Earlier today, Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon and running back Marcel Dancy discussed their impressions on the first five days of fall practice, and we've got some takeaways from the pressers.

- There's tackling issues around the country, and Sirmon has taken notice. Tackling is one of the biggest things the Bears have stressed over the three days where they've had shoulder pads on (one full pads), and it will continue to be the main point in padded practices.

"The thing, I can speak for the defensive side of the ball," Sirmon noted, "every position group extensively worked tackling, we worked more on tackling than we did on any of the defensive calls we did, since we've been in shoulder pads and full pads. I don't watch a ton of football in terms of trying to find concepts or scheme, but the theme that I have seen when I watch football is that defenses are not getting the ball on the ground efficiently. That could happen to any team in the conference, but that will not be something that is not addressed at Cal, we're going to talk about tackling, we're going to talk about leverage tackling, we're going to talk about getting to the ball and that's going to be something right up until kickoff that's going to be stressed, re-stressed, emphasized, and instructed and practiced."

- Kuony Deng has taken over a leadership role on the defense, bulking up to 250 lbs and becoming a potential NFL draft pick. Deng, at 6'6", isn't normally the height of your average inside linebacker, but Sirmon cited a need for creativity in helping find the best fit for the defense.

"The name that gets thrown about a bit (for comparisons) is KJ Wright," Sirmon said, "from Mississippi State who's now with the Seahawks. There's also (Zach Cunningham), played at Vandy, plays for the Houston Texans, another tall (ILB). There's a couple guys who are doing it right now. There are not many prototypes of his size doing it inside, but you have to have imagination on defense, not everybody's going to fit traditional height/weight specs at each position, but when you get a unique body type, I think you have to explore all the options and opportunities for him to help your defense."

- Next to Kuony Deng will likely be Evan Tattersall, as Sirmon noted during the spring that "he's ready." Tattersall, a redshirt sophomore at 6'2" and 230, impressed the Cal coaches with his speed in the recruiting process, and he'll get to turn practice reps into first team reps going forward.

"Been very pleased with Evan Tattersall," Sirmon said, "he was one of the first kids the staff had signed when I got here. He has the tools to be a very productive player. He runs well, he's strong, and now he's getting more opportunity. He's had a couple years of experience on the practice field, and he's showing a very good understanding of what we're asking him to do. He's one that doesn't surprise me, because I've been fortunate to have been working with him for two years, but after that, the young guys are working themselves out, whether it's Muelu Iosefa, Andy Alfieri who just got here in the summer, Kyle Smith, Ryan Puskas, and Blake Antzoulatos, those guys have been developing and working the best they can to get their opportunities."

- Sirmon also ran through a handful of the defensive linemen, as their room is currently relatively light.

"JH Tevis is being very versatile, he's a very bright player at understanding multiple positions, surfaces, blocking schemes and what the defense calls him to do."

"Brett Johnson continues to get strong, he is strong, and he'll continue to work the technique. Brett is a very talented player and very strong at the point of attack."

"Z(eandae Johnson) is a big athletic player that now with the experiece, we have opportunities to move him around, and he has a very good foundation of what we ask him to do. He's still developing on some of the technique and the fundamentals, but we're very fortunate to have him and he's going to be a productive player for us."

"Aaron Maldonado, still relatively young in my mind but he has some twitchy traits, he can be disruptive, playing the interior positions, and he'll continue to develop some of the consistency in what we're looking for at the interior line position."

"Ethan Saunders is a player we're really excited about, and we were excited about him when we recruited him, big body with versatility, I think he can play 3, 4, 5 6 technique. With some injuries in high school, he's still developmental like the younger guys on our team, and that's not a slight, I think every football player on our team is developmental, I think Kuony Deng's developmental, I think philosophically football's a developmental sport."

"Stanley (McKenzie)'s doing a great job, he's showing me that he can hold the point, he's very strong at the point of attack, his feet are very nimble for a man of his size, that's been a positive thing in terms of identifying a place where a young player with skills can help."

- Sirmon was also asked about the nickel position, a position that Cal used over half the time on defense 2019. It's a spot that will continue to see use in 2020, and Josh Drayden is the early leader to see the most reps there.

"The nickel position for us has been a significant position for us," Sirmon said, "probably the 12th starter quite honestly, even last year I think we had slightly over 50% of the time, (where) the nickel (was) on the field, and that guy is a very versatile player in terms of the coverage components of it and also has the ability to be a fourth, fifth, or even sixth rusher for us at times. That will continue to be a big part of the defense, Josh Drayden has played there in the past, he's getting some opportunities to play, Collin Gamble, a newcomer, is getting some opportunities to play inside there. That's a unique position that requires toughness, the guys who play it well do a good job of demonstrating instincts, things happen fast on the inside in the pass game, foot quickness is a paramount physical trait as well."

- Dancy reiterated a lot of what other offensive players have said with regard to Cal's offense, that it's a bit of a shift in running some of the under center stuff, but it's fun for the Bears.

"I love it, and the whole offense will say the same thing," Dancy said, "we're very excited about what coach Musgrave is showing us. Having a fullback in front of us, power-I formation, that's the biggest difference, having that fullback in there, we can do so many things out of so many different sets. It's a beautiful thing (having a fullback), it's not something that I'm used to, but I love it."

- Dancy also has a prior relationship with new Cal volunteer offensive QC coach CJ Anderson, as both were Laney College products at the running back position, and he's excited to have him around.

"Through college he told me about how Laney would be and how Cal would be," Dancy said, "he's somebody I could go to if I needed advice on the game, he just adds a heightened level of IQ with the rest of our coaches."