Jordan, Justice Intercept Passes in First Scrimmage of Spring Camp

Elijah Ponder looking to tackle an offensive player.

Defensive end Elijah Ponder stymied the running game and rushed the quarterback during Cal Poly's Spring Camp scrimmage Saturday.

Photo by: Owen Main | Cal Poly Athletics

Jordan, Justice Intercept Passes in First Scrimmage of Spring Camp

4/22/2023 7:32:00 PM | Football

SAN LUIS OBISPO, Calif. -- Cal Poly's 50-play scrimmage Saturday at Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center featured interceptions by Julius Jordan and Jeremy Justice along with touchdown passes caught by Logan Booher and Bryson Allen.

Following a healthy turnout of high school juniors on Junior Day, the Mustangs displayed in the scrimmage what they have learned over the first three weeks of Spring Camp under new head coach Paul Wulff and his staff.

Washington transfer Sam Huard and Mustang redshirt freshman Bo Kelly shared quarterback duties Saturday. Allen's touchdown grab was off a screen and he broke into the clear while Booher caught a fade in the end zone.

"I felt the scrimmage went really well for our very first time scrimmaging," said Wulff. "Both sides of the ball had the opportunity to make some quality plays, which was fun to see. Nothing extremely obvious from a major breakdown, which is very good to see."

Defensive end Elijah Ponder made things difficult for the Mustang offense, both in stopping the run and rushing the quarterbacks.

"The defense did a very nice job against the run," Wulff said. "We were more physical up front and our tackling seemed to be pretty consistent.

"Offensively at times we had pretty good rhythm and threw the ball pretty well," Wulff added. "I would've liked to have seen more production in the run game but, overall for the first scrimmage, I'm happy with the production of the plays that were made."

Saturday's scrimmage wrapped up the third week of Spring Camp, which opened April 4 and will conclude with the annual Spring Game next Saturday (April 29) at 11 a.m., also inside Mustang Memorial Field Presented by Dignity Health French Hospital Medical Center.

One more week of practice each day next week except Wednesday will conclude two consecutive full spring camps after a two-year absence due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

The roster for this year's Spring Camp includes 90 returnees, 20 of whom started at least four games last fall (nine on offense, 11 on defense) and 36 others who earned letters by playing in at least one game. The Mustangs lost just five starters to graduation or the transfer portal.

Also in camp are a number of players who redshirted last fall as well as five Division I transfers and two other players -- pictured above, offensive lineman Jayden Smith (left) of McNair HS in Stockton and cornerback Delano Franklin (right) of Bishop Amat HS in La Puente -- who graduated early from high school and enrolled at Cal Poly in time to participate in Spring Camp.

One of the more interesting position battles is at quarterback with six candidates vying for the starting nod. A seventh, Kahliq Paulette, has switched over to the defensive secondary.

To be sure, no starter will be determined until Fall Camp in August.

Huard, a five-star recruit out of Kennedy Catholic who was on the Washington Huskies' roster the last two seasons, is one of five transfers in Spring Camp. Under his prep head coach and current Mustang offensive coordinator Sheldon Cross, Huard passed for 13,214 yards and 153 touchdowns, completing 804 of 1,297 passes (62 percent), in four varsity seasons.

Spencer Brasch and Jaden Jones were Cal Poly's starters last fall. Jones started the first three games of the Mustangs' 2022 season before sustaining a knee injury and Brasch, his replacement, passed for a career-high 415 yards and equaled his career high with four touchdowns in a season-ending 49-42 victory over Portland State, finishing with 2,604 yards through the air, No. 2 all-time in the Cal Poly record book.

Brasch completed 206 of 348 passes with 19 touchdowns last fall. His 206 completions is a school record, surpassing the 196 passes completed by Robert Perez in 1986, while his 348 attempts is No. 2 behind Mike Fisher's 386 attempts in 1994. The 19 touchdowns are No. 6 all-time. Add his statistics from the 2021 season and Brasch now is No. 4 in career passing yards (4,329), No. 3 in completions (351), No. 3 in attempts (615) and seventh with 29 touchdowns.

Kelly played in three games last fall as a true freshman, preserving his redshirt year. He completed 11 of 21 passes for 102 yards, all against Eastern Washington.

Also on the roster are signal callers Jackson Pavitt and Bryce Weiner.

Next Saturday's Spring Game will be followed by a groundbreaking ceremony for the John Madden Football Center. The bleachers in the south end zone of the stadium were removed this week to make room for the $30 million project.