Riley McAtee/File

The race may be down to two.

On the fourth day of practice, quarterback Austin Hinder seemed limited in number of reps, while Jared Goff and Zach Kline got the majority.

And in the reps he did get, he didn’t look that impressive. Hinder overthrew a couple of passes and was sacked at least twice.

Coach Sonny Dykes, however, did not confirm that the race may now be down to just Goff and Kline.

“Yeah, it was just kind of what we did today,” Dykes said about Hinder’s limited reps. “We’ll evaluate it tomorrow and come out with a plan tomorrow.”

Kline and Goff, meanwhile made the most of their fourth day. Kline had a pass that should have been intercepted by Damariay Drew, but overall, he did not look off of his game. He also had a scramble in 11-on-11s that went for nearly 20 yards.

And Goff got the most action. He had a few beautiful deep passes that showed off his touch and sense of timing. Goff also rolled out on a few plays and was able to complete passes while throwing on the run.

“They’re both anticipating throws better,” Dykes said. “The more reps they get, the more they see things clearly.”

Right now, it looks like Goff and Kline are in a tight, two-horse race. But Hinder is still getting reps and is not out for the count just yet.

Today was also the first day that the players competed in “shells,” or shoulder pads and helmets while still wearing shorts. In previous practices, the players had only worn helmets, and the increased padding immediately led to an increased physicality in the practice. Though tackling was still not allowed, there were a few big hits. One in particular, between Kameron Jackson and Jonah Hodges, stood out.

In a typical 11-on-11 drill, Hodges caught a short pass and immediately collided with Jackson. The hit featured an audible boom that was heard throughout the stadium. Fans gasped, but neither was injured on the play.

Dykes plans on using those kind of big hits as an opportunity to teach his players how to hit properly. New NCAA rules have placed greater restrictions on how a defensive player can hit an opponent.

“We’ll look at it and see, but based on what I saw, it could have been targeting,” Dykes said. “We’ll pull it off tape, show it to our players and use it to teach.”

Speaking of Kameron Jackson, the junior cornerback has received high praise from his colleagues. Wide receivers Bryce Treggs and Jack Austin both called him the best cornerback they have had to go against.

“He isn’t a big guy, but he’s very quick, he has great hands, he gets up in your face when he needs to and, even when he’s off the ball, he’s pretty hard to fight with,” Austin said. “But I feel confident going against him.”

With the physicality heightened, defensive players were able to finally show their teeth. Things will only get more aggressive when fully padded practices begin on Sunday.

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Riley McAtee/File

Twenty-two. That’s the number of positions Cal coach Sonny Dykes said are unsettled after the third day of practice. The entire roster is up in the air.

And nowhere is the position more up in the air than quarterback.

Austin Hinder began the day and immediately threw an interception to Jalen Jefferson. Ouch.

“Very first play — I loved it,” Jefferson said of his interception. “I almost had three today.”

Hinder probably didn’t love it quite as much.

The interception didn’t rattle Hinder, as he came back to make some tough throws later in the practice. Unfortunately, he threw another pick later in the day. Though his performance wasn’t bad by any stretch outside of those two interceptions, they put a damper on his day and definitely did not help him in the race.

Zach Kline also had two picks throughout the day, breaking his goal of having no turnovers throughout camp on just the third day. But Kline was able to make some other big throws, including several that were threaded between tight defensive coverage.

“Kline is showing off his arm strength, and he’s also showing touch on his pass,” said wide receiver Bryce Treggs. “That’s something I feel he didn’t have in the spring.”

Jared Goff, meanwhile, easily had his best day of camp and hit Chris Harper and Bryce Treggs on some downfield throws. The true freshman also showed off his running ability when he scrambled for about a 10-yard gain during 11-on-11s.

“Today was probably Goff’s best day,” Dykes said. “He looked more comfortable today than he did the other two days.”

Dykes also had words of praise for Hinder and Kline too, so don’t think that the race is any closer to its conclusion because of Goff’s performance.

Meanwhile, on defensive, it was Jalen Jefferson’s turn to shine. He had the aforementioned pick from Hinder and generally seemed to be in the right place at the right time.

“He is just playing so fast right now,” Dykes said about Jefferson, whom he named as one of the players that stood out to him.

On the offensive side of the ball, it was Bryce Treggs’ show. The sophomore receiver caught several deep balls and was constantly breaking away from defensive backs.

“I’m always looking for ways to improve,” Treggs said. “I do want to be a game changer.”

Chris Harper, the other star receiver on the squad, also made some big plays. He had a one-handed diving catch in the corner of the end zone that drew cheers from the crowd of about 50 people at the practice.

Meanwhile, two skirmishes that broke out between the offense and the defense put a damper on the practice. One happened during offensive and defensive line drills, and the other occurred during 11-on-11s. This is the third in three days — including one that broke out on Monday.

It’s unclear who started both, but Dykes is not worried about them yet, because the skirmishes — which haven’t been serious enough to call full-blown fights — prove that the players care.

“I’ve been places where I was begging them to fight,” he said. “No one was competitive enough to fight.”

Contact Riley McAtee at rmcatee@dailycal.org

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Riley McAtee/File

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.

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Emma Lantos /File

With little over a month before Cal opens the season against Northwestern, the team still does not have a starting quarterback. Right now, there are three candidates vying for the spot — Austin Hinder, Jared Goff, and Zach Kline. Each has a very different play style and would take the offense in a different direction from his competitors. When Fall camp opens on Aug. 5, look for one of these three to take the starting role.

