We're beginning again.
The idea of a stadium, with fans, being only a week away is unfamiliar at best. In my mind, it's all becoming real again, as Cal will play a game with fans in the stands for the first time since December 30th, 2019. That was the last time Cal football felt real for a lot of people, myself included.
It didn't feel real a year ago, when Cal played four games, with a roster that was hit at the worst time with contact tracing issues and injuries. It was a year that saw Cal cancel three games, rescheduled one with 48 hours notice just in time for the defensive line to get out of two-week contact tracing protocols, and lose five starters, including three offensive linemen within a day of a game. Cal had one game with anything looking like a full roster, a 21-17 win over Oregon, and even that didn't feel real.
The point I'm getting at is that it is hard to take away anything from a season that looked completely different, both from a preparation and a worldview standpoint. Memorial Stadium looked like a ghost-town walking through prior to last year's Big Game. This year, it won't for the opener against Nevada.
When I've been asked 'will Cal be any good?' by friends and family, I shrug, say I don't know. I have an idea, but it has been so long since Cal has played a real football game, really since any of the Pac-12 schools have played an honest-to-goodness football game, that it's hard to say one way or another whether Cal will be able to 'finish the job' or whether there will be some offseason soul searching.
There are a few things I do know moving forward, along with the things that this Cal season will hinge upon.
This is the most physically impressive team Justin Wilcox has put together since his arrival in 2017.
This group, during fall camp, has looked bigger than other teams before it. Part of that comes from seeing bigger groups on the defensive line and outside linebacker positions, as well as some bigger tight ends. Some of it is new talent, like Ethan Saunders and Stanley McKenzie on defense, along with Jermaine Terry and Ben Coleman on offense. Some of it comes from returners, like Valentino Daltoso, Chris Brooks, or the returned Luc Bequette.
Together, it makes for the most talented and largest team Cal has had since Wilcox arrived. Cal is helped by multiple super-seniors to give the roster depth, but it's undeniable that the team is bigger than ever. Whether that piece can translate into wins remains to be seen
There is depth that can replace Brett Johnson and Mike Saffell, it's a matter of if it will.
Cal has a host of defensive linemen who can fill in for Johnson, who was the Bears best defensive lineman in 2020. McKenzie, Saunders, Jaedon Roberts, Ricky Correia, and Darius Long all showed their ability through camp, and while Derek Wilkins and Akili Calhoun may need more time, they have the size component down already. A year ago Cal had only four healthy defensive linemen, this year, they have more than double that, something they'll need to do better against interior runs.
On offense, it's Brian Driscoll and Matt Cindric who have competed to replace Saffell, with Ben Coleman proving he could end up a starter this year. The cohesiveness factor is worth watching, as the Bears gave up 15 sacks in four games, and with a handful of longer developing pass plays, they'll need to improve on that front.
Chase Garbers looks more comfortable, can he regain his late-2019 form with an expanded playbook?
During the scrimmage last Saturday, Garbers looked his most comfortable taking deep shots since his late-2019 breakout. Garbers threw nearly 60% of his passes within 10 yards of the line of scrimmage, as the Bears expand the playbook beyond what they got in with a shortened fall camp.
Garbers has done a good job of avoiding turnovers over the past two seasons, but he'll need to take more shots with his arm and his legs for the Bears to get up another level. He has a few more targets to work with, as Jeremiah Hunter, Tommy Christakos, Jermaine Terry and Nick Alftin will join some of the senior pass-catchers as names to know, but quarterback play will likely be the determining factor as to whether the Bears make the jump to a consistent Pac-12 contender.
Can this year be a bridge to a younger group?
That jump comes with plenty of seniors among the starting unit. Of the nine players on Cal's roster taking a super senior season, seven are projected starters (Bequette, Goode, Deng, Hicks, Drayden, Daltoso, Crawford), while the other two, Trevon Clark and Marcel Dancy, are firmly in the rotation. In addition, all but two spots on the team (either center/left guard and nose guard) have a returning starter.
In that vein, the core of the team right now comes from guys in their first three seasons in Berkeley, a group that makes up 61 scholarship players. That group is going to have to play at some point, and it's going to have to show that it can take over for the older guys moving forward.
The special teams units actually have backups who can practice, can they avoid the issues of 2020?
Special teams errors cost Cal two games in 2020. It certainly didn't help that multiple players on those units were ruled out right before games, and the nature of how Cal had to practice in 2020 didn't allow for them to have a full regiment ready for a situation like that. This year has been different, with nearly 120 players in practice, and actual practice time for the special teams, along with a focus on elevating kicks for field goals.
It's something that has to be better for the Bears to make a jump, as the margins have been the difference for the Bears every year in Justin Wilcox's tenure. Eight days from now, we'll get one piece of the puzzle, but for now, it's still not quite real yet.
