Check in on the depth chart battles post the halfway mark of Fall camp
This follows the series of articles we did prior to the start of Fall Camp on the most competitive position groupsTHE OFFENSIVE LINE:The group appears set though they mixed and matched a lot over the first 8 practices. The surprises here are in the two deeps:From left to right, the 2nd team OL appears to be: Kahlee Tafai, Mykeal Rabess, Ashton Rivera. Ben Howard and Mike Klisiewicz The one wild car is Jacob Arop who has been practicing for the past week and has a high celling. He's a tackle and could push Kahlee Tafai into the top IOL backup. Howard and Klisiewicz have been nice surprises. Lots of kudos from the staff and observers (such as Troy Auzenne) about the true Freshman class, in particular Daniel McMorris THE OUTSIDE LINEBACKERS:Solomon Williams and Jayden Wayne have seemingly cemented their starting roles. Injuries to Justin Beadles and Joshua Pierce have muddled things behind them with Odera Okaka standing out having a nice camp and Emmanuel Okoye getting in some good pass rush reps. Recently, Cal has moved Jonathan McKinley around getting him reps both inside and out and I wouldn't be shocked to see him get some snaps vs UCLA on the outside. Serigne Tounkara is almost 100% back and is practicing so he could find his way onto the depth chart as well.I suspect Pierce will be the next player back healthyTHE INSIDE LINEBACKERS:This one is hard to evaluate as a lot of players having get reps with the first team this camp. I suspect four players will see significant snaps in the opener vs. UCLA. The surprise here is Mckinley, who started the scrimmage and looked solid. He's so big and athletic and seems to play with a maturity and aggressiveness beyond the normal Freshman. Perhaps the most consistent player here has been AJ Tuitele. Despite his not being as big, he's aggressive and physical and his pass coverage skills are special. Tristan Jernigan has also played well and he'd be my odds on favorite to start alongside Tuitele. Aaron Hampton will be somewhere in the rotation though he hasn't stood out as much as others and Kamar Mothudi has been in and out of practices with a minor injury. THE SECONDARY:Even less seems settled here than at ILB. Ricky Fletcher will start at one CB position and right now Kingston Lopa and Isaiah Crosby seem set to start at Safety. The NB and other CB position seem open with Quimari Shemwell and Cameron Sidney having the edge in the slot and a three way battle between Marquis Groves-Killebrew . Daniel Harris on the outside. This room is deep as Niles Davis, Aiden Manutai, Michael Hurst Jr and Khamani Hudson have all played well and will provide depth across the secondary. My sense is that if Groves can get fully healthy (he's been banged up), he and Shemwell will start (on the outside and at NB respectively) I expect to see some rotation at Safety and the NB/OCB positions vs UCLA
The Most Competitive Position Groups Entering Fall Camp - The Secondary
We go deep on five areas of the roster where the battle for playing time will be fierce. Our fifth and final analysis focuses on the secondary, as heated battles are underway at two of the three cornerback spots and both safety positions.
BI Camp Report
Practice #3 - Shoulder Pads (Thump)Interesting to witness two full practices with a split squad. You can see the benefit in terms of the # of reps for players going way up and the coach to player ratio being better.Good to see some BI folks out there including Paws and ARBear.Observations:This might be the healthiest team in America. Only Burrell and incoming Freshman OL Ben Howard weren't participating. The best in my 30 year experience of attending camp.This is a big team, lots of huge bodies and S&C has clearly had an impact. Go back and look at weights on the roster as they've been updating them. For example, some of the younger DBs have added a lot of muscle and there were more than a handful of guys who popped with their obvious gains including Cade Uluave, Legend Journey, Trond Grizzell, Ryan McCulloch and Nick Morrow who all looked markedly larger and more muscularEarly in Fall Camp, there's not a ton of 11v11, I'd expect to see that shift next week as the go to combined practices starting Tuesday and there's an emphasis switch from technique, installation and assignment to more playingSome quick hits on the Summer newcomers:Brandon High - He's built, a solid rock at 220 and very quick. Not a lot of wiggle but good burstKendrick Raphael - Bigger than I had imagined and a very muscular 200. Quick feet, looks natural as a pass catcher, not quite the explosion of High and Johnson. More wiggle and lateral agility than Brandon and LJLJ Johnson - Bowling ball build, powerful lower body. Quicker than I had thought. Runs with power, catching the ball may be a development area for himThe above three look, practice and play like grown men and you can see the difference relative to Wiley and League in terms of physical development and practice demeanorTyson Ford - Big man, huge frame, moves well.Jordan Sanford - He can run, looks like a hybrid safety/CB typeQuimari Shemwell - Thin but with a lot of twitch and juice. I can imagine him playing a lot this year. Chris Victor - Mature frame and looks the part of an OLB, had a really good 1v1 pass rush rep TJ Bush - Big person, very thick lower body. Played opposite McCulloch. Justin Hasenhuetl - He moves well and plays with a feisty edge. He popped at LT. Needs to add some weight, not quite sure he's 6'5+Harrison Taggart - Played with an old school neck roll. Looked like Bobby Bouchette out thereAnthony League - Had one nice run, looks naturally strong and a tackle breaker. Not super explosiveMark Hamper - He's strongly built, moves wellQuaron Adams - Twitchy and clearly can run. Can he consistently catch the ball?Jayden Dixon-Veal - Thin, twitchy player, made a few nice catches. Along with Adams, struggled fielding puntsLandon Morris - Broad shoulders and thinner legs. Fluid athlete. Looks like a jumbo WRBrent Austin - He played but didn't see him much as he was on the Student side boundary the entire practiceDaveion Harley - Not tall but solidly built, ran with the 2s today. Chase Murray - Didn't hit all his FGs in drills but he did in 11v11. Consistent strike, not a huge legAbram Murray - Big leg, slightly less consistent than Murray. He can hit from 55 and likely is the KO specialistZae Smith - Not tall, but long, long arms and he's a thick. Arms like a blacksmith. Quick get off and stout at the point of attack. Quarterback play: Not a ton to review here given the more constrained 11v11 they ran today. Both Brown and JKS had their moments. I liked Brown's decision making. Smart throwaways, a nice ball fake keeper and a really good read on a passing play where he tucked and run. Fast! JKS release and arm continue to impress. Had some show off moments in accuracy passing drills. Defense was ahead of the offense though I might give a slight nod to the OL vs DL on running plays. The secondary had a good day with a couple of nice pass break ups and a huge hit by Crosby on Grizzell and a deep seam routeA couple of way too early and perhaps obvious takes: The competition at NB and the Safety opposite Crosby are going to be fierce. Ditto on the OL, It feels like there's a top 9 or 10 emerging but the pecking order is far from obvious. WR appears to have more of a hierarchy but there are a lot of guys out there vying for snaps. Will be interesting to see who emerges as the #1 outside WRGuys who popped: Cade Uluave, Derek Wilkins, Luke Ferelli, Shemwell. Masses, Crosby, Manutai, Morrow, Robinson, DeJesus, Morris, Mini, High, Johnson (Note that I couldn't see everything and basically didn't see the WR/DB matchups on one side of the field during 11v11
The Football Roster Post Spring - The Cornerbacks
In todays College Football, it's all about passing and that means there's no position more important on defense than those that cover wide receivers, confuse QBs and have to make tackles in space. Cal lost its entire starting unit from 2024, what will 2025 bring?
Cal Football Spring Portal Additions Arrive on Campus
Big group of 19 late signing period additions start their Cal careers this week