Austin Hinder

• Redshirt junior
• Height: 6 feet, 4 inches
• Weight: 200 pounds

Austin Hinder’s strengths lie in his legs and his leadership.

He’s the most agile quarterback of the bunch and the most likely to move the chains with a well-timed scramble. In the spring game in March, he ran for 37 yards on just four carries. He’s listed as a pro-style QB, but with the way he moves on his feet, he could easily be seen as a dual-threat one.

It would make sense for Sonny Dykes and Tony Franklin to make him the starter in the fall, as they have both stated that they want a quarterback who can move in the pocket and make throws on the run the way Hinder can.

It would also make sense from a leadership perspective — Hinder is the only upperclassman in the mix for the starting job. Though he doesn’t have a start under his belt, he still has the most experience out of the three.

While his throwing ability doesn’t look to be as polished as that of Kline or Goff, his other abilities may push him over the top come August.

Jared Goff

• True freshman
• Height: 6 feet, 4 inches
• Weight: 205 pounds

Jared Goff is the youngest of the three, but don’t count him out.

Goff is a true pocket passer, and during spring training his passes looked crisp and on target. While accuracy and timing are his main strengths, alo working toward Goff’s advantage is a familiarity with Dykes’ system, as he ran a similar spread-style offense in high school.

The concern with him is that as a true freshman, he may need more time to develop to compete at the college level. He may also need to put on more weight — though he is listed at 205 pounds now, he was listed at 185 pounds just a few months ago and looks much smaller in pads — making injuries a concern.

An investment in Goff would be a major investment in the future for Dykes and company. Due to his youth, it may make more sense to redshirt him and bring him out in a few years, when he has developed his game more. But if he proves to have the most talent, there is no reason to not start him now.

Zach Kline

• Redshirt junior
• Height: 6 feet, 2 inches
• Weight: 200 pounds

Zach Kline’s abilities begin and end with his arm. He’s a gunslinger in every sense of the word — able to make the big throws but not without the occasional struggles in his accuracy.

He may be the best passer of the three vying for the starting position. Kline threw for 124 yards, the most of the three in Cal football’s spring game in March.

But there are two major concerns with Kline. The first is consistency, which he has struggled with during practices and in camps. He’ll make an amazing play just to come back with an errant pass the next. But if he can solve that issue, he’ll be lethal.

His other major concern is the offensive system he is being put into. Kline was recruited by Tedford, who ran a pro-style system similar to what Kline ran in high school. Under Dykes’ spread style, things will be very different, and Kline will be forced to adjust.

But if he can adjust to the fast new system and continue to make those great throws with better consistency, he may just be the most talented of the bunch.

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Michael Tao/Staff

No, they haven’t announced a quarterback yet.

Though Cal football coach Sonny Dykes and the new staff released their first depth chart of the year on Thursday, Cal fans shouldn’t get too excited.

The roster did not narrow down the three-way quarterback race between Jared Goff, Zach Kline and Austin Hinder. At this point, it looks like the battle for the position will go down to the wire.

Considering spring practice wasn’t enough for the staff to decide on even the top two candidates in the race, it’s conceivable that they might not pick a starter until shortly before the season starts.

That said, the quarterbacks were not listed alphabetically. Goff was listed before Kline, who in turn was listed before Hinder.

Does this mean Goff is in the lead for the position?

No doubt this will cause endless speculation for fans that are clamoring for an answer, but right now, nothing seems to be certain. Until there are fewer than three names on that list, any of the three could win the starting job.

Meanwhile, there were a few interesting changes.

The most striking was that Richard Rodgers did not make the list of starting receivers. Instead, senior Jackson Bouza claimed one of the inside receiver spots, despite having only played in five games in his career for Cal.

Fans shouldn’t read too much into this change. Rodgers’ place on the depth chart is probably due to the injuries he suffered in spring practice and not due to a decision by the coaches. And in Dykes’ new offense, every receiver is going to see playing time regardless of his position on the depth chart.

The only other interesting note is the relative youth across the roster; only four seniors appear on the offense and defense combined.

This is truly a new team. New players, new coaches, new system, new uniforms — a completely new identity moving forward from last year.

The depth chart can’t tell fans much, but it confirms the new direction that Cal is headed in. Other than that, it’s not useful to read into it too much — the important depth chart is the one released after fall practices, not spring.

Attached below is Cal football’s official depth chart:

Contact Riley McAtee at rmcatee@dailycal.org

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So long, Allan Bridgford. CBS’s Jeremy Fowler reports that the senior quarterback will be transferring after speaking with head coach Sonny Dykes this morning.

It was well known heading into spring practice that the Bears’ quarterback position would be a competition between Zach Kline, Jared Goff, Austin Hinder, and Allen Bridgford.

Kline looked like the front-runner and Goff was a longshot. Bridgford, as the only returning quarterback with any experience playing quarterback at Cal, was assumed to hang around at least until the fall competition.

When new head coach Sonny Dykes and Tony Franklin began to divvy up the reps in practice, Bridgford was clearly behind Kline, Goff, and Hinder. Bridgford left the team this week to talk to his parents about possibly transferring.

Bridgford threw for 277 yards in 2012, with one TD and three interceptions. He replaced Zach Maynard and almost led a last-second comeback against Washington after Maynard went down with a knee injury.

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