I don't disagree with a thing you said, but if I were Milner and the coach told me they were going to bring in an experienced QB from the portal the message would be clear. Also, I think Kai can find plenty of smaller schools where he'll compete and win the starting job. He's a good QB and a lot of smaller schools with good QB's are losing them in the portal. He may very well end up in the FCS, but remember, Carson Wentz, and Trey Lance came from the FCS. Jimmy G and Josh Allen came from smaller FBS schools. Kai wants a chance to play and show his stuff and there is a school out there where he will have a much better shot at playing next year than at CAL. I'm fairly sure he likes CAL but his decision was all about getting playing time sooner than later.
I wonder which transfer QB we have an inside track on who could outcompete Millner. I would not imagine that is a long list unless they really don't have faith in Millner or his development.
And still don't see Kai listed in the portal on 247 even though Lovell is already listed. He's not too active on social media but there's also no announcement. This whole situation just feels off.
There are probably more than a few, but the big question is can Spav land one of them. Also, great observation about Kai not being listed on the 247 Portal. I've noticed that and have been checking for him each day and he's a no show. Maybe W4C should call him?
Yup. Chase works in Silicon Valley and has a great job and is a senior exec at Sobrato. When JW was being considered I was doing some work where Chase and my paths crossed. Since he played at CAL when JW was originally there under Tedford I asked his opinion, in part because Aaron Rodgers sure thought highly of JW and Aaron and Chase were teammates and friends back then.
It’s a failure of Wilcox to convince or demonstrate a future for either Millner or Plummer. Before recruiting you need to hold onto quality players. Now I hope the talented young receivers like Sturdivant are next.
Not good in and of itself, but I'll reserve judgement until the dust settles. Millner wants to start, and I suspect he is 90+% sure that someone else is coming in who he would not expect to beat out.
Its been seven years and Wilcox (Knowlton) still can't figure it out on the offensive side of the ball. I am getting to the point of DONE. As the saying goes "if you don't have anything to say positive don't say anything at all".
As I said before I’m done with Cal Athletics and any money I contribute but that doesn’t mean I can’t lurk this site and lol at the cultish apathy for a man who along with Knowlton has managed to clown fuck one of only a handful of universities with a natty in football, basketball, baseball (albeit one sitting smack dab in the middle of the number 1 recruiting hot bed in the world) into absolute oblivion…
-Cal doesn’t hire Taylor for half of Wilcox salary ya’lls response = “Taylor hasn’t proven himself like Wilcox cuz Wilcox turned down oregon job” did he thought? Was he really offered it?
-Half our returning depth xfer ya’lls response is “good luck to them we’re rebuilding” it’s year seven brosef? What the serious f are you talking about?
-Mark Fox goes 1-11 ya’lls response is “oh well we’re powerless to do anything about it”
-Our best hope at qb is xfering and ya’lls response is “he would have succeeded in spavital’s system…in spav we trust”
Wake the f up and look in the mirror. Literally everyone else is laughing at us. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Fire Knowlton. Mozilla. And above all else fire Wilcox.
All we can do is continue to email the chancellors office and make it known no money will be given to the athletic department with Knowlton at the helm.
Everyone remain calm and watch the JW presser. He is clear that they will be revamping the offense and schemes entirely, which we knew would occur having Spav as OC, and that they want to run RPO and have a dual threat QB. JW is a man of integrity and this pattern fits. If we are going to speculate, we should assume that JW, a man of impeccable integrity, was up front with both Millner and Plummer and probably told both of them that while they'd like to keep them around, they are actively seeking a transfer that fits the scheme better.
That was likely with Plummer. Not as convinced that's the case with Kai though time will tell. I do agree Wilcox has integrity but am less convinced he has the situation under control.
I'm a Wilcox supporter and me handle is from back in the day when Wilcox was hired but WFC had more responses on some taco joint in Berkeley than the new coach. So, atm I'm falling on my sword. Integrity is good, fire is good.
