An Early Look at the Spring Two-Deep: Defense

While Cal's offense shouldn't be radically different in the spring, Cal's defense should be in for a massive makeover this spring. Justin Wilcox and Tim DeRuyter both have their roots in a base 3-4, with Wilcox working in a 4-2-5 nickel for passing situations. Cal played a ton of 4-2-5 last season, mostly due to the lack of linebacker depth and the offenses of opponents they played. Since there's a new coaching staff in town, it's safe to say that approach failed miserably, but the composition of the defense is set to change.

Being Multiple

A term that's going to be disliked by a number of people going forward is "being multiple," something that the offense is going to be as well. In essence, the defense is set to be more adaptable and aggressive, with a lot of pre-snap movement, showing blitz and dropping, with a few twists and delays thrown in among the line and the linebackers.

A play at the :24 mark is emblematic of what DeRuyter wants from his defense, with a twist on the interior, showing blitz from one end, bringing a blitz from the other edge and up the middle while causing confusion up front. It is aggressive, fluid, and can throw off offensive linemen who aren't as disciplined. After a year with relatively vanilla defensive sets that repeatedly got burned in the run game, and the passing game when injuries mounted, it's a welcome change for the Cal defense.

There's been one loss on the defensive side of the ball that hasn't entirely been addressed. Defensive lineman Chris Yaghi, who played as a true freshman, is no longer on the roster. He would've been a solid piece in the defensive line rotation this season, as the Bears need all the space eating defensive tackles that they can get.

DE:

The defensive end spot in a 3-4 will usually move down to the defensive tackle spot in the 4-2-5 nickel, so they're in need of versatile linemen who can move around from on top of the tackle to shading the guards. James Looney should take one of these spots with his quickness, skill with his hands in block shedding, and general versatility. There are two bigger questions at work, who takes the other defensive end spot and who backs up Looney.

The other spot will probably be manned by a new face, whether it's someone who played at the defensive end spot in 2016, such as Noah Westerfield, Chinedu Udeogu, or Evan Weaver. It could be the early enrollee Gabe Cherry, who possesses the versatility to go between two spots. It could also be a bigger defensive tackle moving outside, such as Rusty Becker or Tevin Paul. With what defensive line coach Jerry Azzinaro is looking for in recruiting (lankier defensive ends who effectively use their leverage and hands), so even though he could be a candidate to move to the pass rushing OLB/DE spot, Weaver would be a fit at the spot. Westerfield or Cherry would also make sense, given their size.

Something to think about after the spring is whether the Bears can secure the transfer services of former Clemson DT Scott Pagano, who could work well at any spot on the defensive line.

DT:

Cal doesn't have a true nose tackle on the roster at the moment, as in someone that can play with leverage and close up both A gaps. What they do have are defensive tackles that can execute the kind of twists and stunts that DeRuyter has used. With Luc Bequette recovering from an ACL tear in the fall, Tony Mekari would be the top target for the job, with Rusty Becker and Tevin Paul the current candidates to back him up. Another idea for the spot would be to keep Looney at the defensive tackle spot, using him in a similar fashion to how Stanford used Solomon Thomas last season.

OLB/Pass Rusher:

This is where guys like Cameron Saffle and Alex Funches come in, along with Weaver. The first priority for a guy at this spot is being able to rush the passer. Saffle has improved that in his first two years in the program, retaining his explosiveness while getting bigger. He could effective in a stand-up rushing role, as could Funches.

At TVCC, Funches played a lot of stand-up DE, rushing off the edge, along with an ability to drop in pass coverage. That's one thing Saffle would have to learn how to do, but both guys could ostensibly rotate at the spot.

Another though would be to use Devante Downs as someone who can rush off the edge or drop into pass coverage. Downs has been at his most effective as a delayed blitzer/spy, and he has the size to take on offensive tackles at the line. He played a lot on the inside last season, but a move outside might be beneficial.

ILB:

Raymond Davison and Jordan Kunaszyk would be the incumbents at these spots and look to stay as starters. Kunaszyk especially started becoming effective about mid-way through the year, taking one of the starting spots, while Davison had a solid year as a captain and starter. Davison's strength is in pass coverage, while Kunaszyk has a solid tackling range from his spot, something he'll have to do a lot of from the middle linebacker spot.

The thinness of this group doesn't help, as Hamilton Anoa'i and walk-on transfer Gerran Brown make up the backups for this group, along with another walk-on in Kaodi Dike. The inside linebacker group will be helped by the addition of Kyle Harmon in the fall, but until then this group is still alarmingly lacking in depth.

OLB:

For the other outside linebacker spot, the Bears will look for a more traditional outside linebacker type, one that can drop into pass coverage and occasionally come off the edge. There's only two other scholarship linebackers that fit this description in Aisea Tongilava and Cameron Goode. Tongilava didn't really play in 2016 and Goode redshirted. Both should be ready to go in the spring, though what they bring to the table is still a bit of a mystery.

CBs:

Darius Allensworth has one side on lock. Though his junior year was cut short, he made one of the biggest jumps from sophomore to junior year. The other side will be a battle between Marloshawn Franklin and Joshua Drayden. Drayden improved mightily at the end of last season, but should be pushed by Franklin in the spring. Other names who should make some noise at corner would be a healthy Nygel Edmonds, Ashtyn Davis (who just qualified for the 60m hurdles at the NCAA championships), a redshirted Camryn Bynum, Chibuzo Nwokoche, and early enrollee Elijah Hicks. Hicks could prove to be a key piece, and will have the chance to play early.

Nickel:

With Trey Turner listed as a safety, this spot looks like it belongs to Traveon Beck, who looked more and more comfortable as the season progressed. De'Zhon Grace is still listed as a cornerback, so he may be his backup. Seeing how this spot gets used during the spring is going to be a key, since there's going to be a need for the nickel package against spread teams in the Pac-12, Washington State being a big example.

Safeties:

The safety spots got knocked around the most last season, with injuries piling up on the backend. It did leave the Bears with a wealth of experience due to guys filling in. Evan Rambo received his redshirt, so he's currently a redshirt sophomore, but he may need more time to recover from a knee injury suffered against ASU last fall. Jaylinn Hawkins was the beneficiary of all this playing time, and should get the first shot at starting at one of the other safety spots. Luke Rubenzer should get the other first shot with his experience, though he did tear a bicep at the end of last season. They'll be pushed by a number of talented guys, with Malik Psalms, Derron Brown, and Trey Turner waiting in the wings, though Turner may still be recovering from an Achilles injury suffered in the fall. Walk-on Jacob Anderson should also be in the mix, along with Quentin Tartabull (who is also now listed at safety)

All this being said, the Bears have a ton of returning experience to help the transition to coach DeRuyter's defensive ideal. There will be a few key guys out during the spring, but for the most part, the guys who are prospective starters for the fall are already there, healthy, and ready to go.