Pre-Fall Camp 2021: Position Groups by the Numbers

A focus of Cal's recruiting process has been to add length, for the most part, across the board in recruiting. It has also been a goal to add size, something the Bears did prior to spring in adding nearly 600 lbs to their roster as a whole between the end of 2020 and the beginning of spring ball 2021.

That leads to a question of what the average player at each position looks like for the Bears, as they've made strides toward building a bigger roster.

Some caveats on data collection:

- This includes only scholarship players

- With positions that have multiple subpositions (such as offensive line, defensive line, and cornerbacks), all the players have been grouped together)

Scholarship numbers: 4

Average Height:: 6'1.75" (Median of 6'2")

Average Weight: 212.5 lbs. (median is the same)

Player who most closely fits that profile: QB Ryan Glover

Biggest outlier: Zach Johnson on height (6'1", as the other 3 QBs are listed at 6'2:), Johnson and Chase Garbers on weight (Johnson at 200, Garbers at 225)

Bill Musgrave has noted in the past that there's multiple ways to play the quarterback position, and at multiple sizes, but the quarterback room at Cal is around that 6'2", 215 mark going into the fall. This is a position where the frame will come into play from time to time, but it's less about that than other physical and mental characteristics.

Scholarship numbers: 5

Average Height: 5'10.2" (median of 5'10")

Average Weight: 216 lbs (median of 213)

Player who most closely fits that profile: Damien Moore (5'10" and 220 lbs)

Biggest outlier: Christopher Brooks (6'1" and 235 lbs)

The running back position, solely by height, is the shortest position group on the team, but the height isn't what the Bears are looking for in the recruiting process. In Musgrave's one-cut run scheme, Cal has generally looked for guys in a certain mold, who can break arm tackles and get through the initial hole for consistent yardage. Chris Brooks is still the biggest back on the roster, as the rest of the group is in the range of 5'9" to 5'10" from 205 to 220 lbs.

Scholarship numbers: 11

Average Height: 6'.9" (median of 6'1")

Average Weight: 200 lbs (Median is the same)

Player who most closely fits that profile: Kekoa Crawford, listed at 6'1" and 195 lbs

Biggest outlier: Trevon Clark and Tommy Christakos for height (both listed at 6'4") and Aidan Lee for weight (listed at 240 lbs)

This is a position where the Bears are starting to recruit more height, with taller wideouts like Clark, Christakos, J. Michael Sturdivant, Jeremiah Hunter and 2022 commit Jaiven Plummer. They do still have a few key contributors under that 6-foot mark in Nikko Remigio, Justin Baker, and Mason Mangum, but the position is getting bigger moving forward.

Scholarship numbers: 8

Average Height: 6'4.5" (median is the same)

Average Weight: 241.9 lbs (median is 240 lbs)

Player who most closely fits that profile: Collin Moore, listed at 6'4" and 245 lbs.

Biggest outliers: Keleki Latu and Gavin Reinwald by height, listed at 6'6" and 6'3" respectively, Jermaine Terry by weight, listed at 270 lbs.

The tight end room is one that has added a handful of bigger bodies in the past couple seasons, with Terry, Latu, Jake Muller, and Elijah Mojarro over the last few classes. They're getting close to what they want size-wise from the position with those 6'4" to 6'6" players, including moving another big body in Alftin to the offensive side.

Scholarship numbers: 13

Average Height: 6'4.77" (Median of 6'4")

Average Weight: 304.62 lbs (Median of 305)

Player who most closely fits that profile: Valentino Daltoso, Dylan Jemtegaard, and McKade Mettauer, all listed at 6'4" and 305 lbs

Biggest outlier: Everett Johnson by height, listed at 6'7", Ryan Lange by Weight, listed at 335.

A group that has also recruited on the heavier and generally longer side over the last few years, especially with every member of the 2021 recruiting class coming in at over 300 lbs. Musgrave has tended toward liking bigger offensive linemen, as the Bears will need guys like Will Craig and Brayden Rohme to add size to their frames at the tackle position.

