Cal starts camp on Friday, and with that come the questions of who starts for the Bears going into the anticipated 2021 season. With that, we're projecting the depth chart for the Bears and what it looks like heading into camp.

A couple caveats:

- This is not Cal's actual depth chart, they will release one after fall camp

- This is a projection of who would start if the season started today

The first group right now has Tevis, who started three out of four games in 2020, Bequette, who if eligible (which is very likely), has played more than any member of the group, and McKenzie, who impressed throughout spring ball. Cal has been looking for a true nose, and they've got one in McKenzie, who can shift to a one-technique in Cal's nickel packages.

Behind them are Saunders, Correia, Maldonado and Long, though the likes of Wilkins, Roberts, Calhoun, and even walk-on Gunnar Rask could break into more playing time. Outside of Bequette, Tevis and Maldonado, there isn't a player with more than a handful of reps taken, and there's plenty of space for guys to prove themselves for playing time.

Of that projected group behind the 1st team, Saunders and Correia got plenty of mentions during Pac-12 Media Day as well, with Correia having a very good spring. Long should add some depth coming up from the junior college ranks, and Maldonado's quickness as a pass rusher has been mentioned as well. With some of the younger guys, including Roberts, Calhoun and Wilkins, they'll look to garner more attention for a defensive line group that could have a much larger rotation than in years past.

(Note: Kaleb Elarms-Orr tore his ACL during his senior year of HS in March, will likely not play this season)

The OLB position should be interesting with Keith Heyward in charge, two super-seniors likely to start and four guys who have played a bunch establishing a rotation. Goode and Deng should be the leaders of the group, but don't count out Croteau and Patu behind them. The two 2019 class members have made drastic transformations since coming in from the high school ranks. Patu has put on nearly 35 pounds of weight since his arrival, while Croteau, given the 'Croteautype' nickname for his love of the weight room, has gone from 230 in high school to a listed 255 in Berkeley.

Behind them are some young guys who the Bears will look to find a niche for, whether it's Hisatake as a bigger linebacker, Jernigan and Young finding their niches as smaller, more mobile OLBs, or Ieremia and Williams making the adjustment to the next level. Bimage, a transfer from Texas who came to Cal as a PWO (likely to earn a scholarship this fall), should play into the group as well.

Per Justin Wilcox, Tattersall has taken the next step in his development at the inside linebacker position, and as the most tenured player in a very young room, he'll likely start next to Iosefa, who has a lot of natural instincts at the position, Both are more mobile in coverage than others who have played the spot in the past.

In the spring, Tattersall ran with Antzoulatos, while Iosefa and Paster were a grouping during the spring game. That could happen again, but the Bears have tended towards using only a couple inside linebackers over the past few seasons. With a bit less experience in the room, it will be worth watching to see whether Peter Sirmon is open to using more players in-game. There's a lot of tackling ability behind those four, with Puskas, Smith and Alfieri all being mobile backers.

In the defensive backfield, it's a matter of positional flexibility and versatility. Drayden can play some nickel as well as on the outside. Ditto for Gamble. Craig Woodson can play safety and nickel. It will ultimately come down to which of the bigger corners plays well enough to earn more of those reps, along with who among the younger nickel types stands out.

At safety, Woodson, Woodie and Williams, who we're preemptively nicknaming the 'Worldwide Web,' should see some playing time rotating in, as all three have shown flashes both during spring ball and in the past. Woodson could start as a third safety in some sets as well.

The development of Martin, Higgins and McWilliams is one of the bigger pieces to watch this fall, all three are 6'2" with long wingspans, and while Martin and McWilliams have been around longer, Higgins' length was striking when watching Cal's spring game. All three should have spots on special teams moving forward.