What to watch for on Saturday

For one day this spring, this sign will disappear, and California football fans will get a chance to get an early look at the 2006 football team. In four weeks of practices, the team has been learning the intricacies of a new offense, working on finding a starting quarterback, and watching its defensive unit jell. The Bear Insider's band of reporters has combined to list a few things that people should watch for on Saturday.

Three-on-three blocking drill

Sitting in the very center of the stadium will give you the best view of the three-on-three drill, where a quarterback and a running back will lineup behind three blockers, who will be faced by three defenders who will have to tackle the ballcarrier. Matches consist of roughly equal units - offensive linemen versus defensive linemen, linebackers versus running backs/tight ends and defensive backs against wide receivers.   Pay close attention to the blocking of the wide receivers. In a game situation, if a quarterback sees a mismatch, either in terms of number of receivers versus number of defenders or in terms of speed, it could be the blocking of the wide receivers that will mean the difference between a short gain and a touchdown. (T.L.)

Worrell Williams

Williams’ (#1) power is clear from his distinctly square frame (6’ 257 lb) which at first glance seems to approximate that of a noseguard rather than a linebacker. After redshirting his freshman year he emerged in spring practice of 2005 as a devastating hitter, breaking the jaw of former Cal fullback Chris Manderino in a heads-up drill last spring. Williams went on to have a solid season in 2006, primarily in a backup role as he learned the ropes of being a D-I linebacker. Now headed for his redshirt sophomore campaign, Williams’ looks to seize the starting outside linebacker position vacated by the graduation of Ryan Foltz. So far this spring he has shown an improved ability to shed blocks and read plays, skills that should make him one of the leaders of perhaps the deepest and most talented linebacker unit in the Pac-10. (J.S.)

Wide receiver sets

In the 11-on-11s which will make up much of the latter part of practice, watch how the wide receivers are utilized in so many different ways and how the plays are designed to give them room to operate.   Notice that they are rarely lined up in the same formation more than a couple plays in a row and that there’s very few tendencies that give the defense clues about what’s coming. Additionally, the multiple receiver sets will keep opposing defenses from crowding the line of scrimmage.(J.M.)

Competition at right tackle

Watch the competition between Scott Smith (#52) and Kevin Bemoll (#51) at right tackle, the spot just vacated by the graduation of Ryan O’Callaghan. Since they won’t be on the field at the same time, try to watch the right end of the offensive line as plays develop. Do the runs to the right side get around the corner? Does the pass blocking on the right side hold on passing downs? And if a pass rush gets through, does it first come through from the right side?  Smith is a senior with lots of real-game playing experience, but may be undersized for the job (275 lbs compared to O’Callaghan’s 340 lbs). Bemoll is a redshirt freshman (310 lbs) with great potential – but no experience playing at a position where years of experience with known teammates are almost a prerequisite for success. (C.A.)

Secondary depth

Although replacing Donnie McCleskey and Harrison Smith in the defensive backfield figures to be a tall order, the Bears have a lot of talented players ready to step in and make an impact. Watch for the hits of defensive backs like Bernard Hicks (#2), Brandon Hampton (#3), Gary Doxy (#30) and Brett Johnson (#25).   Hicks and Hampton will be in the mix to start this fall, while the redshirt frosh continue to learn the ropes.(J.M.)

Will Ta’ufo’ou

In 2006 Cal fans should get a look at something not seen on our squad in some time, a fullback who carries the defense with him. Ta’ufo’ou (pronounced Tao-FOE-o) is a redshirt sophomore to be and former walk-on from Saint Francis HS in Mountain View. He also has a distinctly thick and square body (6’ 250lb) but adds the good feet and hands necessary to play fullback at a high level. In spring scrimmages Taufouu (#36) has consistently carried tacklers several yards before being stopped and been a one-man show in heads-up drills running over would-be tacklers. He is likely to split time in 2006 with senior FB Byron Storer but should add an extra power dimension that will be useful in blocking and short-yardage situations. (J.S.)

Center of the line

The competition to replace All-American Marvin Phillip is between sophomore Alex Mack (#62) and junior college transfer Mark Gray (#77). Mack gained limited experience playing behind Phillip, and Gray has no D-I experience. As noted in a recent article, snaps must improve so as to not disrupt quarterback timing; both centers have spent considerable time after practice working on that. Watch closely to see how often the ball comes straight back to the quarterback and how often a quarterback will have to reach for a ball and then have to regain his balance to continue with the play.

Quarterbacks

While there's still a considerable amount of time before the Bears name a starting quarterback, Nate Longshore's been getting most of the work with the first-team offense and facing the first-team defense. Joe Ayoob (#18) has sat out most of this week's practices with a tender ankle, which means that Steve Levy (#3) and Kyle Reed (#8) have gotten more reps.  Longshore (#9) has probably been the best pure passer of the group, Ayoob's been looking good throwing on the run, Levy's been most proficient at running the option and recognizing when to run with the ball, while Reed has shown tantalizing promise at times. In addition to looking at who throws the best and who's most effective at running the team, also watch to see who makes the least mistakes. (T.L.)

C.A. - Chris Avery; T.L. - Ted Lee; J.M. - Jim McGill; J.S. - Josh Shinoff)

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