Scholarship numbers: 11

Average Height: 6'3.36" (Median is 6'3")

Average Weight: 300 lbs (Median is the same)

Player who most closely fits that profile: Ethan Saunders, at a listed 6'3" and 300 lbs.

Biggest outlier: By height, both Derek Wilkins and Brett Johnson at 6'5", by weight both Stanley McKenzie and Ricky Correia at 340.

The main area where Cal has gotten bigger in the Wilcox era, as the Bears have two guys who can play nose tackle in Stanley McKenzie and Ricky Correia, along with a number of bigger bodied players at the position who can add the size needed to play against a number of spread-based teams in the conference.

Scholarship numbers: 11

Average Height: 6'3.36" (Median is 6'3")

Average Weight: 240.9 lbs (Median is 240 lbs)

Player who most closely fits that profile: Myles Williams is listed at 6'3" and 245 lbs

Biggest outlier: By height, Kuony Deng at 6'6", by weight Curley Young at 210 lbs.

Adding length at the outside linebacker position has been an edict for Wilcox and company since day one, and this is the year with the best length they've have, with Cam Goode and Orin Patu at 6'4", Deng at 6'6" and Braxten Croteau at 6'5" as guys expected to make up the main rotation. For edge setters, that length is extremely valuable against longer offensive tackles.

Scholarship numbers: 9

Average Height: 6'2.67" (Median is 6'3")

Average Weight: 233.33 lbs (Median is 235)

Player who most closely fits that profile: Ryan Puskas, Andy Alfieri and Mo Iosefa are all listed at 6'3" and 235

Biggest outlier: Every player in this room is listed at either 6'2" or 6'3", but Nate Rutchena at 220 lbs is the farthest away from the average weight.

This is another relatively homogenous group when it comes to size, as the Bears have gotten relatively similar players in either long safeties converted to ILB (Paster, Rutchena, Puskas) or athletic guys who played ILB in high school (Iosefa, Tattersall, Antzoulatos among others). There's also guys with length, like Femi Oladejo with his 80 inch wingspan that should be interesting to watch moving forward.

Scholarship numbers: 9

Average Height: 5'11.67" (median is 5'10")

Average Weight: 186.67 lbs (median is 190 lbs)

Player who most closely fits that profile: Josh Drayden and Branden Smith are both listed at 5'10" and 185 lbs.

Biggest outlier: Tyson McWilliams, Kaleb Higgins and Jaylen Martin for height at 6'2", Lu-Magia Hearns for weight at 160 lbs.

Admittedly this group is brought down heightwise for the number of nickel-types on the roster, all listed at 5'10" (Drayden, Smith, Isaiah Young, Hearns, and Gamble), with no corners actually being listed at 5'11" or 6'. There's clear length on one side of the spectrum, and smaller players with more lateral quickness on the other. Where Cal goes with their classes going forward, considering how many of these guys are young (Drayden and Smith are the sole seniors), will be worth watching.

Scholarship numbers: 9

Average Height: 6'.1" (Median is 6')

Average Weight: 205.56 lbs (Median is 205 lbs)

Player who most closely fits that profile: Raymond Woodie III is listed at 6' and 205 lbs

Biggest outlier: Hunter Barth and Daniel Scott by height at 6'2", Fatu Iosefa by weight at 190 lbs.

Another position group that's within a relatively tight window of height and weight ranges, without much in the way of big outliers. Cal has tended toward taking defensive backs at the high school level, regardless of position, and moving them to corner or safety based on fit, and they appear to have a type here. Barth and Craig Woodson, unlike a handful of other safeties (namely Dejuan Butler, Fatu Iosefa, and Miles Williams) both played more safety at the high school level. Even Elijah Hicks moved from corner to safety. Whether Cal looks towards recruiting more safeties out of high school to play the position in college is something to watch, especially with the growing trend of moving safeties down to linebacker (a la Paster and Rutchena)