Cal Poly to Hold First Spring Camp in Three Years, Starting Thursday

Mustangs are ready to Ride High in Spring Camp.

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Cal Poly to Hold First Spring Camp in Three Years, Starting Thursday

3/29/2022 2:05:00 PM | Football

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Beau Baldwin is excited.

For the first time in his 27 months at Cal Poly, he and his coaching staff finally get to have a spring camp.

Baldwin and his crew have recruited three signing classes and yet they have been unable to "take anybody through spring football" due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

That is about to change on Thursday as the Mustang football team will assemble at 9 a.m. at Doerr Family Field for the first of 15 Spring Camp practice sessions.

Not only that, offseason workouts, largely disrupted for the past two years due to health regulations imposed by the NCAA, Big Sky Conference, Cal Poly and San Luis Obispo County Public Health, have made a strong comeback.

"This is the first time we'll be able to go seven straight months of offseason workouts," said Baldwin. "That's where everything is done -- from January to July. That's what makes me very excited, thinking about how much we can grow and jump from where we were."

It's time to move out of the weight room and onto the field. Cal Poly will practice every Tuesday, Thursday and Saturday plus one Friday (April 22) from March 31 through April 28, wrapping up Spring Camp with the Spring Game on Saturday, April 30, at noon, also at Doerr Family Field.

Baldwin welcomes back 62 lettermen, including 11 who started five or more games on offense and eight on defense last fall, along with 23 redshirts and three newcomers to camp.

Physical development, functional movement, football IQ and overall knowledge of the game are areas of focus for Baldwin and his staff this spring.

"The main thing is to continue to expand our true physical development, which has been happening at a level we haven't had yet," said Baldwin. "The last 2 1/2 months have been the first time we've had a true offseason.

"When you look at film, that's where things will show up, where guys who haven't had the opportunity to develop like they truly need to, can see what they need to do to improve, especially in this conference," Baldwin added.

"Just because we're in spring ball doesn't mean we're not going to continue to lift three days a week and continue to develop physically, in how we move, how our bodies look, where our strength is, but also just a combination of strength and your true football functional movements. I want to see that continue and go to another level."

There's more.

"And then with that, all of the football IQ stuff that comes with new systems and going into it for a second year with a true offseason and both our overall football knowledge and our knowledge of what we do in our system -- I expect to make huge jumps between now and when we hit the fall," Baldwin added.

The three newcomers in Spring Camp are offensive lineman Jasdev Banwait, a graduate of Monterey Trail High School in Elk Grove and a transfer from Sacramento City College; defensive back Thomas McNamara from West Linn High School in Oregon; and wide receiver Jake Woods, a graduate of Cardinal Newman High School in Santa Rosa and a transfer from Northern Arizona.

A look at each position:

Quarterback -- Spencer Brasch, the transfer from Cal a year ago, is back for his junior season at Cal Poly after starting seven games last fall and completing 145 of 267 passes for 1,725 yards and 10 touchdowns.

The Mustangs' four other quarterbacks also garnered some playing time.

Kahliq Paulette started two games and finished 22 of 50 for 221 yards and one score while Jackson Pavitt played in two games with one start and completed 15 of 35 passes for 105 yards. In three games, Jaden Jones connected on seven of 18 passes for 34 yards and rushed for 148 yards on 28 carries, including a 60-yard romp against Idaho State, and Conor Bruce was 22 of 38 for 290 yards and one score, also in three contests.

With Brasch's return, is the quarterback situation more settled than last year?

"Yes and no," said Baldwin. "Obviously it's settled with the fact that, with the exception of Beau Kelly coming in, we've already had a chance to see everybody in live action, so we're starting to develop some data on what guys' strengths are and what things they need to improve on, going into spring.

"Spencer was our starter last year and finished as our starter, but with that being said, it's a very open competition," Baldwin added.

