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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Tony Zhou/Staff

Relationships often take several months to develop. Cal football head coach Sonny Dykes had only two months to build relationships with this year’s recruiting class.

Taking over the Cal football team on Dec. 5, Dykes zeroed in on fixing three of the Bears’ most dire concerns: the offensive line, defensive line and academics. Of the 25 recruits who signed their letters of intent to Cal, five were offensive linemen and eight were defensive lineman.

“The first thing I noticed is that we needed to build depth on our offensive and defensive lines,” Dykes said in his National Signing Day press conference on Wednesday. “(It’s) going to determine the success of our program.”

Cal’s performance in the trenches on both sides of the ball was lackluster in 2012. The Bears were ranked 118th in the nation in sacks allowed last year, with 40. On the defensive side of the ball, Cal sacked the opposing quarterback only 25 times — tied for 59th in the nation.

In his press conference, Dykes also honed in on academics. A glaring concern for the Bears, which ultimately played a role in Tedford’s firing, was their graduation rate of 47 percent among players who enrolled between 2002 and 2005. It was the worst in the Pac-12.

“Our student-athletes need to be equipped to deal with the competitive atmosphere in the classroom,” Dykes said. “We’ve got to represent this institution the right way with this football program.”

Dykes pointed to three in particular who he believes will receive early playing time: cornerback Cameron Walker, wide receiver Jack Austin and running back Khalfani Muhammad.

Walker is a solid open field tackler who possesses good closing speed. Austin is regarded as a good route runner, which will help him transition to the college game. His 6-foot-3 height also enables him to make tough catches over defenders.

Dykes believes Muhammad gives the Cal offense an added explosive threat. In addition to starring in football at Notre Dame High School, Muhammad was the Californian state champion in the 100- and 200-meter races.

“(Muhammad) gets going … fast,” Dykes said regarding the Sherman Oaks, Calif., running back. “He had about a 20-minute highlight reel.”

Moving forward, Dykes acknowledged the fast pace of the spring season, which is something that he’s looking forward to. The next two weeks will be used as an “evaluation period,” and when spring ball commences, Dykes will get a better idea about the football team he has assembled.

“We weren’t trying to win any kind of Signing Day accolades,” Dykes said.

“The best thing about this class is that we signed a football team.”

Contact Sean Wagner-McGough at swagnermcgough@dailycal.org.

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