What Wilcox lacks, which I did not know about him, is the ability to recognize problems early and have the character to CHANGE immediately. Wilcox has made some very poor choices in hires: Baldwin, Greatwood, Angus, Musgrave & probably the S&C coach and he is reluctant and/or incapable to see his mistakes in due order. Great leaders recognize their failures quickly and act upon it. Wilcox does not appear to have that trait ~ albeit he is trying now in year 6!!
I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, Kai seemed destined to excel in the new offense. While he's not Lamar Jackson, he has a terrific arm and to my eye he looked to be more mobile than Chase Garbers, which would have been enough to run a modern offense. On the other hand, defense (duh) and offensive lines win championships (See Trent Dilfer, Doug Williams). Kai waited a few days, didn't see any help arriving for the OL, and decided he'd have a better chance to win/stay alive if a school were to come calling that has a solid OL. Can't fault him. For those suggesting the coaches didn't want him or chased him away, phooey.
Milner does not have a terrific arm (the drop off in velocity from Plummer to Milner is stark) and he is not more mobile than Garbers (rushed for over 1k yards in his Cal career). I would like him to stay, but this smells a lot more like Spav is hitting the portal.
I don't think Millner is a special QB but we do need a starter and a backup. Not sure we'll find both in the portal in the same year. At least not better than transfer and Kai battling it out.
You must have seen a different Millner than I did. I actually thought he was throwing too hard on some of his throws, but the wr's held on. And who's to say Millner wouldn't run for 2k?
This is false regarding Kai not seeing OL help coming in. Cardwell committed and signed knowing how deficient the OL is but trusted the staff’s plan to address it. Saying Kai bolted bc of this is misleading at best.
Obviously I don't know what's in his head. But putting myself in his shoes, I could easily come to that decision, seeing how the help isn't arriving (and watching Plummer get beat up all season). And I'm sure the staff has been addressing it for many seasons now, and there's no guarantee they'll be successful this time around. As a QB, it's smarter to play for a team who already has the OL in school and on the roster, than some dreamed-of OL that may or may not materialize.
Milner is not a fit for Spav’s offense. Rob’s practice reports constantly mentioned how inaccurate Milner was. Spav needs a QB who can consistently hit the quick passes.
Better hope that Spavital has an ace and is standing at 21. Otherwise random QB gets the job and it's one season in purgatory for Cal fans. Edit: After the presser I'm more confident that there is a specific direction we are taking, so let's wait and see. And to the poster above, Ott, Cardwell, Hunter, Sturdivant, and Anderson need to stick around for the future of Cal football and also to earn their well-deserved degrees after several years of studying, certainly wouldn't be great if they transferred. Why do that if they are major contributors here, will get a chance to play in a more explosive offense, and have NFL aspirations. Cal is as good as almost any school in the nation in producing players in the league. Heck we have 4 former Cal QBs in the league right now!
I expected this after Wilcox's presser yesterday. It's clear that the coaches don't think Milner is ready or has what it takes to assume the starting role. I also expect Spav had a big say in this. Spav is going to want dual threat QB's and Plummer is definitely not that and Milner is borderline. They probably sat down with both QB's and told them the direction of the program and the offense and that they would be seeking to find one or more DT QB's and both Plummer and Milner saw the writing on the wall. I wish them both the best.
You get in the game cold, throw two touchdowns in the game against an national rank team and your not ready? What are you talking about? Plummer eyes reminded me of deer eyes in cross hairs....:)
I posted the same before seeing your post here. Like I said, if we are going to speculate, we should assume that JW had an honest conversation about the type of QB that would fit the new scheme and the prospect of seeking a transfer that fit the scheme better. Why would we not give JW the benefit of the doubt on this? Say what you want about JWs record, the dude oozes integrity and is not going to lead on his QBS. Let's assume Spav and Wilcox sat Millner down and indicated that Millner's future is looking bright in the new scheme, that he is the heir apparent for QB-1. You think Millner's reaction is to jump into the portal to face an even more uncertain prospect somewhere else? Use your brain people. This just doesn't make sense.
