2019 ended in victory for Cal, with a Bowl Win for the first time in four years, as the Bears finished 8-5, tied for their best record of the decade. Now, with Bill Musgrave coming in as the Bears' next offensive coordinator, the offense will see some changes with it, while the defensive staff seems slated to remain the same moving forward.
Now that the calendar has turned over and the Bears have hired an offensive coordinator, it's time to break down Cal's roster composition, position by position. Today continues with the offensive line.
2019 In Review
Cal's offensive line story in 2019 was dominated by injury issues. Projected left guard starter Gentle Williams was injured in fall camp. Starting left tackle Will Craig suffered a season ending injury before Cal's week two matchup with Washington. Valentino Daltoso got hurt in the season opener, and was limited until midseason (where he ended up playing left tackle instead of the right guard spot he was slated for). Mike Saffell went down for a period of time as well. This led to eight different offensive linemen starting a game for the Bears, with Erick Nisich, McKade Mettauer, and Henry Bazakas starting their first games for the Bears in relief.
It led to a handful of struggles on the line, including double digit TFLs allowed against North Texas and Oregon State, nine sacks allowed against the Beavers, and 43 sacks allowed throughout the season.
The offensive line group got healthy through the end of the year, with Saffell and Daltoso manning the center and left tackle spots. Matt Cindric played every single rep on offense, between both left guard and center. Jake Curhan played all but 6 reps on the line and McKade Mettauer showed progress after struggling through the midpoint of the year.
It was a group that showed some improvement in protecting Chase Garbers over the final three games, but one that will look to have more consistency moving forward. Steve Greatwood announced his retirement right before the Redbox Bowl, and got to go out on a high note for the Bears.
Looking Ahead
Departing: None
Returning
T: Jake Curhan, Valentino Daltoso, Will Craig, Brandon Mello, Brayden Rohme, Henry Bazakas*, Cal Frank*
G: Matthew Cindric, McKade Mettauer, Gentle Williams, PJ Poutasi, Ben Coleman, Erick Nisich*
C: Mike Saffell, Brian Driscoll, Jack Beeman
There's a lot of pieces returning, with Curhan having 38 consecutive starts ongoing, Daltoso having played four different positions over the last two years, Cindric and Mettauer playing a ton as freshmen, and Saffell staying healthy for the final stretch of the year.
In addition, Craig, the highest rated of the group as a recruit, returns. Williams is slated to return. Mello, Bazakas and Nisich all got some solid reps throughout the year. As of right now, there's the potential for a ton of competition.
The biggest departure is that of Greatwood, who leaves the college game after being in it for 40 years. Angus McClure replaces him, coming from Nevada with experience at five different schools total.
Incoming: Everett Johnson^, Ender Aguilar, Jaedon Roberts^
Roberts may not end up on the offensive line, but all three of these guys add some athleticism and length to the position. Roberts, originally from the area, but out of Avon Old Farms in Connecticut, has shown the requisite nastiness for an interior lineman on offense, where he'd likely fit at guard.
For what Johnson and Aguilar showed, we turned to the out-going Greatwood:
On Johnson: I think he’s going to have a fantastic career. He’s a good worker, obviously he’s got all the measurables, the size, but he’s more athletic than I thought he was going to be and he’s eager to compete. We threw him in there for a couple days to get some live work and he did a nice job. He didn’t know where he was going half the time, I had to tell him that, but he’s got some natural instincts about him, I think he’s going to develop into a first-rate offensive lineman.
On Aguilar: Ender is a guy that obviously, his experience on offense was limited to this season, having moved over from being a defensive lineman, but his length and athleticism attracted me to him, and I think he’s going to develop. He’s got that smoothness about him, he doesn’t have the size that Everett has right now, but he has the frame and he has the length, he can bend, he can run, he can change direction, you see all that when he’s playing defense. I went down and watched him play against Orange Lutheran, he was the only kid on the field that was playing both ways. I just love his motor and his approach to the game. It’s hard for me to not be around to coach those two kids, because I’m genuinely excited about them, but I know they’re going to have great careers.
Projected Starters at the Position
This gets tricky with the potential for so much competition on the line. It's weighing if Valentino Daltoso is better at left tackle or right guard, because you have pieces at both of the spots where he's played (in Will Craig and McKade Mettauer). It's fair to say that the likes of Jake Curhan, Mike Saffell, Daltoso, and Matt Cindric have solidified places, but nothing is set in stone moving forward. Gentle Williams could come back and earn a spot as well. In addition, Bill Musgrave has used a handful of six OL sets which could prove to be interesting.
Right now, we'll project (from left to right) Craig, Cindric, Saffell, Daltoso, Curhan as the starting offensive line come spring ball, but that could change.
Storylines to Watch
Like most of the offense, it's how the group is going to operate under a new offensive coordinator and a new offensive line coach. Musgrave has run zone and power concepts with his run game in the past, and he has an experienced group to work with. McClure has more experience to work with than he had coming into Nevada.
In addition, with it being a senior laden group (Saffell, Curhan, Daltoso, Williams, Bazakas), replacing that core has to a top priority in the 2021 class.
