Cal brought in two tight ends in the 2021 class in Jermaine Terry and Keleki Latu, and both have stood out for a variety of reasons. Terry, at a listed 6'4" and 270 lbs already looks the part as a true freshman, while Latu, at 6'6" and 215 lbs is the tallest player in the tight end room.

"We see them as complementary pieces," Chryst said, "they're not robbing each other's playing time."

This fall camp has brought a glimpse at the future of the tight end room, two guys with separate skillsets at the same position making plays as the Bears use the tight end position more and more.

In Latu and Terry, you have the two different body types. Terry, from Kennedy High School in Richmond, has mainly been used as an inline tight end, starting to move to some of the H-back and split out roles as he learns more. Latu, from Jesuit High School in Sacramento, played mainly as a big wideout throughout high school. That's what he's learning early on at Cal, with Chryst mainly splitting him out, as he hasn't quite bulked up yet.

"He's been using me mostly as a receiver on the outside," Latu noted, "but he's getting me blocking to get used to it. He knows that I'm pretty skinny, but I'm trying to build up weight to try to start blocking, I've been blocking as much as I can."

It's a role that has worked early for Latu, who has had a couple highlight reel catches over smaller defensive backs, including one over Ray Woodie early in camp and a one hander over Fatu Iosefa Thursday. That said, there's a bit of a difference between high school and college for Latu, as there are guys on Cal's defense as tall as him.

"It's the first time I'm seeing people eye to eye," Latu joked, "I don't have to look down."

With Terry, there's a bit more comfort involved for a handful of reasons. Terry has been at Cal for a semester and already looks like he could physically be a contributor from day one. He and Latu have different approaches, while Latu was calm and a little more reserved in interviews Thursday, Terry was louder and more openly enthusiastic, something that carries over into his willingness to take on guys who are as big as him.

"I'm always wanting to go against dudes that are the same size as me," Terry said, "so it's great to do that because that'll really work on my technique. We've got some great guys on this team and we're really going to have a chance to do something special. That's something that goes beyond the heights and weights, I feel like we've got a lot of talent and a lot of will to progress this season. I've just been having fun, to be honest it's all football and I've been enjoying every single second of it"

Both Terry and Latu, both Northern California products, have been fixtures in early morning study sessions with Chryst, as they look to learn a whole new world of football, compared to what they were exposed to in high school

"It's a lot to take in, a lot to learn from," Latu said, "Trying to take in so much information, you've got to keep on studying and studying. For me, I'll come in early in the morning with my coach, make sure I understand the plays. I'm trying my best to learn the whole playbook and to remind myself that this is my responsisbility."

"I love football, it's the game I've always gravitated towards," Terry said, "but it's about trying to get better, knowing that I will get better, knowing that I can develop. I don't want to waste that opportunity and I want to put myself in the right position to contribute. Chryst is awesome, I love him. Having that NFL pedigree inside your room, you couldn't ask for anything else."

Latu is a little further removed from his family in the Sacramento area, but Terry is less than ten miles from home in Richmond. Berkeley is a bit of a world apart from Richmond, which Terry had to see to believe.

"I didn't believe it was a world apart until I got here," Terry said"It was kinda hard even though I'm right down the street, but with all the students coming back on campus, you can really feel the college vibe, it's great to have my support and know that my resources are right down the road."

One more key difference between the two, there's no one at the tight end position who is quite like Latu, with a unique body type and most of his experience being at wideout. With Terry, while no one at tight end came into the program as big as he has, he's had a similar sized senior in Collin Moore to take him under his wing.

"He probably has a bigger influence than the coach," Terry said of Moore, "and that's no disrespect to my coach but that dude has helped me so much and I'm thankful for everything that he's doing. When it comes to blocking, life, making certain decisions, how to carry yourself, that dude has been one of the biggest helps I've had since I got here."

With just over two weeks until Cal's opener against Nevada, it's not clear how much these two will play. Terry may be a bit more ready at this juncture, though there are three senior tight ends in Moore, Jake Tonges, and Gavin Reinwald ahead of them, along with a spring breakout guy in Nick Alftin. The two have given glimpses of Cal's future at the position, two guys who can work off each other moving forward, as both have seen what the other is capable of.

"He's a great player and he's been making some great catches," Terry said of Latu. "It's great to have guys like that in your room who can stretch the field and make plays at all times."

"He's a great dude," Latu added on Terry, "he's always been helping me and I'm going to help him too. He's been showing me some tips out on the field. He's a great tight end, I see a lot of potential in him as we go out on the field together. I think we're going to make a good duo."