Cal's first day of spring practice came and went, but not without giving a taste of some newcomers and new faces. That's the nature of college football, it's cyclical, and new names are going to have to replace guys who made impacts, like Jordan Kunaszyk, Pat Mekari, and Chris Palmer, among others.

There's a handful of guys that Cal's established starters talked about Monday afternoon, but the first newcomer to touch on is Kuony Deng. Deng transferred in from Independence CC in Kansas, coming in early to participate in bowl practice before the Cheez-It Bowl, and today was the first time a lot of the assorted Cal media got to see him practice.

The 6'6" 225 lb Deng is built like a pass rusher, or at least has the frame that defensive coaches covet for one, but he's playing inside linebacker for the Bears right now. One practice in, and Peter Sirmon saying "he plays like an inside linebacker," back in December rings true. Deng bends well, moves fluidly, and is taking to the playbook with the same fervor

"It’s basically helping the team however I can," Deng said about his role, "however they need me to. Right now I’m dialed in to an inside spot, that’s what I’ve been focused on. It’s a challenge being new, you have to be able to command on defense, making a lot of call. The same way I’m studying in class, I’m studying the playbook, so it has been a lot of fun."

Deng ran with Evan Tattersall as his running mate at inside linebacker, mainly with the second group on defense on day one, but also got a bit of time on the field with Evan Weaver, who's one of the many helping helping him to learn the position.

"I’m around a lot of people that are helping me out," Deng said, "coach Sirmon, coach Bruno, Weav, JK, that’s a guy who was super helpful to me in December, and he’s always a text away."

Right now, the spring is about developing skills for Deng, but Justin Wilcox noted that they're going to do plenty with him.

"We’re going to train him to do more than one thing," Wilcox said. "So there’s potential that he plays inside, only plays inside, there’s potential that he plays outside, only outside, or there’s a potential, which could be a really good thing, that he can do both. We rush our inside linebackers a fair amount, so when you’re able to do that — and his length in terms of pass game and getting off blocks is evident just looking at him."

Some of the other names that are taking on bigger roles this spring:

- Penn State transfer Isaiah Humphries, who was a safety during his time at State College, but can play any of the DB spots at Cal. He worked primarily in the nickel Monday, a place where Cal needs depth after Traveon Beck graduates.

"Hard worker, definitely dedicated," Beck said about Humphries, "He’s really learning how to play every position, he doesn’t have a single position yet so we’ve been teaching him everything, from corner to nickel to safety. He has potential, comes from a good program and we’re excited to have him this year."

- Early enrollee Braxten Croteau, who made a nice stop in the backfield on Marcel Dancy

"I’m real excited about him," Luc Bequette noted. "I feel like he’s been picking up everything really quick, and he’s a good body, good athlete. When we’ve been doing our player run practices, he’s really caught on with all the drills and techniques, so I’m excited to see what he can do."

- Nose guard Siu Fuimaono, who got early time with the first team at the nose spot.

"I think he’s gotten a lot better already," Bequette said, "you can really see that he’s stronger coming out of his stance. I noticed today he’s been staying really low, exploding out his stance."

- The Five Offensive linemen from the recruiting class of 2018, who all got reps today, with Will Craig and Matt Cindric taking reps with the first group (at LT and C respectively)

"Will (Craig) keeps getting better," right tackle Jake Curhan noted"he has game experience now, which is the most important thing, especially on the offensive line, getting more mentally in tune with what’s going on. You can see the difference in what he’s doing.

"Matt Cindric did a great job over break. I think he put on a little weight, and he’s also been studying everything really well, getting better at what he needs to get better at.

"Same with (Mello, Friis and Owen), they have to step up this year, some of them are going to have to play, some of them are going to be travelling with us on the road. It’s all about seizing the opportunity for those guys and really using these 15 practices to get better."

- Walk on wideout Ricky Walker III, who had a couple nice catch and runs during the team period.

"We’re excited about Ricky’s spring," Wilcox said, "because he’s been healthy now for a considerable amount of time. That had been something that held him back, I think, so this spring will be big for Ricky. He’s got some tools, and now we’ve just got to go out and refine those things so he can put his best foot forward and kind of get into a groove a little bit more than he has in the past."

- Redshirt freshman McCallan Castles, who along with Gavin Reinwald, is set to play a ton at the Tight End position this year

"Me and Gavin redshirting last year was probably the best thing," Castles said, "because we went over the plays with each other, then knowing that we were going to come out here and compete with each other, it creates a better edge instead of some dude being the next in line, because we want to push each other every day to become better."

Cal returns to practice Wednesday morning at 10:30 am.