47 Comments

Wilcox Ball. Fun offense to watch??? What is this???

Thanks for the report, nice observations. Why must the offseason torture me so!

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hey whats up everyone, first comment on this website and hope the move to this website is smooth and we can retain all of our old members... Go Bears!!

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With Hicks moving over to safety AND Cam Bynum taking some safety snaps . . . is there any possibility for some full trickeration defensive back #takers style? Or is it just making sure all of the defensive backs have versatility to fill in for each other in case of injury.

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Oh defn. I mentioned about about the STAR position that Wilcox mentioned. But I also it’s letting Marcel Yates do his own eval of his room through the spring while giving the younger guys a chance to play everywhere. I honestly think it’s all about getting everyone as many snaps as possible and that can only be done with everyone rotating positions. That being said. It’s perfectly valid we have some more disguises and fun plays they want to use with these “new” personnel groups.

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I'm getting excited for the future after Garbers. Both Casey and Brasch seem like real talents!

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Yeah there's more upside in making Brasch the backup over Modster. If all works well I could see one of those gridlock situations where it becomes a winner gets the job loser transfers type deal.

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Did Brasch play in more than 4 games? I think he can preserve his RS as long as he was below that limit.

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He used the redshirt because he played in 4 games. So he’s still considered a freshman.

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I can't watch the video with audio at work. Can someone summarize what's happening with DeRuyter and Sirmon? Why does it sound like TD is being demoted?

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The understanding here is for continuity sake. TDR was linked to a. Few jobs this offseason and I think they’re planning ahead for it. If TDR does in fact leave after this season then you don’t have significant drop off at the DC spot and all you would need to do is find an OLB coach. I think they’re just prepping for a scenario like that. But my take is, it’ll pretty much stay the same. Also I like that the ILB coach is the play called since one of the ILBs will be the one with the radio in their helmet.

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Can you explain how the radio in the helmet works? One player on O and D has one, but it gets cut off before the snap, or something......blah, blah, blah...... Huh?

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Yea I believe its one on offense. one on defense. I think it cuts out when the play clock hits 25 or 20? somewhere around there.

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I haven't seen any news this off season from any of the major sites covering Cal that linked Sirmon to other jobs. TDR was the one getting a lot of looks.

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If anything, this DC move for Sirmon is to rehabilitate his DC image. His time at Louisville was pretty rough.

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That Louisville program had bigger issues.

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That is what I've heard as well. Seems like our staff jives here (especially him and Wilcox and TDR), so I'm not really concerned we'll have the Louisville issues

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I misphrased my comment, I should have said the DC move will help rehab Sirmon's image, not that it is the reason for the change.

I think we want to keep TDR, but it's a two way street and it's not a secret that he wants to be a head coach again. I think Sirmon as the DC is the long term goal here for Wilcox.

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Sirmon wasn’t linked to any jobs this offseason DeRuyter was so I don’t know where your getting the information.

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I stand corrected. Haven't seen this anywhere else though, and also have seen no details about specific jobs like what we saw with TDR.

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Idk. Written by the pseudo name of the “staff” and not being at practice. And this the same site that said the William and Mary OC was interested in the job. I don’t trust that site a single minute outside of recruiting rankings regarding Cal stuff. They don’t have a guy on the beat here. Ryan and Shannon is the only reason they had reliable info. And both are no longer with 247.

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To be fair, the W and M OC did have interest in the job didn't he? There just wasn't reciprocal interest from us.

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Will Gentle be ready? Kind of concerning that he's not on the field.

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If you watch the post practice interview Wilcox does make it sound like they’ll all be ready by fall

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How does one visit the football practice? Do we just go on the field?

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Actually, DO go on the field. I'd like to see how that works out (as I sit in the stands..... : ))

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Walk through the North Tunnel, and sit in the stands.

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Look for the Asian guy with the notebook

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HEY. TERENCE.

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It could be anyone! Even TwistNHook!

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How was Jaedon Roberts seasoned as a "Early Entree?" (I know this makes me a grammar national socialist, but I saw "early entree" used in another post the other day.) Hopefully he'll be the one eating up opponents in the fall.

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Mmmm, early entrees.

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"He's seasoned perfectly, such a stunning early entree." - Gordon Ramsey

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Fingers....it’s not a boo-fay. Use a cocktail stick...

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Just curious as to what the benefit is of giving Bynum safety reps. He’s such a good corner, even if we lost some safeties to injury, wouldn’t we have other guys fill in so Bynum can continue to cover the other teams WR1?

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There’s a bunch of reasons here. I’ll try and get all of them. 1 is you know what he gives you at CB so you’re shifting him around just case for depth. 2 is it allows you to play some of the younger guys at CB and have the older guys QB the defensive backfield from that spot. 3 is just some experimentation to see if they have any interesting groupings or personnel looks they can mix and match. 4 is helping cam prep a bit for the next level. 5 is you also have a new coach so they’re just getting a feel for their room and the skill sets across the board.

Scheme wise it’s interesting since Wilcox said theyre working on the STAR position which is the SS/OLB role. Kinda like what SC did with Sua Cravens. They tried that out with Daniel Scott a bit yesterday. In that scenario you could roll Cam up to safety to have a better security blanket and experience over the top with Chiggy and Drayden manning the corner roles.

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My guess is they know he won't run fast enough to be a high pick at corner so they want him to play safety so he's drafted. Kinda like Chris Conte.

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Loved watching his post-practice interview. He's a super-sharp player and a great leader, we are fortunate having him back next year. Plus, I'm sure he was told he needed another year to improve his potential stock. Having the dbacks understanding different positions makes us more of a threat, I would imagine, also.

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I dont think they plan on playing him at safety unless injuries occur, in which case as a guy who knows the defense better than anyone he'd be a solid choice. Its the same reason he's getting reps at Becks old spot, he isnt the ideal choice (physically) but if someone goes down hes never going to make mental errors.

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Thanks for the update Rob. I hope the guys being held out aren't in jeopardy of missing the season. It's also prudent of the staff to hold out guys who may be at risk of aggravating injuries.

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I agree. I'm hoping Goode sitting out is precautionary so he can focus on continuing rehabilitating/recuperating that shoulder of his. I need him to stay healthy and bring down more opposing QBs :)

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I rewatched the post practice presser I recorded. He basically said they’ll be ready to go for fall. And if they aren’t on the list, they’ll participate in some way this spring.

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When feasible, can a writer ask about #54? How is his health?

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Tattersall was fully cleared medically to play football towards the end of the season last year. I can defn ask how he’s feeling but they aren’t withholding him as of right now.

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thanks Rob. I remember reading that in the run-up to the RedBox. To me, his recovery is as important as any story. I wonder if his injury impacted the department's equipment, training, or anything. Or is his injury categorized as something uncontrollable?

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