Cal Football

Cal ILB Deng and Bears Primed For 2020 Season

By Jim McGill

May 25, 2020

6,789

Possibly the Bears’ top recruit in the 2019 recruiting class, senior linebacker Kuony Deng played a key role in Cal’s bowl-winning 8-5 season last year.

The 6-6/240 JC All-American linebacker from Indepence City College in Kansas by way of Aldie, Virginia filled a big hole left by current Carolina Panther ILB Jordan Kunaszyk and his 5^th in the nation 148 tackles in 2018.

To his credit, Deng outpaced Kunaszyk’s junior season total of 76 with 118 tackles in 2019, good for third in the Pac-12 and 15^th in the nation.

Now the Bears’ task in 2020 is to replace consensus All-American linebacker Evan Weaver and his otherworldly 182 tackles -a Golden Bear record and one of the top tackle totals in NCAA history.

Deng was asked about his impressions of the young players competing to fill the other ILB slot for the Bears this season.

“Man, it’s an exciting time for a lot of new guys,” said Deng. “I’m excited for them, too. I can see how hungry they are, the way they’ve been working and taking in everything Coach Sirmon has been teaching and taking in every little thing I’ve been telling them, as well. We’ve all been trying to get better in our room.

“I think guys like Evan Tattersall and Blake Antzoulatos are doing a great job. Those are two guys who have a lot of great physical tools. In terms of speed and power, I don’t think too many guys are as gifted as Evan. He’s got elite athleticism. And Blake has suddenness, violence at the point of attack. You can see how he loves to play football. I’m really excited to see how much they grow and I can’t wait to get back with them in person.

“Another guy is Tommy Vanis. He’s one of the older guys in the room. He’s a real heady player and a smart guy who puts himself in the right spot. Guys like Ryan Puskas, working to get himself healthy. He can be really big for us. He’s a really athletic guy. Kyle Smith is continuing to push and he’ll be a good player down the line.

“I’m really excited about these guys. I’m just going to continue to be the old guy in the room and help these young guys as I can. It’s going to be fun being back working with these guys, my brother and guys I hang out with.”

After the remainder of spring ball was called off in early April, Deng stayed in Berkeley through mid-May but has been in the DC-area since. He’ll depart soon for Berkeley on June 1.

“I’m working out. lifting, a lot of footwork and linebacking drills after coming back from surgery. I’m just really trying to take advantage of this time, build my body up, heal and be ready to go out and have a good year,” said Deng, who describes himself at 85-90% full strength after missing the opening of spring ball before it was cancelled due to the shelter-in-place orders.

With the arrival of new DB coach Marcel Yates, the Bears now have four coaches with defensive coordinator experience including DCs Peter Sirmon and Tim DeRuyter along with head coach Justin Wilcox, who was himself a DC for over a decade. The wealth of knowledge is not lost on Deng.

“Man, I couldn’t ask for a better situation, to tell you the truth,” said Deng. “I think that’s the way a lot of guys feel, from the oldest guys on the team to the young guys on the team. We’re all just trying to continue to learn. And to have that many coaches who are experts and are able to see the big picture and think like defensive coordinators can really allow you to understand the scheme of things and the big picture on defense.

“That’s something I’m really thankful for, being able to be in the room with Coach Sirmon every day, learning from him, and still have Coach DeRuyter, Coach Wilcox and Coach Yates just be able to pour in wisdom and allow us to be well-rounded football players. That’s the ultimate blessing. I think it’s the best type of coaching staff you can have. Guys who will develop you to have the best knowledge you could possibly have to be successful. That’s what we have at Cal.”

The Bears will return as many as 19 players with starting experience in 2020, setting the Bears up for what could be a special season.

“We understand that there’s a lot of opportunity in front of us,” said Deng. “To be honest, we just have to continue to work hard every day and get better in all three phases of the game. Every single individual player needs to get better.

“We’re not where we want to be offensively and defensively or with special teams but we’re going to work to be where we need to be to compete at our best, go out and win the North, win the Pac-12 and go to the Rose Bowl.

“We understand the opportunity is there but there’s a lot of work to be done between now and that point. We’re excited about it, though, for sure.”