Just a few days ago, we looked at the potential offensive depth chart for Cal in the fall of. Today, the defense is on the table.
Cal is going to be a little more stable in terms of returning talent on that side of the ball. Several key starters from seasons past will be suiting up in the blue and gold once again, and most of the prospective starters have at least some in-game experience.
This will be a unit that Cal, most likely, will have to hang its hat on in 2022. The offense will look to be better, but the Justin Wilcox era has of course been defined by great defense and an offense that merely needs to get the job done.
So what does such a unit look like? Well, I’m glad you asked…
Defensive line
There was a fair amount of shake-up in this room this spring, meaning that building out this projection is all the more challenging. Because this spot is so rotational and tends to see a lot of variation, this piece will again group the pairs of defensive linemen we are most likely to see together this fall, creating a tier system for tandems of tacklers. There will be a fair amount of overlap in games, but this is the best way to rank them for the time being.
1. Brett Johnson (R-Jr.) and Ethan Saunders (Jr.)
2. Jaedon Roberts (Jr.) and Xavier Carlton (Jr.)/Derek Wilkins (R-Fr.)
Wildcard: Darius Long (R-Sr.)
Johnson, despite being on a ‘pitch count’ in spring, really showed flashes of being the player he was pre-injury. Even 80% of him is better than most players at his position, which is ridiculous. It will be very interesting to see how the staff uses him going forward. There are no more superlatives to come up with for Saunders -- he’ll be ready to rock in the fall. Roberts looks similar to how he did last year, which is not a knock. Well-rounded with no glaring weaknesses. Carlton has been in flux between a few positions, and Wilkins has been pretty steady when he’s gotten his snaps.
Nose Guards:
1. Ricky Correia (Jr.)
2. Stanley McKenzie (R-So.)
3. Gunnar Rask (R-Jr.)
There’s not a lot of overlap at this spot, as typically only one of these athletes will be on the field at the same time. All three will play this year, but Correia has definitely been the standout here. Slimmed down, juiced up and refined, he should be fun to watch.
