Notes from the end-of-spring practice/scrimmage

Today’s open practice was a welcome preview of the 2008 Cal football team. The morning rain cleared up to make for a pleasant time in the stadium, and the players put on quite a show.

The practice began with drills and later became a full-contact scrimmage with play sequences executed from various scenarios.

The passing game is a work in progress; Nate Longshore looked good but misthrew a few passes and Kyle Reed needs some more work. I feel confident that this will be sorted out by September 1.

The run game was not spectacular, with James Montgomery making a decent showing but Justin Forsett getting few carries. A surprise was Lavelle Hawkins making a couple rush attempts, including one for a touchdown. I sense that the run game will improve as the offensive line gains more experience together.

Overall, I felt the defense looked better than the offense overall – not unusual for spring ball, but comforting considering the loss of our key defenders to graduation and the NFL. Meanwhile, it seems like special teams (especially return coverage) could use improvement. Two punts, back-to-back were returned for touchdowns.

Also, Scout.com has a nice writeup of the day as well, with some stats too. Take a look.