Spav and Wilcox sat Millner down and indicated they are still working on getting OLine talent but please be patient. Millner left because nothing materialized yet and he would rather not get a career ending injury, despite the opportunity to be QB1
And this is why they are inviting in a guy from a 4-8 team from a lousy conference and with mediocre stats to potentially be the next face of Cal quarterbacking? I pray to God they have something better up their sleeve.
If he has talent, why not? His team record & conference don't matter if he's really good. And his stats aren't mediocre, they're pretty good - and they took a hit in the Texas & Alabama games when his line was overwhelmed, so he'd be even better surrounded by D-1 players. 247 says 10% of his incompletions were drops. Knock that down to 5% and his completion percentage is in the 70's. Spav saw him close up in a live game. If he liked what he saw, that's 10x better than watching tape. He could be the guy.
I am extremely skeptical of a guy who completed less than 50% of his passes at the JC level. But I agree that the next Cal QB will need mobility. The key question will be his accuracy while moving out of the pocket and throwing on the run. I still maintain that Cal should be able to do better with the receiver talent they have returning. Let's just pause for a moment and remember the conference QB names Cal will be competing against next year.....Caleb Williams....Jayden DeLaura....Michael Penix....Bo Nix....Cam Ward....and perhaps the number 3 overall recruit in the nation at UCLA in Dante Moore. I think that explains why a dude from UM might seem a little underwhelming.
But, let's not forget - they 1) have to want to come here & 2) have to be academically qualified. Often these sort of 5* talents don't qualify, plus are expecting to play at the next level and therefore 3) want to be surrounded by the best supporting cast available to them.
But mostly they each had specific reasons why they chose as they did: Caleb followed Lincoln Riley for the system he knew & the surrounding talent. Jayden was heavily recruited by UA out of high school, was the 1st call he received when he entered the portal, and had revenge on his mind (against his former team who brought in Cam to replace him and against Leach who had abandoned him). Michael came to UW to re-unite with DeBoer, his former OC. Cam followed his HC to WSU to be his OC. Cal was never on any of these player's lists. And sorry, we're not getting a Heisman QB.
I don't believe this for a second. What is the upside of chasing your QBs away? Unless Spav has 3 xfer QBs locked up and on their way, this conversation would never happen.
The more likely scenario is that Wilcox knew they were both leaving weeks ago and tried his best to spin his presser into the perspective that Rugbear is laying
Why would Milner leave after Plummer left? There are only 130 FBS teams out there (65 p5), and only one QB plays at a time. Hard to find a better situation to get playing time than being the number 2 after the starter leaves. Plummer is different because he has options. Milner is pretty untested and it would be hard for him to walk into a new camp and beat out QBs that are likely better than Mendoza and Johnson unless he drops a level. The more likely explanation is Spav doesn't see Milner being the heir and is hitting the portal hard.
I want to withhold judgment to see how it all shakes out, but this makes me sad. I thought Kai had the mobility and accuracy we wanted to at least be a steady #2. But Spavital is no slouch when it comes to QB coaching and recruiting, so I think we have to trust his call on this. If he went all out to keep Kai, I'm certain Kai would have stayed. That he didn't go all out to keep him, means he truly believes we can do better. All any of us will care about in the end is the results. Let's not twist ourselves around the axle too much until we see what shows up on the field. Best wishes to Kai in all things.
If Kai had already decided to leave, an OC 'going all out' wouldn't change his mind. There are a hundred reasons a kid might want to transfer, and we don't know what Kai's reasons were.
I still don't see Kai listed in either the 247 or Rivals Portal tracker. Can you guys at W4C clarify?
I don't disagree with a thing you said, but if I were Milner and the coach told me they were going to bring in an experienced QB from the portal the message would be clear. Also, I think Kai can find plenty of smaller schools where he'll compete and win the starting job. He's a good QB and a lot of smaller schools with good QB's are losing them in the portal. He may very well end up in the FCS, but remember, Carson Wentz, and Trey Lance came from the FCS. Jimmy G and Josh Allen came from smaller FBS schools. Kai wants a chance to play and show his stuff and there is a school out there where he will have a much better shot at playing next year than at CAL. I'm fairly sure he likes CAL but his decision was all about getting playing time sooner than later.
