On the one hand, I'm excited that we have a lot of new guys (true frosh, 1st year transfers, and walk-ons) who look like they could contribute, but I'm beginning to wonder why so many of them (Dykes said as many as 10 freshmen could play) are in a place to contribute right away. Are they that good or are the older guys that bad? Our record from last season and the rankings/ratings from the recruiting services would seem to indicate the latter. I'm hoping it's the former. Perhaps the two aren't mutually exclusive.

Anyway, I'm excited to hear about all of the new contributors, but I'm going to temper my expectations for the team a bit. How many top 25 teams rely heavily on getting contributions from true freshmen, 1st year transfers, and walk-ons? In the past, you'd get a Marshawn Lynch or Desean Jackson who just couldn't be blueshirted, but I don't remember in our heyday needing frosh to contribute at positions like DL, backup center, LB, safety, etc.

A little of both. 10 freshmen won't be playing unless you count redshirts. Maybe 10 from our last recruiting class, but that's a lot of jucos.

its called turnover .... program is in bad shape have to renovate .. everyone does not buy in especially when whole coaching staff is changed

hope for the best / JR's have good enough seasons to go NFL and stay

Some of the guys competing do bring back memories of previous frosh ... Downs, VicE, tre and others.
I like that the practices are geared so that, for now, the coaches check out everyone.
Builds depth and some will play special teams instead of blue-shirting. Those who do blue-shirt aren't just standing around.

Recall when we got Felder and Follett, both started and both made first team on the Freshman All-American team.
Downs could be that good.

Not even programs like Alabama or SC can get away with playing so many true freshmen. It's going to be a long year...

Last year was a crisis. We are really thin depth wise as well this year.

That said of theyre truly good enough to play then they should be on the field like what Pete Carroll did down south. If the frosh are playing out of necessity then it's another loooooong season

In the mix doesnt mean will play

GranadaHillsBear;842343521 said:

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Last year was a crisis. We are really thin depth wise as well this year.

That said of theyre truly good enough to play then they should be on the field like what Pete Carroll did down south. If the frosh are playing out of necessity then it's another loooooong season

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Carroll had 5 star talent and Tedford rarely played true Freshman (and when he did they were 4 or 5 star athletes).

I can see some transfers playing because their more developed and have more experience. At RB, Watson and Vic must be pretty good if they are going to play. Perhaps Sonny wants to rotate more players in so that they're more fresh. I'd be worried about any true frosh playing defense but don't know if that's going to happen. We'll see.

MB will all the JC guys play minus CB d white any word on his shoulder ? surgery?

Well, 1-11 (and a very baaad 11 at that) suggests the returning talent leaves much to be desired. I'm a big believer in talent over experience so if a newbie is better, play him.

going4roses;842343421 said:

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its called turnover .... program is in bad shape have to renovate .. everyone does not buy in especially when whole coaching staff is changed

hope for the best / JR's have good enough seasons to go NFL and stay

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What?

SurvivorOf1and10fkaLEA;842343416 said:

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On the one hand, I'm excited that we have a lot of new guys (true frosh, 1st year transfers, and walk-ons) who look like they could contribute, but I'm beginning to wonder why so many of them (Dykes said as many as 10 freshmen could play) are in a place to contribute right away. Are they that good or are the older guys that bad? Our record from last season and the rankings/ratings from the recruiting services would seem to indicate the latter. I'm hoping it's the former. Perhaps the two aren't mutually exclusive.Anyway, I'm excited to hear about all of the new contributors, but I'm going to temper my expectations for the team a bit. How many top 25 teams rely heavily on getting contributions from true freshmen, 1st year transfers, and walk-ons? In the past, you'd get a Marshawn Lynch or Desean Jackson who just couldn't be blueshirted, but I don't remember in our heyday needing frosh to contribute at positions like DL, backup center, LB, safety, etc.

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I would certainly temper any expectations that we are top 25. Other than that all is good.

To answer the OP
I would say that what is happening this year is good...
...for next year.

