It was a beautiful day for football, and the sun was shining down on Memorial Stadium on Monday for the opening of the Bears’ fall training camp.
The first thing that stood out was, surprisingly, Cal’s new helmets. Though the familiar Cal script does not yet adorn them, the matte blue looks good. If nothing else, the team will look stylish when the football season kicks off in less than a month.
The next thing that stood out was Brendan Bigelow. The junior running back had a brace on his right knee, but he still had his flashes of speed. There is no doubt now that his recovery is on schedule — he looked like he could be playing if the season started today. That said, he seemed to be running at about 90 percent of his usual speed. That’s still fast, but once he gets that brace off, the familiar burst will return.
And of course, after Bigelow, all eyes were on the quarterbacks.
Jared Goff got the most reps in 11-on-11 drills. He missed a few passes early but gained consistency down the stretch as the sun began to go down. The usual touch that he has on his passes began to show once some of the rust wore off.
“We were all a little bit rusty out there,” he admitted.
In addition, Goff looked like he had gained some weight. The main knock on him in spring practices was his weight, but he said after the practice that he put on 15 pounds in the summer. It showed, as he didn’t look as frail as he did in the spring.
Zach Kline also looked good when he got reps. His passes had zip — sometimes they were thrown so hard that receivers couldn’t hold on to them. And in drills where all five QBs on the roster were throwing at once, Kline’s arm strength was demonstrated, and it was clear that his balls could hit their target much quicker than anyone else’s.
But Kline had his inconsistencies. A few passes were thrown behind receivers, and he took quite a few sacks.
“I’m going for no turnovers this camp — that’s my goal,” Kline said. “And keep the sacks to a minimum.”
But it was Austin Hinder who stole the show. While he showed off his running ability during spring practice, he showed off his passing today. He connected on a few deep throws that had the crowd cheering.
“This fall camp, I’m trying to stay in the pocket and show that passing is what I’m all about and that, if I have to, I’ll take off.” Hinder said after the practice.
But those three were not the only three throwing the football. Wide receiver Kyle Boehm, who played quarterback in high school, was thrown into wildcat formations early and often. He usually took off running but also showed that he could throw when he connected on some short passes.
Despite the exceptional performance from Hinder, the QB race is still as muddled as ever. Goff and Kline both looked good, despite their inconsistencies. As has been the case for months, we simply will not know more until the season is closer.