I wonder which transfer QB we have an inside track on who could outcompete Millner. I would not imagine that is a long list unless they really don't have faith in Millner or his development.
And still don't see Kai listed in the portal on 247 even though Lovell is already listed. He's not too active on social media but there's also no announcement. This whole situation just feels off.
There are probably more than a few, but the big question is can Spav land one of them. Also, great observation about Kai not being listed on the 247 Portal. I've noticed that and have been checking for him each day and he's a no show. Maybe W4C should call him?
Yup. Chase works in Silicon Valley and has a great job and is a senior exec at Sobrato. When JW was being considered I was doing some work where Chase and my paths crossed. Since he played at CAL when JW was originally there under Tedford I asked his opinion, in part because Aaron Rodgers sure thought highly of JW and Aaron and Chase were teammates and friends back then.
So Millner must see no future or has no confidence in Jake Spavital as our new OC?
It’s a failure of Wilcox to convince or demonstrate a future for either Millner or Plummer. Before recruiting you need to hold onto quality players. Now I hope the talented young receivers like Sturdivant are next.
247 still doesn't have him listed. Is this just that 48h delay?
Not good in and of itself, but I'll reserve judgement until the dust settles. Millner wants to start, and I suspect he is 90+% sure that someone else is coming in who he would not expect to beat out.
Uiagalelei to Oregon State
Would someone get there heads out of there cavities
And stop screwing around
Secure a QB.
Not 2023...now
Its been seven years and Wilcox (Knowlton) still can't figure it out on the offensive side of the ball. I am getting to the point of DONE. As the saying goes "if you don't have anything to say positive don't say anything at all".
As I said before I’m done with Cal Athletics and any money I contribute but that doesn’t mean I can’t lurk this site and lol at the cultish apathy for a man who along with Knowlton has managed to clown fuck one of only a handful of universities with a natty in football, basketball, baseball (albeit one sitting smack dab in the middle of the number 1 recruiting hot bed in the world) into absolute oblivion…
-Cal doesn’t hire Taylor for half of Wilcox salary ya’lls response = “Taylor hasn’t proven himself like Wilcox cuz Wilcox turned down oregon job” did he thought? Was he really offered it?
-Half our returning depth xfer ya’lls response is “good luck to them we’re rebuilding” it’s year seven brosef? What the serious f are you talking about?
-Mark Fox goes 1-11 ya’lls response is “oh well we’re powerless to do anything about it”
-Our best hope at qb is xfering and ya’lls response is “he would have succeeded in spavital’s system…in spav we trust”
Wake the f up and look in the mirror. Literally everyone else is laughing at us. It doesn’t have to be this way.
Fire Knowlton. Mozilla. And above all else fire Wilcox.
You are an idiot. We are clearly not happy about it. We also don't have any power to do anything about it either.
All we can do is continue to email the chancellors office and make it known no money will be given to the athletic department with Knowlton at the helm.
None of us are happy with either of this. But also none of us have tens of millions laying around and neither does the AD or a the athletics dept.
Everyone remain calm and watch the JW presser. He is clear that they will be revamping the offense and schemes entirely, which we knew would occur having Spav as OC, and that they want to run RPO and have a dual threat QB. JW is a man of integrity and this pattern fits. If we are going to speculate, we should assume that JW, a man of impeccable integrity, was up front with both Millner and Plummer and probably told both of them that while they'd like to keep them around, they are actively seeking a transfer that fits the scheme better.
That was likely with Plummer. Not as convinced that's the case with Kai though time will tell. I do agree Wilcox has integrity but am less convinced he has the situation under control.
I'm a Wilcox supporter and me handle is from back in the day when Wilcox was hired but WFC had more responses on some taco joint in Berkeley than the new coach. So, atm I'm falling on my sword. Integrity is good, fire is good.