Seriously though, I don't think it makes sense to put a value on it.
The practices are run to encourage competition and hence create improvement across the board. It's true that if we were 11-1 last year instead of the opposite, we would have more established starters at each position. But even if we were 11-1, the fact that so many experienced players are coming off serious injuries necessitates the development of more depth. Much of our would be depth from last year ended up moving on for a variety of reasons. Our QB, RB, DB, WR, DT and LB depth all took hits because players left when they would have been eligible this year. Instead of crying in their soup, the coaching staff went out and got some JCs and some walk-ons that, in many cases are actually better than the experienced players we lost.

At this point I'm not missing Kameron Jackson because I like what I'm seeing out of Walker, Allensworth, Cheek and Greathouse.
I'm not missing Moala because of big guys that can push the line like Kelly.
I'm not missing Bigelow because Watson is already just as good imo.
I'm not missing Fortt because Wainwright is just as much of a baller.
I'm not missing Kline because Rubenzer is going to give us another dimension.
And I'm not missing Rodgers because we now have Davis and Hudson and Harris and the list goes on.

I do miss J. Hunter because I think we lack depth at DT and I miss Ragin because of his pass rushing ability.
But we have gained so much more than we've lost because we added Granado at OL and Downs and Tongilavia at LB.
And unlike the players we lost, they will be here for 2015, which could be the year Cal surprises the conference.

I did think hunter was the biggest blow and he's still missed

going4roses;842343421 said:

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its called turnover .... program is in bad shape have to renovate .. everyone does not buy in especially when whole coaching staff is changed

hope for the best / JR's have good enough seasons to go NFL and stay

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I understand what you're hoping for ... me too ... guys who play well enough to declare, and don't ... because they want to stay, get their degrees but also play another season for the Blue and Gold.

heartofthebear;842343586 said:

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To answer the OP
I would say that what is happening this year is good...
...for next year.

Seriously though, I don't think it makes sense to put a value on it.
The practices are run to encourage competition and hence create improvement across the board. It's true that if we were 11-1 last year instead of the opposite, we would have more established starters at each position. But even if we were 11-1, the fact that so many experienced players are coming off serious injuries necessitates the development of more depth. Much of our would be depth from last year ended up moving on for a variety of reasons. Our QB, RB, DB, WR, DT and LB depth all took hits because players left when they would have been eligible this year. Instead of crying in their soup, the coaching staff went out and got some JCs and some walk-ons that, in many cases are actually better than the experienced players we lost.

At this point I'm not missing Kameron Jackson because I like what I'm seeing out of Walker, Allensworth, Cheek and Greathouse.
I'm not missing Moala because big guys that can push the line like Kelly.
I'm not missing Bigelow because Watson is already just as good imo.
I'm not missing Fortt because Wainwright is just as much of a baller.
I'm not missing Kline because Rubenzer is going to give us another dimension.
And I'm not missing Rodgers because we now have Davis and Hudson and Harris and the list goes on.

I do miss J. Hunter because I think we lack depth at DT and I miss Ragin because of his pass rushing ability.
But we have gained so much more than we've lost because we added Granado at OL and Downs and Tongilavia at LB.
And unlike the players we lost, they will be here for 2015, which could be the year Cal surprises the conference.

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simply ... BINGO

SonOfCalVa;842343591 said:

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simply ... BINGO

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I would say that Hunter is the one guy we wish were still here...

Hunter chose to walk away from a Cal degree. I'm not going to spend any time missing him.

From a production standpoint I think Moala and KamJack are the biggest misses. They would be seniors and the best players at 2 positions of need. Especially Moala. No doubt Hunter as well but Moala would have been a huge addition to this team.

Unit2Sucks;842343674 said:

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From a production standpoint I think Moala and KamJack are the biggest misses. They would be seniors and the best players at 2 positions of need. Especially Moala. No doubt Hunter as well but Moala would have been a huge addition to this team.

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Well, you hate to speak ill of a Bear (although one might argue their Bearness), but Moala was a disappointment and KamJack went more on potential than production.

Rushinbear;842343680 said:

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Well, you hate to speak ill of a Bear (although one might argue their Bearness), but Moala was a disappointment and KamJack went more on potential than production.

