Spring Ball Storylines as Cal Football Revs Back Up in 2021

Spring football starts Wednesday in Berkeley, as the Bears look to get their 15 allotted practices in over the next four weeks, prior to spring break in Berkeley. After a disappointing four game season in 2020, where the Bears saw Covid regulations and injuries sidetrack their depth, Cal is looking to rebound, replace a couple key players on offense and defense, and find the explosiveness the offense has lacked for the majority of Justin Wilcox's tenure.

1. Taking Off the Training Wheels

In media availability after the late signing period, offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave noted that his offense needed to 'take off the training wheels' in installing the offense. Cal's playcalling was limited in 2020 by practice time limits, limited cohort sizes, and the lack of a full-on spring ball/fall-camp cycle to install everything that they wanted, and while the Bears had flashes (300+ passing yards against Oregon State, nearly 250 rushing yards against Stanford), they lacked consistency at times.

The question is what taking off the training wheels looks like, whether that's incorporating the tight end position more, using the middle of the field more in the passing game, new run schemes, some exotic concepts, or otherwise. It might mean Chase Garbers is going to have a bit more control at the line to make changes in the Erhardt-Perkins system the Bears are running.

For Garbers, comfort in the offense is imperative. His yards per attempt dropped precipitously in 2020 from 8.2 to 5.7, and he struggled in throwing to the right side of the field. Getting him back to the player he was at the end of 2019, where he looked to be one of the top quarterbacks in the conference may be the biggest goal of the spring.

2. Position Battles and Replacing Four Year Starters

There are a handful of position battles for the Bears to figure out here:

Cornerback: Cam Bynum, the symbol of Cal's defensive turnaround over the past four years, is heading to the NFL. Cal will have to replace him. Josh Drayden should slide over from the nickel to do so, with Chigozie Anusiem on the other side, but there are a handful of guys who could step up here, namely Collin Gamble, Kaleb Higgins, Jaylen Martin, Tyson McWilliams, or Dejuan Butler among others.

Right Tackle: Four-year starter Jake Curhan is heading to the NFL as well, as the Bears will have to find a replacement for arguably their top run blocker on the offensive line. Brandon Mello filled in while Curhan was out due to contact-tracing concerns, but he'll be in a competition for the job. Musgrave noted that they could flip someone over from the left side (Brayden Rohme being a candidate), as well as guys like Ben Coleman, Everett Johnson, Bastian Swinney, and Ryan Lange getting involved.

Defensive End: Zeandae Johnson decided not to take a seventh-year of eligibility, and Cal will have a number of guys who can replace him. Brett Johnson would be the likeliest to slide over from nose guard, finally able to play his natural position, with Aaron Maldonado (if healthy) or Stanley McKenzie getting the first crack at earning the nose guard spot.

Wide Receiver: Makal Polk left Cal via the transfer portal, ending up in Starkville and Mike Leach's pirate ship, leaving the Bears with some playing time at wide receiver. Kekoa Crawford and Nikko Remigio will take plenty of the reps, but there's space for Trevon Clark to earn back reps, for Monroe Young to earn more reps, and for the younger wideouts to break through. Jeremiah Hunter may be the most ready among the 2020 recruits to play here. After an injury kept him out in the fall, if he's healthy, he should contribute and be in the running to earn reps.

Backup Quarterback: Devon Modster went into the transfer portal to find a place to play with his sixth year of eligibility, and so the Bears have a stable of quarterbacks behind Chase Garbers without much in the way of experience. Spencer Brasch and Robby Rowell have attempted passes in games, with Brasch starting against Utah in 2019 and Rowell playing late in that game. Behind them are Zach Johnson and Jaden Casey. Johnson made the travel roster along with Rowell in 2020, and Casey has athleticism usually unseen in a quarterback.

3. A Nose Guard and Defensive Line Depth

Since Chris Palmer graduated after the 2018 season, Cal has been searching for a nose guard. Both Aaron Maldonado and Siu Fuimaono were not with the team to start the 2019 season (Maldonado would return four games into the season) and Brett Johnson moved over to fill the gap. In 2020, Maldonado got hurt in fall camp, Stanley McKenzie was out due to Covid-19 reasons (and was injured after), moving Johnson back to the middle.

The hope is that injuries have cleared up, and the Bears have some young depth at the position. Ethan Saunders was injured during the year as well, and should be back. Jaedon Roberts and Ricky Correia are still looking for their first extended playing time. Akili Calhoun is in early, looking to carve out a niche. The position had next to no depth in 2020, and should have more in 2021.

4. Youth and Explosiveness

The explosiveness factor continues to rankle Cal's offense, and where it comes from in 2021 may fall on some of the young players. Cal has shown they can win without much in the way of explosiveness, but the way they've won (defense forcing turnovers and making critical stops, offense doing just enough) has a small margin for error, one the Bears can't have if they're going to make the leap they thought they'd have in 2021.

Some explosiveness has been shown by Damien Moore, who isn't the fastest running back but hits holes and sheds tackles well. Jermaine Terry, at 6'5" and 255 , should see some early time as a threat over the middle. The aforementioned Hunter has explosive potential at wideout, as does Justin Baker, Mason Mangum and Aidan Lee. The wide receiver group has some speed, now it has to be utilized.

5. Special Teams

Another big piece to why the Bears struggled last year was the special teams piece. With Covid-19 killing depth for the Bears, special teams units struggled, leading to blocked kicks and both punt and kick returns called back due to holding. Better depth all around and more practice time (without some of the cohort limits) should help the Bears a bit, but this is a unit that has been near the bottom of the conference in multiple statistical categories. While the Bears have skilled specialists (Slater Zellers could continue Cal's tradition of NFL long snappers, Dario Longhetto hit the longest FG for the Bears since 2017 a year ago, and Jamieson Sheahan has the potential to develop more as a punter after taking his first punts in 2020), they need to translate that skill into production.