63 Comments

My co-worker is a Purdue alum/fan. I asked him about Plummer. His response

Solid QB, mobile, accurate, takes care of the ball, but needs to be more aggressive throwing the ball downfield. Sound familiar?

I think Wilcox favors a QB that doesn't turn the ball over versus one that likes to score points.

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How many snaps did Brandon McIlwain get?

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Musgrave will teach him when and where to go deep.

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McIlwain was an interesting situation. He was a stud athlete with a great arm. But he would turn the ball over under pressure. They had to try him out to see if he would have been a Kyler Murray type of player. In the end BB was wrong and Chase took the job.

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Agree about Wilcox, maybe avoids turnovers to a fault. There is such a thing as too cautious- we won the turnover battle 3-0 at Arizona, a lot of good it did us.

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Does Wilcox neuter his OCs?

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hmmm, we can edit our comments now, hell everything in the Cal community is improving!!!

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I noticed this. It is a welcome change for someone like me who is terrible at typing and sometimes wishes to retract a stupid emotional outburst. ;-) Go Bears!

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Bo Nix to Oregon....

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You have to wonder how a guy that started 3-1 with a not so horrible loss at Notre Dame got yanked. Just read the fan blogs after the narrow win over Illinois, which was Plummer's last game as a starter. Some of the fans were saying that Plummer does not see the whole field and tends to panick on some throws. His replacement led Purdue to a monster upset over Michigan State, which was undefeated at the time and coming off a win over Ohio State.

What intrigues me about this story is that Purdue had a good enough number two to replace the starter (Plummer) who had just gone 3-1 to open the season. Utah did the same thing and turned their season around. Why can't that happen at Cal?

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Why not Cal??

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Utah's QB is in the portal as well. He's 6'5" and runs a 10.8 @ 100 yard.

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Can he throw the ball or is he a track man playing QB?

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Taco, I just thought of a couple more things. I always have to remember that just because there is talent in the portal, we have to be choosy about who we approach if they only have a year or two of eligibility. As far as QB goes its going to be players who have played in a system very similar to ours. The only two solid prospects that I have seen in the portal that fit that mold are Plummer and Slovis. Also, I think Costelli is the same class as Millner, and so he won't want to go to a school where he has a guy (or two) that he has to compete with. He'll most likely pick a school where he can play now or where they have a starting QB with a year of eligibility left.

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Dec 17, 2021·edited Dec 17, 2021

Apparently he can throw a great long ball and has good touch as well. Here's is 247 report. Read his eval. There are some nuggets in the portal. I also mispoke, he's only 6'3". https://247sports.com/player/peter-costelli-46080492/

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Measurables on Costelli are good, but I'm guessing we have our guy and Costelli will go elsewhere. Wouldn't mind if he showed up at Cal for a true competitive QB room.

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Based on the trend in college football today, it would not be a surprise to see Millner and/or Johnson enter the portal if Plummer wins the job...

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Hopefully the staff will make it a true competition. Within days of Spring ball the staff said "Chase is our man", given that it was no surprise peeps left.

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Well if you saw the number two guy play, you'd make Chase your starter within days too.

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Similarly it felt like "Glover is our backup" the moment he stepped on campus, which was strange considering how well Zach Johnson was performing throughout the spring.

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Academic standards are much tougher than Cal than Utah so the "pool" of recruits Cal can recruit from is significantly smaller. Utah is not a bad school but Cal has tougher requirements to get in

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BTW, are the admissions standards for a transfer the same as a HS student? For some reason, I don't think so. I may be wrong.

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LOL! My brother played tight end at Utah and found a way to graduate, so I can appreciate what you are saying. But that does not excuse in my mind why Can can't have better prepared backup quarterbacks. It has cost them a bunch of games. I think Purdue has fairly similar stiff academic requirements.

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Exactly. Smart kids can complete passes at the QB position, too.

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You need to get them playing time, and Wilcox doesn’t do that.

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Dec 18, 2021·edited Dec 18, 2021

Part of that is because Wilcox teams don’t blow anyone out...so he doesn’t get a chance to get Glover or anyone game reps...

But it also doesn’t appear that he gets his backup QBs many/any (Rugbear...any insight here?) practice reps with the 1st team, which becomes a bigger problem when they are needed, especially in a pandemic when you could lose your QB at any time.

That’s why I was so frustrated by Glover’s performance as backup at U of A, and Millner’s subsequent inability to even see action when the relief was clearly in over his head.

But enough of that...we’re on to 2022 and the new Jimmy Chitwood is thinking positive...it’s nothing but unicorns, Rainbow Brite and the elusive f-ing Sun Bowl in lovely El Paso....

