Welcome back to a season ending edition of Five Things, in which we examine the major trends of the 2020 class, explaining some of the focuses for the staff, and whatnot.

As with all of the articles in our NSD content, Trace has inserted his own input independently of mine, and when he is speaking, it is denoted.

1) Offensive infusion - To be clear, this theme is different than last year, when Cal picked up the likes of Trevon Clark, Deshawn Collins, and Kekoa Crawford needing them to play immediately -- instead, the offensive guys in this class are more about raising the ceiling for the future (although some could, conceivably, push for playing time before too long. The nice thing is that they will not really have to do so.)

For my money, they are some of the most impressive skill position athletes you have had come through here in awhile. Justin Baker, Jeremiah Hunter, and DJ Rogers are a tier of guy that’s worth getting excited about. I dare say that barring something going wrong in their development, they should be the best set of receivers here since the 2012 class.

Trace: There’s a lot of speed to be injected at the wide receiver positions, particularly with Baker, Hunter, Aidan Lee, and Mason Mangum. All four have shown vertical ability in the passing game, with Baker probably having the best agility of the group, Hunter and Lee bringing a combination of size and speed, and Mangum having 4.4 speed from either the slot or outside. Tommy Christakos, Rogers and Jake Muller are all massive targets to be deployed in a myriad of ways. I think Rogers and Hunter get on the field immediately.

2) Take 2 - Even before the draft decisions of Elijah Hicks and Cam Bynum are known, you can already pencil in some of the pieces pieces in next year's Takers.

S - Daniel Scott (Craig Woodson)

S - Isaiah Humphries

CB - Chigozie Anusiem (Miles Williams, or Hicks, if he returns)

NB - Josh Drayden (who could conceivably go outside as well, which he has done in the past)

CB - Branden Smith (Jaylen Martin, or Bynum, if he returns)

Four of these guys already PT this year to varying degrees, which gives them at least a leg up over someone who has no experience whatsoever. This, in turn, applies to the 2020 class, because it means that the five freshmen brought in this year at this position do not necessarily have to play right away, even though they all project as natural, or easy replacements for the guys who just left. I suspect that a couple of them even add things the OG Takers lacked a bit -- especially Tyson McWilliams, who will be the latest guy to try and fill the long corner spot. (R.I.P my dreams of Malik Psalms.)

Trace: GA is calling this incoming group the Fab Five. They will know when to call timeouts. Trey Paster has also been one of the vocal leaders of the class, something that will carry over to his time at Cal.

3) DL depth - Like the above group, getting Zeandae Johnson and Luc Bequette back would be huge for allowing these guys -- Stanley McKenzie, Ethan Saunders, Ricky Correia -- all that extra year of development also. Here, though, the odds are likely a bit higher we’ll see one or two worked into the rotation, because the depth is not nearly as plentiful as the DBs are getting. There’s BRETT JOHNSON!, Aaron Maldonado, JH Tevis, Gabe Cherry, and maybe a few more names thrown in, but you really only have two here with a lot of experience outside of those sixth year guys. (It will also be a huge departing DL class this year, so any time you can buy for these guys is crucial.)

Trace: Andrew Browning quietly did a good job at getting big, space occupying targets. His commits/recruits often mentioned his enthusiasm for the game as a reason they bought in.

4) Mostly Home - This factoid can be interpreted multiple ways, but it’s worth at least mentioning that the large majority of players in this class come from in-state, as compared to last year’s Arizona contingent, for example. You can argue this means these kids are paying attention to the Bears again, certainly, as 14 of the top 100 Golden State prospects signed for Cal (it was 2, last year). Tilt that fact another way, though, and you might argue that they’re still not successful enough in the NorCal area, with only Dejuan Butler from Antioch among their commits. This also depends on how you interpret the area of Fresno or Turlock, too, I suppose.

Trace: I don’t think it was a particularly great year in the Bay for talent in 2020, but the Bears did very well in the Central Valley, an area that has historically been a boon for Cal, whenever they’ve been able to get recruits from there.

5) There is an opportunity - Considering that two of their California rivals are now stalling and Wilcox is firmly entrenched, and a known commodity with back to back bowl bids -- something that also hasn't been done in a decade -- the Bears have a lot to sell in the next class. Stability, feistiness, and, well, it seems fair to expect that there should be an incoming uptick in recruiting quality too. There are many metrics we can use in determining how “good” a class is, but the truth is that the Bears have always hovered somewhere in that 40 range so far under Wilcox, with a star average of close to 3, and a 4-star recruit total of under 3. This year represents a jump already, and they continue to bring in good pieces, good players, and indeed, often under-evaluated players in our professional opinion. But if they want to really, truly contend in the Pac-12, they continue to need more. 2021 is an opportunity, with two of their main rivals in weakened states, and USC still in some flux. It all depends on the hires made this year, and who they’re able to retain.

Trace: How good this class will end up being remains to be seen, but I do believe it's the class with the highest ceiling under Wilcox. With the other three California schools not up to their standards, 2021 will be an opportunity to build on something very solid from 2020.