Running Backs -- The 2022 roster of running backs includes Shakobe Harper (82 carries, 251 yards, three touchdowns in 2021), Sam Stewart (27-119-2) and a newcomer to the group, Zion Hall, who caught three passes in four games as a wide receiver last fall, preserving his redshirt year. Hall also had his number called seven times on rushing plays, netting 84 yards, including a 59-yard run versus Northern Arizona.

"I'm excited about returning a number of guys," said Baldwin. "We lost a couple seniors (Lepi Lataimua and Chuby Dunu), but with the addition of moving Zion to that position and signing a couple coming in, it's going to be a very full and competitive group."

Other candidates include Adam Garwood and Mark Biggins, both used sparingly last fall.

Wide Receivers -- Fresno State transfer Chris Coleman, who led the Mustangs with 43 receptions for 590 yards and four touchdowns in 2021, returns along with Zedekiah Centers (35-310-0), Michael Roth (19-227-1), Xavier Moore (12-128-2) and Evan Burkhart (10-89-1).

"I am excited about the growth we're going to see at this position," said Baldwin. "Most of our production is returning, which is always exciting at this position. Also with that, one of our more productive receivers early on was injured and we're excited to see where he is."

That would be Giancarlo Woods, who caught 27 passes for 339 yards and one touchdown before suffering a season-ending injury in the ninth game of the 2021 season at Sacramento State.

"Woods probably won't be ready for true spring ball, but we see him on the way back and being ready when we hit things in the summer," said Baldwin.

Tight Ends -- Ryan Rivera, a linebacker in 2018 and a fullback in 2019, played in all 11 games at tight end last fall, adding four catches for 46 yards and one score (Idaho State) to his blocking duties.

"We saw Rivera take the bulk of the reps when a single tight end was on field, and he will continue to be a huge part of what we do," said Baldwin. "But with that being said, you will see some young players and other tight ends continue to add to certain personnel groups we can get into the game and certain things we can do to utilize the versatility we have at that position."

That group includes Josh Cuevas, Seth Robasciotti, DeMarcus Oandasan and Patrick Roberg.

Offensive Line -- Though Wade Willet, Nico DiFronzo and D.J. Stuckey have graduated, a large group of experienced players returns along the offensive front.

Guards Mohab Wahdan and Hunter Jones and tackles Austin Anderson and Payson Campisano return along with Charles Lincoln, another tackle who missed the final five games in 2021 due to injury.

"I've been really impressed with the growth the offensive line has made during the offseason workouts that we've had the last eight to 10 weeks," said Baldwin. "They're a unit that in my opinion has changed a lot in regards to how they're moving, what their bodies look like. That's going to really add to overall competition at the positions and just the production we can get out of that entire unit."

Others to watch for are graduate student Garrett Weichman, seniors Eli Otero and Vatulele Finau, sophomores Jonathan Serdinsky, Ethan Bronson, Carson Leedom and Ryan Hannoun and freshmen Ava Leota, Keith Marco, Jake Trachtman and Tyler Charbonneau along with Banwait.

Defensive Line -- Eli Ponder, who led the team with 11 tackles for lost yardage and eight sacks, and Josh Ngaluafe (28 tackles, 4.5 for lost yardage and two sacks) anchor a defensive front that needs to find replacements for tackle Myles Cecil (126 career tackles, 13.5 for lost yardage. 5.5 sacks) and Lance Vecchio (49 career tackles).

"This is also a position where we lost a couple guys who made a lot of plays for us," said Baldwin, "but that is going to open up opportunities for guys who may have been limited in their reps last year to expand on those reps.

"It's a deep group in terms of when you look at the competition that we're going to have at each spot on the D-Line, which always has heavy competition, and depth will always bring out the best in each guy, which is exciting to see," Baldwin added.

Candidates who are expected to see a lot more playing time this fall include Michael Otterstedt (Vacaville High School) and Antonio Vakameilalo (St. Francis High School in Mountain View).

Baldwin plans to utilize a combination of both 3-4 and 4-3 fronts, "focusing on multiple fronts, and there might be times where we get in more odd structures than last year."