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Hate to be cynical but how is a 2nd string Qb from Purdue an improvement over Garbers or Millner? I’m super skeptical of this one. Hope I’m wrong but doesn’t pass the smell test. I would have preferred to stay in the Slovis sweepstakes

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He's shown that he's an adequate power 5 starter. Millner hasn't played a down. We don't know what's up with Slovis, and it may be the case that he wasn't really in play for us.

Whether he's better than Garbers is moot, because Garbers is leaving.

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Or maybe we’re better off long term just getting Milner reps immediately if Plummer is just serviceable.

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It’s not moot if you’re looking for improved QB play. Might as well lean on Garbers to stick around longer if you’re not clearly improving. He knows the offense. Maybe impossible but not sure how hard we tried

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Garbers already declared for the NFL so he can't return though.

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Has until January to change his mind I believe but I agree it’s not gonna happen now

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Not an option.

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I don’t think Slovis has ever really been an option...he needs to catch lightning in a bottle to rehab his draft stock, and it’s doubtful he sees a Musgrave-led offense under Wilcox as his ticket to a late day 1 pick in April 2023.

I hope I’m wrong bc the kid is legit...still, throwing passes to Michael Pittman Jr, Amon-Ra St. Brown & Drake London behind a line featuring 1st rounders like Alijah Vera-Tucker would make a lot of guys look legit...

I’m pumped by the Jack Plummer news, tho...I like the film.

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Davis Webb was a 2nd string QB who lost his job as a starter too. He did pretty well for us.

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Yeah I thought about this. But Webb played for Dykes so not sure it’s a perfect comparison but fair point nevertheless. I hope he puts up Webbs stats

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Webb beat Mayfield for starting job and Mayfield transferred. Then Mahomes beat Webb for the starting job and Webb transferred. So it's an unfair comparison nonetheless. I don't know the talent level of QB that beat Plummer, but I hope Plummer does well for Cal.

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By your logic, why Slovis? Wasn't he also demoted to 2nd string?

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Much rather have a 2nd string SC QB than one from Purdue. But maybe I’m just biased

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Well, he WANTS to be here, to start with……

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Also Slovis got injured. Wasn’t just a pure demotion

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Starters usually don't transfer. Some do, but very few, and it's a long shot.

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Rather have a 2nd string dude from football power. Purdue was good this year but generally kinda meh

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First dedicated look I've had with this vid. First blush, similar to Chase yet he looked a bit smoother and a bit more deft of a passer.

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Agreed. Big kid...he’s 3 (??) inches taller than Chase and from the Minnesota game film, throws a prettier and more catchable ball.

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I noticed that as well. Throws a catchable ball, has good footwork, stays in the pocket w/ eyes downfield, and can move a bit. He will need to move if our OL doesn't take a massive leap forward. Speaking of which, still no J. Brown on the dotted line. So, it was a nice surprise to get Ramsey.

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I liked that he seemed to be decisive with the ball, too - it came out quick. We’re gonna need to rely on the short passing game a fair amount and Plummer got the throw off on time.

That Purdue team did have Rondale Moore to keep D’s honest so we’ll see how he looks w/o an electric weapon that’s currently playing on Sundays...we don’t have any of those right now....

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Dec 18, 2021·edited Dec 18, 2021

We have a lot of talent on O: Sturdivant, Anderson, Baker, D. Brooks, Christakos, Hunter, Latu, Mangum, Mojarro, Terry, Young, and probably a few others that haven't flashed yet. With a bunch of RBs that are talented. Now, how long will it take for them to be coached up and develop to consistent starters? Who knows. The best remedy is an improved OL. That will help the new QB, whomever it is, and help the young skill position guys to get acclimated to college ball.

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Agreed...I think we have talent...but will it flash in ‘22 is the question

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Is this official?

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I think Kai Milner has the arm and the athleticism to take the job with good coaching. Let's wait and see.

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For the last 22 hours he has "reportedly" transferred. Has he or hasn't he transferred? With recruits today you never know.

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The hold-up was filing the paperwork with the UC Berkeley financial aid office.

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But wait- he isn't coming to Cal- he's going to "California University" according to Perdue SI: https://www.si.com/college/purdue/football/report-purdue-transfer-quarterback-jack-plummer-headed-to-california

Someone said Perdue kids are smart...

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You can't really get annoyed with someone writing "California University" when you misspell their school "Perdue"

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Ha- very true! I'm definitely showing my Georgia with the "Per"due spelling.

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MiLLner he spells his name with 2 "L". miLLner!!!!!!!!!

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ty, Avi

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And Zach Johnson is from SoCal not Az

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disagree, lots were check downs, but several were plays Chase doesn't make.

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