Unlike Cal's offense, Cal's defense will be replacing a handful of important pieces this fall. Evan Weaver, Ashtyn Davis, and Jaylinn Hawkins all departed for the NFL. Luc Bequette grad transferred to Boston College prior to the Pac-12 returning. Lone Toailoa graduated, and Cam Bynum opted out (but could still return). That makes for a chunk of Cal's defense that isn't returning.

That said, the Bears do return players with plenty of experience, including five players with over a thousand total reps on defense taken (six if Bynum chooses to return) and other players who saw key time as backups in 2019.

A caveat: While there are opt-outs, no Cal player has publicly opted out of the 2020 season aside from Bynum.