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Not Just a Guy Named Brett Johnson

Flashback to the summer of 2018 for a moment.

An eternity ago, Justin Wilcox and company were hosting their second year of recruit camps in Memorial Stadium. Current defensive line coach Andrew Browning just came onto the staff as a quality control coach. And Cal had three commits and one commit to be on the field (OL McKade Mettauer was on an official visit that weekend as well). OLB Orin Patu, OLB Braxten Croteau, and OL Everett Johnson all had their moments on the camp, but the one that stood out most to those in attendance was Brett Johnson.

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In the pass rush portion of the camp, Johnson didn't lose a rep, as he ripped through lineman after lineman. Johnson did this throughout the summer (as seen in a clip below from ArizonaVarsity.com's Ralph Amsden), along with in wrestling matches his senior year, where he won a state title. Johnson's senior year film, along with his camp performances, got him bumped up to four-stars by Rivals by the end of the 2019 cycle.

Because of that, it wasn't a surprise to see Johnson come in, play in every game as a true freshman (one of four to do so), start eight, and have a handful of success. He played out of position as well, when the Bears needed a nose guard. He did that, putting up 26 tackles, 3.5 TFLs, 1.5 sacks, and a fumble recovery.

"Brett as a freshman took starter snaps," fellow defensive lineman Zeandae Johnson (no relation), said, "we're expecting him to step up and play multiple positions on the line."

"Brett showed flashes last year," defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon added, "Brett continued to improve last year, in the weight room even through this summer. Brett's a very talented player. He's going to have to play multiple positions."

Now, it's a question of putting it all together for Johnson, as he looks to replace and possibly eclipse the production of the departed Luc Bequette.

With a defensive line group that's relatively thin (with eight scholarship players due to Bequette's transfer and Gabe Cherry's opting-out), the 6'5", 290 lb. Johnson will end up playing both at the 4i (inside shade of the tackle) and in one of the two defensive tackle spots in nickel packages.

"I feel like 4i is where I'm more naturally suited." the sophomore Johnson said, "I stayed at nose guard all through high school, so I'm used to that style, deep interior D-lineman play with a bunch of guys on you, but now that I'm in a bigger league with bigger people it makes more sense for me to be in a 4i."

Johnson described the move from nose to defensive end as a switch from hitting then reading the block to reading the block first prior to the hit while trying to control the B gap. His skillset from high school wrestling is one he'll lean on

"Leverage, knowing where to place your feet, when you have a big body on you, knowing how to press back on them," Johnson said of the translatable benefits of wrestling. "I'll always fall back on wrestling as one of the best things I've ever done to help me be prepared for this level to play. I love wrestling, and I wouldn't be where I'm at if I hadn't done wrestling in high school."

Right now, Johnson is set to start on the defensive line next to Aaron Maldonado and Zeandae Johnson, and he's going to be expected to ramp up his rep count and his play. He played the 11th most reps of anyone on Cal's defense a year ago, and was the fourth highest graded regular on the Bears' defense per Pro Football Focus (behind Cam Bynum, Jaylinn Hawkins, and Zeandae Johnson). The expectations for Johnson are there, now he has to meet them as the Bears look to continue their string of defensive success.

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