What Wilcox lacks, which I did not know about him, is the ability to recognize problems early and have the character to CHANGE immediately. Wilcox has made some very poor choices in hires: Baldwin, Greatwood, Angus, Musgrave & probably the S&C coach and he is reluctant and/or incapable to see his mistakes in due order. Great leaders recognize their failures quickly and act upon it. Wilcox does not appear to have that trait ~ albeit he is trying now in year 6!!
I'm of two minds about this. On the one hand, Kai seemed destined to excel in the new offense. While he's not Lamar Jackson, he has a terrific arm and to my eye he looked to be more mobile than Chase Garbers, which would have been enough to run a modern offense. On the other hand, defense (duh) and offensive lines win championships (See Trent Dilfer, Doug Williams). Kai waited a few days, didn't see any help arriving for the OL, and decided he'd have a better chance to win/stay alive if a school were to come calling that has a solid OL. Can't fault him. For those suggesting the coaches didn't want him or chased him away, phooey.
Milner does not have a terrific arm (the drop off in velocity from Plummer to Milner is stark) and he is not more mobile than Garbers (rushed for over 1k yards in his Cal career). I would like him to stay, but this smells a lot more like Spav is hitting the portal.
I don't think Millner is a special QB but we do need a starter and a backup. Not sure we'll find both in the portal in the same year. At least not better than transfer and Kai battling it out.
You must have seen a different Millner than I did. I actually thought he was throwing too hard on some of his throws, but the wr's held on. And who's to say Millner wouldn't run for 2k?
This is false regarding Kai not seeing OL help coming in. Cardwell committed and signed knowing how deficient the OL is but trusted the staff’s plan to address it. Saying Kai bolted bc of this is misleading at best.
Obviously I don't know what's in his head. But putting myself in his shoes, I could easily come to that decision, seeing how the help isn't arriving (and watching Plummer get beat up all season). And I'm sure the staff has been addressing it for many seasons now, and there's no guarantee they'll be successful this time around. As a QB, it's smarter to play for a team who already has the OL in school and on the roster, than some dreamed-of OL that may or may not materialize.
Milner is not a fit for Spav’s offense. Rob’s practice reports constantly mentioned how inaccurate Milner was. Spav needs a QB who can consistently hit the quick passes.
Maybe he's an Elway-type: off in practice but on in games. I didn't see him miss a throw in his limited time on the field.
Better hope that Spavital has an ace and is standing at 21. Otherwise random QB gets the job and it's one season in purgatory for Cal fans. Edit: After the presser I'm more confident that there is a specific direction we are taking, so let's wait and see. And to the poster above, Ott, Cardwell, Hunter, Sturdivant, and Anderson need to stick around for the future of Cal football and also to earn their well-deserved degrees after several years of studying, certainly wouldn't be great if they transferred. Why do that if they are major contributors here, will get a chance to play in a more explosive offense, and have NFL aspirations. Cal is as good as almost any school in the nation in producing players in the league. Heck we have 4 former Cal QBs in the league right now!
I expected this after Wilcox's presser yesterday. It's clear that the coaches don't think Milner is ready or has what it takes to assume the starting role. I also expect Spav had a big say in this. Spav is going to want dual threat QB's and Plummer is definitely not that and Milner is borderline. They probably sat down with both QB's and told them the direction of the program and the offense and that they would be seeking to find one or more DT QB's and both Plummer and Milner saw the writing on the wall. I wish them both the best.
You get in the game cold, throw two touchdowns in the game against an national rank team and your not ready? What are you talking about? Plummer eyes reminded me of deer eyes in cross hairs....:)
And you think Davis Webb was outwardly mobile enough for Spav his first time around?
Webb was playing in a pure pass Air Raid, whereas I've been reading that Spav is more interested in implementing a run game this time around.
