Cal Football: Justin Wilcox Sees Progress in Second Scrimmage; Spring Game is Saturday

Bears Coach Pleased with Improved Tackling, Especially in the Open Field

Cal coach Justin Wilcox saw things on both sides of the line of scrimmage that he liked during Saturday’s fully padded spring practice.

“I thought the football was better the second scrimmage and we would expect it to continue to get better,” he said.

The Bears close out their 15-practice spring workouts with sessions on Wednesday and Friday before Saturday’s 2 p.m. spring game, which will be televised on the Pac-12 Network.

The Bears ran 60 live plays with tackling to the ground on Saturday, and Wilcox noted the progress made in that area over the previous week.

“Better than we were the first day. Not as good as we hope to be,” he said. “But it was better. I thought there were some plays out in the open field that our skill on offense showed up and guys made some people miss, and I thought on defense we had a couple more one-on-one opportunities where we did get guys on the ground with some really goo finishes.

“You want to see both because you want to see earned plays.”

Wednesday’s practice will be another heavy work day, Wilcox said, before Friday with just helmets where the team will do a lot of situational work. Saturday’s televised practice will include a lot of scrimmage work.

On the heels of just a four-game schedule last fall, Wilcox has been pleased with the progress made this spring.

“It’s been extremely productive. Energy at practice has been really good throughout spring ball,” he said. "The number of reps for the number of different people has proven extremely valuable for the program.”

Quarterback play continues to impress Wilcox, including third-year starter Chase Garbers.

“Those guys continue to improve, putting the ball in places where receivers can get it,” he said. “I can think of a fourth down where Chase threw one to (tight end) Gavin Reinwald. It was covered and Gavin just went up and made a really nice play on it. Chase put it in a spot where Gavin could go do that.”

Wilcox said redshirt junior Dario Longhetto has solidified himself as the Bears’ placekicker. Longhetto was 4-for-5 on field goal tries last season, including a 52-yarder. He was nine of 10 on PAT tries.

Here’s more from Wilcox about Longhetto’s status:

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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo