San Francisco 49ers general manager Trent Baalke may have been in Los Angeles for the late Thursday night PAC 12 game involving USC and Cal. He was on the pass list, according to Ryan Gorcey. If he was there, he saw some good play as well as some bad. Both quarterbacks, while at times showing signs of promise, also showed some very marginal play.
Davis Webb the senior from Cal went 34/53, 333 yards 6.3 avg., 2 TD 1 INT and a 61.2 rating.
Sam Darnold, the red shirt freshman from USC went 18/25 for 231 yards, 9.2 avg., 5 TDs 1 INT, 2 fumbles.
Cal prospects (via CBSSports.com)
QB Davis Webb (4th)
SS Damarlay Drew (7th-FA)
RB Khalfani Muhammad
OG Chris Borrayo
OT Steven Moore
LS Bradley Northnagel
DE DeVante Wilson
CB Antoine Albert
USC prospects (via CBSSports.com)
WR JuJu smith-Schuster (1st)
CB Adoree’ Jackson (2nd)
OT Chad Wheeler (2nd-3rd)
OG Zach Banner (3rd)
OG Damien Mama (3rd-4th)
RB Justin Davis (7th-FA)
WR Darreus Rogers
TE Taylor McNamara
OLB Jabari Ruffin
WR De’Quan Hampton
A good deal of the standout play from Cal in this game came from underclassman who will be on the radar for the future, including Cal’s pair of freshman receivers Demetris Robertson (6’0 175) who had 9 catches for 92 yards and Melquise Stovall (5’9 190) who 9 catches for 87 yards.
Senior running back Khalfani Muhammed, (5’9 175), had 15 carries for 89 avg 5.9 yds and one fumble.
Junior S Luke Rebenzer (6’0, 195) had 11 total tackles, 6 solo and 1 INT.
The biggest playmakers on the USC roster are WR Juju Smith-Schuster and Adoree’ Jackson and both are juniors that are likely to forgo their last year in college.
Smith-Schuster has shown his toughness throughout his college career playing through injuries and still being a reliable target. He played with a customized cast on his hand last season and remained productive. He finished the night with 6 catches for 97 yards and 2 TDs
Jackson is an athlete. He is dynamic in all three phases of the game and is a KR/PR specialist that broke Curtis Conway’s kick off return record during Thursday night’s match up. Finally Cal figured out that it’s really not a good idea to kick to him.
OT Zach Banner is HUGE. At 6’9, 360 lbs, he might almost make Trent Brown look small. He’s a true student athlete, already having earned his bachelor degree. He’s has been an anchor for the offensive line at right tackle.
RB Justin Davis (6’1, 200) was having a great senior year until he suffered a high ankle sprain. He did not play in Thursday night’s match up. In six games he's had 74 attempts for 467 yards for a 6.3 avg. He’s a powerful downhill runner that runs through defenders.
The most challenged element of this game was the announcing crew who crowned Darnold as the next best thing since sliced bread even though he committed three turnovers. Granted Darnold has given the team a much needed lift since replacing Max Browne as QB but maybe a slightly less over the top approach would be more appropriate. Other gaffes included mentioning that the middle aged man riding Traveler, USC’s equine mascot, was a student, comparing Darnold to Jonny Manziel, and wondering what happens to the resident torch if the Olympics and it's flame return to Los Angeles.