1. What is the biggest offensive storyline coming out of the spring?
Going into the summer, Chase Garbers’s grasp on the Cal offense is going to be the determinant for Cal’s ceiling on offense. Across the board, Cal’s offensive units have improved over the past couple of seasons, with more depth along the wide receiver, tight end, running back, and offensive line groups. Due to the return of a handful of super seniors, Cal has six players back on the offense, experience across the board, and some young players who up the potential of the room, namely WR Jeremiah Hunter, TE Jermaine Terry, and RB Damien Moore.
Garbers, going into his fifth year at Cal and his fourth as a starter, will have to get back to the level he finished 2019 at. He had a handful of moments throughout 2020, but didn’t adjust to the Bill Musgrave offense as quickly as hoped. A lack of practice time with a near-impromptu season can be seen as some of the culprits, but the same issues that stymied the Bears in 2020 aren’t there in 2021, with a full spring practice in the books, spring and summer workouts happening, and fall camp set to return to normal. Garbers and the Cal offense as a whole need to create explosive plays and come up to the standar that the Bears’ defense has set during Justin Wilcox’s tenure.
2. What is the biggest defensive storyline coming out of the spring?
Replacing Brett Johnson is arguably the biggest thing Cal has to do on defense, as the Bears have a number of returners on that side of the ball. Cal’s top lineman fractured his hip in an automobile accident in March, and he leaves a big gap in the line for the Bears to fill.
So how do the Bears fill it? They have a myriad of options. JH Tevis and Aaron Maldonado bring experience to the table, though Maldonado missed the 2020 season with a lower body injury. The 2020 and 2021 classes bring a handful of key guys who can play, with Stanley McKenzie and Ricky Correia on the interior, along with Ethan Saunders, Jaedon Roberts, Derek Wilkins, Akili Calhoun and Myles Williams filling defensive end/defensive tackle roles. Cal also brought in a late 2021 signing in Darius Long, from College of San Mateo, to add more bulk on the inside.
The big piece the Bears could add is a blast from the past in Luc Bequette, as head coach Justin Wilcox noted that ‘it’s in the NCAA’s hands’ with regards to Bequette transferring back from Boston College to Cal. Getting Bequette back, with 38 starts at Cal to his name, would be a massive gain for the defensive line.
3. Which (now former) player left the biggest shoes to fill?
Cal didn’t lose much in the way of players this offseason, with three seniors leaving and one starter (Makai Polk) headed to the transfer portal. That said, the presence of Cam Bynum, who had played every game of the Wilcox era, will be difficult to replace, if only from a leadership standpoint. Cal does have a couple of guys with experience, namely Josh Drayden and Chigozie Anusiem, who will take over at the corner spots, but having the guaranteed experience of Bynum over the past couple years has been a stabilizing factor.
As Cal moves towards the second wave of defensive backs in the Wilcox era (with Craig Woodson and Collin Gamble among the younger guys to likely move into bigger roles this year), finding a young player, like Bynum, who breaks out in fall camp at the position will go a long way, especially with a relatively young DB room.
4. Keep an eye on this guy (a player we’ll be talking about this year that we have not before)
Stanley McKenzie, by the nature of Brett Johnson being out and by him being one of the more intriguing players during the spring. McKenzie got hit with injury and Covid-related absences in 2020 which kept him out, but the second-year player out of St. Louis HS in Hawaii is primed to be the starting nose guard for the Bears, with the potential to play some defensive tackle in nickel packages. McKenzie is one of the most physical linemen Cal has, and his emergence could raise Cal’s ceiling on defense.
5. What is the most difficult game on the schedule?
At Oregon is the most imposing game Cal has on their schedule. The Bears, who play the Ducks every season, haven’t won in Eugene since the 2007 College Gameday classic, but scored a win over Oregon to end the season a year ago. Oregon will be breaking in a new quarterback, but they have a ton of talent on the defensive side of the ball, with two former Cal coaches in Tim DeRuyter (defensive coordinator) and Marcel Yates (secondary coach and pass game coordinator).
Oregon has been at the top of the Pac-12 for the past two seasons, and if Cal wants to take the next step, they’ll have to beat the best in the conference.
6. This season will be a success if…
Cal wins the Pac-12 North. The plan for the Bears has been to win a bowl, win the North, win the Pac-12. They’ve done the first part, after winning the Redbox Bowl, which set 2020 up as the year to win the North. That didn’t happen, but the Bears have enough returning talent with enough young pieces to make this a possibility. The Bears were a trendy dark-horse to compete for the conference title last year before Covid-19 dashed that hope. This is the year where they can make good on that.
7. This season will not be a success if…
Cal stays at the level that they’re at. The expectations are higher in Berkeley now, and despite multiple prognostications, including a Vegas over/under of 6 wins for Cal, the Bears should be able to get by the 7-5 regular season records they’ve had in both 2018 and 2019. Cal has outdone Vegas over/unders in every season Wilcox has been at the helm (credit to Nick Kranz for that stat), and this year should be no different, but the Bears want to ‘Finish the Job,’ and they need to take the next step in order to do that.
8. What question was not really answered this spring?
A lot of small questions more than any big, overarching questions:
– How does the running back situation play out, with three big returners in Marcel Dancy, Chris Brown, and Damien Moore?
– How much do the young wideouts, namely Jeremiah Hunter and Tommy Christakos, get into the rotation?
– Does the rotation of players on defense increase from the 15 guys who mainly saw time a year ago?
– Can the special teams units eliminate the errors of 2020 with actual practice time?
– How much can a true freshman TE in Jermaine Terry crack the rotation?
– Will Kuony Deng’s transition to OLB be smooth and will it allow for a different look than we’ve seen at ILB with Muelu Iosefa and Evan Tattersall?
– Which young DB steps up behind the older group of Hicks, Anusiem, Scott, and Drayden?
9. What was the biggest coaching staff change this offseason?
After Tim DeRuyter made the jump back to being a full coordinator at Oregon, Cal pulled Keith Heyward down to Berkeley to be their outside linebackers coach. It’s Heyward’s first time coaching OLBs, as the Bears have plenty of experience at the position. Bringing Heyward in has significance in a couple ways, the first being the Bears confidence in Peter Sirmon as their defensive coordinator. The second is Heyward’s pedigree as a strong recruiter, as the Bears looked to raise the ceiling on their recruiting. Heyward landed the Bears top target at OLB/Edge Rusher in Curlee Thomas, so dividends are being paid on that front so far.
10. Way-too-early season prediction (Based on 12-game schedule) and why?
9-3. It’s odd to think about, but Cal hasn’t had a winning conference record since the Pac-12 became a 12 team conference. This is their best opportunity break that streak in a while, as they return plenty of talent, play Arizona and Colorado as opposed to Utah and Arizona State, and have one of the most tenured quarterbacks in the conference.