This week on the 3-2-1, we're looking at the importance of evaluations going forward, continuing to look at why players and coaches have chosen football, and more

Why Football

Our series on why football is the sport coaches and players have chosen for their future continues with OL target Austin Barry and OL coach Angus McClure

Barry

Football was what I wanted to play ever since I was little. I started watching football at a young age, even though I didn’t understand too much about it. When JJ Watt got into the league, I started watching him and thought ‘this guy is crazy, I want to be like him.’ That’s what got me into football, and once I started playing, I thought ‘yeah, this feels right.’ So I started playing as much as I could.

McClure

Football is the ultimate team game, everyone is equally responsible in football. I think football is a sport where it doesn’t matter what your background is, it doesn’t matter where you come from, football is played everywhere. It brings everyone together for one common goal. I know a lot of sports can say that, but football is special to me. I played a lot of sports and went down a lot of different avenues, but it’s about team first, it’s about integrity, it’s about being highly disciplined, and it’s about having standards as a program, with everyone pulling together for that one common goal. If you can get 120 guys to do that, it’s really special. You can form bonds for the rest of your life.

If you play college basketball or you play in the NBA, you can always go back to playing pickup basketball, you can play in a rec league. Same thing with baseball or softball, you can always come back and play. The same thing with the Olympic sports, you can continue to play those sports for the rest of your life, but football, it’s special because when it’s over, it’s over, and you will always have those bonds for the rest of your life. The older I get, the more I realize that. In staying in touch with not only my former players, but my teammates, whether it’s high school or college, it’s amazing the bond we still have today.

The Importance of Evaluations

We're inching closer and closer to the June 1st date that is one of the most important dates in college athletics. That's the date that the dead period expires, a date where the Pac-12's moratorium on athletics ends, and a date that every coach in America is looking at as a tipping point.

That date is also going to be important for camps for a handful of schools that haven't already cancelled them. To my knowledge, Cal has not cancelled their prospect camps set for the month of June. They may have to, following the leads of other schools, such as Clemson. If that happens, that's going to make coaching evaluations that much more valuable.

Camps are very obviously for evaluation, but with the pace of recruiting charging up even more in recent years, it's not about looking at the 2021 guys, it's about looking at the 2022 guys. Cal has found guys like Hunter Barth and Everett Johnson at camps as freshmen and sophomores. Without these times, coaches are going to have to lean on other connections as they move into the next class.

If you've read our 'Why they coach Q&A's' (Start here with Angus McClure, Part 1 and Part 2), the Cal staff has cultivated plenty of connections in that regard. The dead period has also given coaches and the recruiting staff the opportunity to zero-in and analyze more film than they have before. Without seeing some of the growth guys usually make in spring (like 2020 signee Zach Johnson putting on 25 lbs between January and May), it may limit opportunities for those who may have put this time to good use in a more structured environment.

Ten Things I'm Looking Forward To

Over the weekend, our Nam Le discussed if there is a 2020 season, these are the ten things he's looking forward to. I decided to take my own crack at it.

1. Fullbacks - I unabashedly love the fullback position, and to see it as a potential piece of the base offense at Cal is a change I want to see through.

2. Receiving Core - Makai Polk and Nikko Remigio were playing their best football at the end of the season. Kekoa Crawford added a different element when healthy. Jeremiah Hunter should play right away. Jeremiah Hawkins looked great in the four spring practices.

3. Versatility on Defense - With the STAR position being something the defense is using more (a hybrid safety/nickel/OLB), it allows for the defense to be a bit more adaptable and to line up in a myriad of looks (even and odd fronts, lighter or heavier boxes), and it gets both Daniel Scott and Craig Woodson on the field.

4. Chigozie Anusiem - Elijah Hicks moving to safety is in part because Anusiem has the look of an all Pac-12 DB. He allowed 12 receptions on 24 targets a year ago with 5 pass breakups (ranking 2nd on the team despite having somewhat limited playing time)

5. Fully healthy Chris Brown Jr. - He dealt with a shoulder issue for a good portion of the year, but got healthy at the end of the year. Could be a 1000 yard rusher

6. Depth and Special Teams - This is the first year where the Bears, under Justin Wilcox, have their scholarship numbers at 85. This should help on special teams, where injuries have been a killer.

7. A fully healthy Chase Garbers in a Musgrave offense - the biggest determinant if Cal will be able to compete for a Pac-12 title this year

8. The Tattersall/Antzoulatos effect - I expect Evan Tattersall to take over for Evan Weaver. I also expect Blake Antzoulatos to get a handful of reps. Both are ready.

9. Sixth year defensive line - How much will the continuity of Zeandae Johnson and Luc Bequette help a defense that lost its top tackle and two starting safeties?

10. Getting out of the house - Like everyone else, I'm losing my mind. There's only so many times I can take walks around my neighborhood.

The $15 Team?

Cal basketball put out one of these $15 team things that are prevalent on Twitter, only using players that made the NBA for significant portions of time. Like a number of people, I'd go off the board with this question.

PG: Jason Kidd, $5, because he's the best basketball player in Cal history.

SG: Ed Gray, $4, arguably the best pure scorer at the guard spot at Cal

SF: Joe Shipp, $0, holds the Cal record of 9 three pointers made in a game, one of only eight Bears with five or more 30+ point performances

PF: Ryan Anderson, $4, because on my fictional team, we're running with a stretch four, and Anderson is the best of that bunch to come through Cal

C: Devon Hardin, $0, to give Kidd someone to throw lobs to, as Hardin was an athletic big for the Bears who could run the floor and block shots

This would be the most fun group in my opinion, running a Mike D'Antoni Seven Seconds or Less style offense. It may not be the absolute best,

What's the Biggest Need in 2021?

Back from the hypotheticals, the 2021 class has a glaring need, and that's on the offensive line. The Cal seniors on the offensive line have a combined 6605 reps taken for their careers, and that number could end up around 9500 to 10000 depending on who plays and starts in 2020.

Saffell: 1418

Curhan: 2685

Daltoso: 1965

Bazakas: 329

Williams: 208

That makes the 2021 OL class imperative. They already have a solid tackle piece in Bastian Swinney, but they'll need more.

That's where two important pieces in central California come in in Noah Pulealii and Thomas Cole. Both have visited the Bears on multiple occasions, and while Pulealii has blown up a bit, he has a mauler-type skillset that the Bears could use at a guard spot going forward.

At least one Cal commit gets a bump up to four-stars in the next ratings update

Ratings are subjective on an individual level, but there's times where there may be a disconnect early that gets solved later. There's a few Cal commits that could have the argument made for them for earning their fourth star. Kai Millner, Cal's QB commit, might be the most deserving of them, especially considering his recent Under Armour All-American Bowl game invite. The Higley quarterback has an impressive skillset as a thrower that gives him a chance to be bumped up to four stars in the next update.