Linebackers -- Here is a group with several vacancies thanks to the departures of Super Senior Matt Shotwell (345 career tackles, leading tackler each of his last four seasons), Aaron Cooper (39 tackles, four pass breakups, two sacks, one interception in 2021) and Fenton Will (57 tackles, 5.0 for lost yardage).

Shotwell was a third-team Associated Press All-American last fall, twice a third-team All-Big Sky Conference selection and notched 17 career games with double-digit tackles, including a career-high 19 against Idaho State in the penultimate game of the 2021 season.

"This is definitely a position where we have to fill some holes of older players leaving, not just Shotty's situation but losing a couple other key pieces at the linebacker position," said Baldwin. "It is going to be some big shoes to fill for our current Mustangs, but we're always optimistic and excited about the growth of that next group coming through into that position.

"I think our coaches have done a really good job recruiting and developing the young guys who are ready to take that next step," Baldwin added.

At or near the top of the spring depth chart at linebacker are veterans Laipeli Palu (51 tackles, one sack, two interceptions three pass breakups in 2021) and Dustin Grein (36 tackles, 6.5 for lost yardage, five quarterback hurries).

Baldwin also said that freshman Je'kob Jones and sophomore David Meyer "jump out as a couple that have a huge opportunity to fill the holes and take the next steps." Meyer made 25 tackles and recovered a fumble last fall while Jones earned seven tackles in four games, preserving his redshirt year.

Cornerbacks -- While Trevor Owens (19 tackles, seven pass breakups in 2021) has graduated, Fresno State transfer Dylan Wyatt (18 tackles, eight pass breakups, one interception) returns for his second season at Cal Poly and Xavier Oliphant (23 tackles, five pass breakups, one fumble recovery) also returns at the cornerback spot.

"It's going to be very competitive once we get everybody healthy and back, which may not be right at the start of spring," said Baldwin. "Coming from spring and going into fall, it's going to be as competitive as I have seen at that position since the time we got here."

One notable injured player is Julian Reed, the transfer from American River College who started two spring games a year ago (three tackles) but did not play last fall

"Reed is someone that we won't be able to see during the spring, but we will get him back," said Baldwin. "He's the only true injury in the spring that we won't get to see this spring, but we're also signing two freshmen coming in.

"The combination of getting seven or eight deep by the time we get into fall is going to create some fantastic competition at that position," Baldwin added.

Safeties -- Injuries have affected the safeties as well, but by the time fall arrives, the group will be much more competitive and deep.

Tommy Griffin (36 tackles, four pass breakups, one forced fumble), Dawson Hurst (20 tackles) and Dominick McCormack (22 tackles) all return along with nickel back Corey Thomas (15 tackles, two pass breakups).

"Overall, we're a little thin in the spring because of some injuries, but I think the five or six who are rolling are going to give us a tremendous opportunity to take a huge step in the right direction at this position," said Baldwin.

"That being said, once we hit fall, that depth chart is going to expand quite a bit and create even that much more competition, both with the guys coming in and with guys coming off injury," Baldwin added. "It's exciting to have a position again in which the guys who went through some learning curves playing as young players last fall make huge jumps as they move from year one to year two."

Griffin and McCormack played as true freshmen last fall while Hurst will be a junior and Thomas a senior.

Special Teams -- "All the kicking positions are very open," said Baldwin.

It's too early to tell who will handle what duties in the fall, but Jaden Ohlsen, who kicked the game-winning field goal against Idaho State, a 41-yarder with four seconds remaining, and Matt Hoffman combined to make five of 12 field goals a year ago.

Hoffman, Bryant Thao, Kevin Ryan and Ohlsen shared kickoff duties and all return this fall. Chris Bartolic, who punted 62 times last fall, has graduated, leaving that hole to fill.

Cruz Rubio is expected to be the long snapper for the third straight season. Holders and return specialists will be decided in the summer.