Aug. 23, 1997
Tarik Smith Sparkles in 75-Play Scrimmage as Cal Breaks Camp
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Tarik Smith.
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LOS ANGELES - Senior tailback Tarik Smith proved that he is all the
way back from last year's knee injury as he popped a pair of big plays during
Cal's final summer camp scrimmage in Turlock Saturday morning.
The Cal offense proved to be explosive during a 75-play scrimmage as the
Bears broke four different plays of 40 yards or longer. Three Cal tailbacks had
big days, led by the All-America candidate Smith.
Smith broke loose on a 70-yard run early in the scrimmage when he turned the
corner on a sweep play and sprinted through the Cal defense for the touchdown. A
few minutes later, he took a swing pass in the left flat and again broke free to
score on a 42-yard reception.
Back-up Deltha O'Neal also looked sharp as he rushed for 97 yards on just 7
carries. He excited the coaches with a 59-yard TD run.
Freshman tailback Marcus Fields also was superb as he showed excellent
acceleration while accounting for 65 rushing yards on just 9 carries.
Cal fullback Joshua White also got in the act as he ran over several Cal
defenders while catching three swing passes for 31 yards and also blocking
effectively.
Quarterback Justin Vedder had a fine outing in directing the Cal offense as
he completed 10 of 14 passes for 182 yards and one touchdown without an
interception. He opened the scoring during the scrimmage as he took a
quarterback draw 40 yards for a touchdown.
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Justin Vedder.
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The leading receiver on the afternoon was Dameane Douglas, who caught 3
passes for 62 yards, including a 34-yard reception on a pass from Vedder.
Defensively, Cal wasn't as sharp as during the Wednesday scrimmage, but
several players looked good. Freshman Andre Carter had the lone sack on the
afternoon and also recovered a fumble. Senior linebacker Andre Rhodes led the
team with 6 tackles.
"I was really pleased with the way the offense got untracked today," said
head coach Tom Holmoe. "We showed some big-play ability and that gives us hope
that we'll be an explosive football team.
"It was encouraging to see Tarik Smith run with the football. He's ready to
play and that's going to big part of our offense. All of our tailbacks looked
like they can contribute in a big way.
"We accomplished a lot during this football camp and we escaped without any
major injuries. That's a huge plus."
A number of potential starters sat out the scrimmage, but all are expected
back in the near future. Defensive tackle Brandon Whiting figures to return to
action by the end of next week and will have a full week of practice before the
Houston opener. Tight end Corey Smith hopes to be back in action when the Bears
resume practice on Tuesday.
One of the priorities during the camp was to solidify the offensive line.
While some uncertainties remain, it is expected that the coaching staff will
name its starting group early next week. The anchors of the line will be juniors
Jeremy Newberry and John Welbourn. However, as many as seven other players are
vying for the other three starting positions. Included in that group are Brian
Shields, Kursten Sheridan, Kevin Doherty, Kevin Swillis, Yauger Williams, Drake
Parker and John Romero. It's clearly the largest offensive line groups in Cal
history as none of the nine players mentioned above weighs less than 295 pounds
and seven of the nine are at the 300-pound mark or above.
Cal will host its annual Family Funfest on Sunday beginning at 12 noon on
Kleeberger Field, just north of Memorial Stadium. The Cal players will be
available to sign autographs and a free lunch will be served to those in
attendance.
Cal begins its fall semester on Monday and the team has been given the day
off but will resume practice on Tuesday afternoon at 4:00 p.m.