I posted the same before seeing your post here. Like I said, if we are going to speculate, we should assume that JW had an honest conversation about the type of QB that would fit the new scheme and the prospect of seeking a transfer that fit the scheme better. Why would we not give JW the benefit of the doubt on this? Say what you want about JWs record, the dude oozes integrity and is not going to lead on his QBS. Let's assume Spav and Wilcox sat Millner down and indicated that Millner's future is looking bright in the new scheme, that he is the heir apparent for QB-1. You think Millner's reaction is to jump into the portal to face an even more uncertain prospect somewhere else? Use your brain people. This just doesn't make sense.
Spav and Wilcox sat Millner down and indicated they are still working on getting OLine talent but please be patient. Millner left because nothing materialized yet and he would rather not get a career ending injury, despite the opportunity to be QB1
Nah.
And this is why they are inviting in a guy from a 4-8 team from a lousy conference and with mediocre stats to potentially be the next face of Cal quarterbacking? I pray to God they have something better up their sleeve.
If he has talent, why not? His team record & conference don't matter if he's really good. And his stats aren't mediocre, they're pretty good - and they took a hit in the Texas & Alabama games when his line was overwhelmed, so he'd be even better surrounded by D-1 players. 247 says 10% of his incompletions were drops. Knock that down to 5% and his completion percentage is in the 70's. Spav saw him close up in a live game. If he liked what he saw, that's 10x better than watching tape. He could be the guy.
I am extremely skeptical of a guy who completed less than 50% of his passes at the JC level. But I agree that the next Cal QB will need mobility. The key question will be his accuracy while moving out of the pocket and throwing on the run. I still maintain that Cal should be able to do better with the receiver talent they have returning. Let's just pause for a moment and remember the conference QB names Cal will be competing against next year.....Caleb Williams....Jayden DeLaura....Michael Penix....Bo Nix....Cam Ward....and perhaps the number 3 overall recruit in the nation at UCLA in Dante Moore. I think that explains why a dude from UM might seem a little underwhelming.
But, let's not forget - they 1) have to want to come here & 2) have to be academically qualified. Often these sort of 5* talents don't qualify, plus are expecting to play at the next level and therefore 3) want to be surrounded by the best supporting cast available to them.
But mostly they each had specific reasons why they chose as they did: Caleb followed Lincoln Riley for the system he knew & the surrounding talent. Jayden was heavily recruited by UA out of high school, was the 1st call he received when he entered the portal, and had revenge on his mind (against his former team who brought in Cam to replace him and against Leach who had abandoned him). Michael came to UW to re-unite with DeBoer, his former OC. Cam followed his HC to WSU to be his OC. Cal was never on any of these player's lists. And sorry, we're not getting a Heisman QB.
I don't believe this for a second. What is the upside of chasing your QBs away? Unless Spav has 3 xfer QBs locked up and on their way, this conversation would never happen.
The more likely scenario is that Wilcox knew they were both leaving weeks ago and tried his best to spin his presser into the perspective that Rugbear is laying
Why would Milner leave after Plummer left? There are only 130 FBS teams out there (65 p5), and only one QB plays at a time. Hard to find a better situation to get playing time than being the number 2 after the starter leaves. Plummer is different because he has options. Milner is pretty untested and it would be hard for him to walk into a new camp and beat out QBs that are likely better than Mendoza and Johnson unless he drops a level. The more likely explanation is Spav doesn't see Milner being the heir and is hitting the portal hard.
I want to withhold judgment to see how it all shakes out, but this makes me sad. I thought Kai had the mobility and accuracy we wanted to at least be a steady #2. But Spavital is no slouch when it comes to QB coaching and recruiting, so I think we have to trust his call on this. If he went all out to keep Kai, I'm certain Kai would have stayed. That he didn't go all out to keep him, means he truly believes we can do better. All any of us will care about in the end is the results. Let's not twist ourselves around the axle too much until we see what shows up on the field. Best wishes to Kai in all things.
If Kai had already decided to leave, an OC 'going all out' wouldn't change his mind. There are a hundred reasons a kid might want to transfer, and we don't know what Kai's reasons were.