johnson was effective going against a defense that had a few starters in it, although most of his passes were short, high-percentage passes. He completed the first five passes he attempted, then made his one mistake, throwing a pass that was intercepted by safety Miles Williams.
Here is the pick:
Johnson did not move the offensive as effectively as Garbers, but he performed well enough.
"Had a pretty good day," Johnson, who will be a sophomore next fall, said in the video below. "Obviously had the one pick early. Really wish I could have that one back. Wanted to take it back as soon as it left my hand. But other than that I thought I had a pretty good day."
The leading rusher on the day was DeCarlos Brooks, who had 55 yards and two rushing touchdowns on 10 carries. However, the best run of the day was provided by tailback Christopher Brown Jr., who rumbled 13 yards, breaking some tackles along the way on one of his few carries. That run is shown in the video below.
Just having Brown healthy is a welcomed sign for Cal, which hopes Brown can remain at full strength for an entire season.
None of the Bears' first-string secondary members played Saturday, nor did outside linebackers Cameron Goode or Kuony Deng or defensive lineman Brett Johnson. Wilcox did not disclose whether any of them was injured or to what degree. Running back Damien Moore was among the offensive players who did not play Saturday.
One injury that occurred on Saturday was to freshman tight end Jermaine Terry. Terry, a Richmond, Calif., resident who graduated from high school in December and enrolled at Cal in January, is huge. He is 6-foot-4 and listed at 275 pounds, although he probably weighs closer to 268 pounds.
He demonstrated his versatility during one series late in the scrimmage. He was split out wide to the left on one play, and I am guessing you don't see 270-pound wide receivers very often. On the next play he lined up tight on the right side and delivered a block at the point of attack that aided a healthy ground gain. He then went in motion from an H-back position and caught a pass although he was stopped for no gain. It was on that play that he apparently injured his leg and limped off the field.
There was no immediate word on whether the injury was serious.
The Bears did not run any plays that required a fullback, so it remains unclear which players might fill that void, since no fullbacks are on the roster at the moment.
The spring game ended the Bears' spring session, which included 15 practices -- which is 11 more practice sessions than last spring.
STATISTICS
Individual Statistics
Rushing (Att-Yds, TD)
DeCarlos Brooks (10-55, 2 TD)
Christopher Brown Jr. (2-18)
Chris Street (8-17)
Ashton Stredick (4-12)
Robby Rowell (3-17)
Zach Johnson (3-2)
Marcel Dancy (2-4)
Chase Garbers (1-1)
.
Passing (Comp-Att-Int-Yds, TD)
Zach Johnson (10-15-1-78)
Chase Garbers (5-5-0-71, 1 TD)
Robby Rowell (6-12-0-57)
.
Receiving (Rec-Yds, TD)
Ben Skinner (3-57)
Jake Muller (3-15)
Aidan Lee (2-18)
Jermaine Terry (2-(-4))
Nikko Remigio (1-33)
Monroe Young (1-21)
Evan King (1-14)
Gavin Reinwald (1-10)
Ashton Stredick (1-9)
DeCarlos Brooks (1-8)
Jeremiah Hunter (1-8)
Justin Richard Baker (1-6)
Marcel Dancy (1-4)
Chris Street (1-4)
Elijah Mojarro (1-1, TD)
Field Goals (FGM-FGA – Distance Result)
Dario Longhetto (2-3 – 43 no good, 46 good, 48 good)
Nick Lopez (1-3 – 43 good, 46 no good, 48 no good)
Ronan Donnelly (2-3 – good 46 no good, 48 good)
.
Tackles (Other Plays Defense)
Muelu Iosefa (6)
Hunter Barth (5; 1 PBU)
Andy Alfieri (4; 1.0 TFL, -2 yards)
Ricky Correia (4; 1.0 TFL, -4 yards; 1.0 sack, -4 yards)
Tarik Glenn Jr. (3; 1 PBU)
Stanley McKenzie (3)
Evan McLurkin (3; 1 PBU)
Tyson McWilliams (3)
Erick Nisich (3)
Orin Patu (3)
Parker Bosche (2, 1.0 TFL, -1 yard)
Zane Cribb (2)
Branden Smith (2; 1.0 TFL, -13 yards; 1.0 sack, -13 yards)
Kyle Smith (2)
Raymond Woodie III (2)
Isaiah Young (2; 1 PBU)
Blake Antzoulatos (1)
Akili Calhoun (1)
Braxten Croteau (1)
Matt Horwitz (1)
Myles Jernigan (1)
Jaylen Martin (1; 1 PBU)
Ryan Puskas (1; 1.0 TFL, -2 yards)
Gunnar Rask (1)
Nate Rutchena (1)
Evan Tattersall (1)
Miles Williams (1, 1 INT)
Craig Woodson (1)
.
Cover photo of DeCarlos Brooks stretching toward the goal-line is by Al Sermeno/KLC Fotos
