Cal's first spring football scrimmage successful

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While it isn't the excitement of the first game of the season, a spring scrimmage has all the intensity necessary to satisfy the most starved fan of the game.

Saturday afternoon, the Bears went through their first spring scrimmage of the season, and by coach Jeff Tedford's assessment, "there were some really good things."

The Good:

Kevin Riley started the scrimmage off strong.  He led the first-team offense on a five-play, 70-yard scoring drive where he accounted for 62 yards with his arm.  On the drive, Riley was 3-3 for 62 yards, including a 34-yard strike to Marvin Jones for the touchdown play.

Jones, who was injured last season, led all receivers with three catches for 47 yards.  He also had a 73-yard punt return TD called back for a penalty.  Jeremy Ross had an 86-yard return stand.

Riley finished the day 8-15 for 99 yards and a second touchdown toss (10-yarder) to Nyan Boateng.

Riley wasn't the only quarterback playing well on Saturday.  Beau Sweeney went 5-8 for 55 yards on the day, including going 5-6 on a drive that resulted in a field goal.

Both Shane Vereen and Covaughn DeBoskie both ran well.  Vereen concluded the day with seven rushes for 46 yards and a highlight-worthy 30-yard scoring run where he plowed over defensive back Bryant Nnabuife.

For the first scrimmage of the spring, I thought there were some really good things.  I thought we protected the passer well, made some plays and had some good rushes from time to time. Overall, I thought it was pretty crisp - not a lot of penalties, not a lot of turnovers. It was a good first scrimmage.
- Tedford on the scrimmage

Tyson Alualu had two plays in a row where he showed why defensive coordinator Bob Gregory has basically given the impression that he and Syd'Quan Thompson are the only safe starters going into the season.  After making a tackle for loss on one play, Alualu came back the very next play and got to the quarterback for a sack.

Mychal Kendricks returned an interception for 40 yards.  Chris Conte was making a bid for a starting spot with Darian Hagan missing most of spring practice in order to focus more on his studies.

The Bad:

One quarterback would like to have a do-over after Saturday.  Brock Mansion, speculated to be Riley's greatest competitor for the starting job, struggled after completing his first pass to Alex Lagemann for 35 yards.  His only other completion was a two-yard loss to DeBoskie.  He finished the session completing two passes on 11 attempts for 33 yards.

This really isn't bad, but Jahvid Best is missing spring practice after offseason procedures.  Tedford has said that he has started riding a stationary bike and jogging on a treadmill as part of his rehab.

We're looking at everything.  We'll watch the tape and look at execution in detail and fundamentals. We should never have to coach hustle or enthusiasm. I was really happy with the way our team played today as far as that was concerned.
- Tedford on the results of the scrimmage