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I don't disagree with either of those statements but also don't think they contradict what I said above. Moala was much improved last year and would likely have been even better this year. I would have expected him to be our best DT if he returned. Hard to imagine KamJack not starting. The fact that you are talking about two guys who would have been senior starters tells me we miss them regardless of failure to live up to potential.

Unit2Sucks;842343694 said:

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I don't disagree with either of those statements but also don't think they contradict what I said above. Moala was much improved last year and would likely have been even better this year. I would have expected him to be our best DT if he returned. Hard to imagine KamJack not starting. The fact that you are talking about two guys who would have been senior starters tells me we miss them regardless of failure to live up to potential.

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Maybe it's past time to concentrate on those we have rather than those we no longer have.
Last year is over.

SonOfCalVa;842343695 said:

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Maybe it's past time to concentrate on those we have rather than those we no longer have.
Last year is over.

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You are right we should, but he was responding to someone saying Moala and KamJack aren't loses... They are and both would be starting most likely if they were here.

SonOfCalVa;842343591 said:

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simply ... BINGO

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Simply, Bollocks.

OK. Sure. But he chose a different set of priorities. Can't fault him for that. There are plenty of folks that question my own son walking away from UT and choosing to attend UH instead. Lots of issues were involved and in the end I supported either choice. I do believe he made the right one for him (my son).

And I do believe that Hunter made the right choice for himself.

That's an interesting take on things since only two of the guys you think are upgrades have actually played in a game at Cal (Walker and Harris). Include Davis and you have three guys who have actually played in a D-1 game.

We know the answer - just look at the last two seasons. There was a LOT of deadwood on this team, much of which is gone now. Unfortunately, whether Dykes stays or goes, look forward to a couple more seasons of very young teams. We're thin, pretty untalented and had a lot of busts/ bad fits among the upper classes, and this was with one of the least experienced teams going into this season, and certainly the least coming out.

Unit2Sucks;842343694 said:

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I don't disagree with either of those statements but also don't think they contradict what I said above. Moala was much improved last year and would likely have been even better this year. I would have expected him to be our best DT if he returned. Hard to imagine KamJack not starting. The fact that you are talking about two guys who would have been senior starters tells me we miss them regardless of failure to live up to potential.

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additionally, kind of hard for anyone to look good last year with Buh's defensive schemes and methods. while i'm not sure he'd be the best (Jalil is, imo), Moala, in the very least, would've provided much needed depth. And with Kaufman and Tate teaching, i'm even more confident he'd be a significant contributor this year in rotation.

but of course, it's much easier to call them busts.

txwharfrat;842343897 said:

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OK. Sure. But he chose a different set of priorities. Can't fault him for that. There are plenty of folks that question my own son walking away from UT and choosing to attend UH instead. Lots of issues were involved and in the end I supported either choice. I do believe he made the right one for him (my son).

And I do believe that Hunter made the right choice for himself.

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cant fault him, certainly not. but personally id have put my relationship/marriage on the backburner and focused on trying to graduate from Cal as quickly as possible. it would have required a lot of emotional sacrifice from his wife but the benefit of the Cal degree vs Houston st i believe is just not comparable and would have just made it much easier to take care of his family in the future.

beeasyed;842343933 said:

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additionally, kind of hard for anyone to look good last year with Buh's defensive schemes and methods. while i'm not sure he'd be the best (Jalil is, imo), Moala, in the very least, would've provided much needed depth. And with Kaufman and Tate teaching, i'm even more confident he'd be a significant contributor this year in rotation.

but of course, it's much easier to call them busts.

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I'm excited to see Moose on the field again and healthy but he's basically missed the last 2 seasons and they're at least talking like they will be very cautious with his workload. Say what you want about Moala but he was a workhorse. He also recorded more than twice as many tackles and TFLs last year than Moose has in total in his 1+ years of play. I hope Moose comes back with a vengeance but I'm taking a wait and see approach.

looking at any defensive guys work of art from 13 needs to be prefaced by the coaching they had