The last three seasons have been a parade of disappointment for Cal fans but despite recent history and a brutal schedule, the 2023 Bears may just have what it takes to get back to a bowl game this season.
Since the Bears went 8-5 (4-5) in a solid but unspectacular 2019 season that ended with a 3-game win streak that included their first Big Game win in a decade, a road win at UCLA and a Red Box Bowl win over Illinois, there has been a steady diet of disappointment for the Bears. From the covid disaster 1-3 shortened season of 2020, to bitterly disappointing 5-7 and 4-8 seasons in 2021 and 2022, Cal fans are hungry to return to a bowl game in 2023 and this just might be the team to get them there.
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Cal QB Sam Jackson
With lackluster high school recruiting the last several years and a 10-18 cumulative record since 2019 combined with stiff road tests at Washington, Utah, Oregon and UCLA and home games vs. Auburn, USC and a resurgent Oregon State program, skeptics can’t be faulted for seeing another losing record on the horizon for the Bears this season. While that may well happen, here are some reasons to give Bear fans hope that a bowl game may still be in store for them this season as the Pac-12 sings its swan song before the big breakup after this season.
Portal Power
While the staff has had to largely try and mine for underrecruited athletes they see a future in on the prep level until they start winning again on the field, the landscape of the transfer portal and grad transfers allows a program who has struggled of late to still pull in a high caliber of transfer student athlete with hard work, a strong NIL program, opportunity for immediate playing time and a chance to have a major impact on the fortunes of their new program.
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Cal OLB David Reese
All of those factors played into Cal’s hands with a transfer class that could help dramatically change the fortunes of the team this season. Players like QB Sam Jackson, RB Isaiah Ifanse, WRs Brian Hightower, Marquis Montgomery and Taj Davis, offensive linemen Barrett Miller and Matthew Wykoff, LBs David Reese and Sergio Allen, DBs Nohl Williams, Matt Littlejohn, Patrick McMorris and Kaylin Moore and big leg punter Lachlan Wilson, not to mention RB Justin Williams-Thomas should he see the field this season as expected after recuperating from his injury could all play major roles in a resurgent Cal program this season.
Depth
Lack of depth has always been an Achilles Heel for the Bears over the years, even on some of their best teams. The D-word is the answer to how Cal could have put so many high-impact players in the NFL over the years yet rarely have seen double-digit win totals in their history.
Depth was a big issue in 2022. When key defensive lineman Brett Johnson went down, starting nose tackle Stanley McKenzie was lost for the year with a family tragedy and young backup DL Akili Calhoun and Derek Wilkins went down as well, the Bears were paper thin on the DL and
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CB Nohl Williams
struggled to mount a pass rush. Coupled with injuries in the defensive backfield that left the Bears relying on young and untested cornerbacks, they were forced to play a style of bend but-not-break defense that struggled to produce strong results. And when offensive line leader Matthew Cindric was lost for the season early on, an OL that was already mightily struggling, keeping QB Jack Plummer upright was a challenge and scoring points even more a struggle.
Though there are still some unanswered questions about certain position groups this season, throughout all 17 sessions of fall camp, quality depth showed up at all positions. A QB position that seemed particularly thin after spring saw redshirt frosh QB Fernando Mendoza significantly step up his game and both he and presumed starter Sam Jackson were pushed by NC State transfer Ben Finley, who brought some late-season starting experience with him. All three QBs seem capable of generating big plays downfield. The question is if all three can limit turnovers if their numbers are called come gameday.
The WR room is positively loaded. Returning starters Jeremiah Hunter, Monroe Young and Mavin Anderson were joined by long, athletic receivers Hightower, Montgomery and Davis and a healthy return from slot receiver Mason Mangum, who’s had a particularly strong spring, not to mention
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WR Brian Hightower
the impressive growth of redshirt frosh PWO receiver Trond Grizzell, who’s torn it up all spring and played himself to the top of the depth chart.
On the offensive line, the vets seem to have adapted well to new OL coach Mike Bloesch’s system. Returning starters Brian Driscoll, Matthew Cindric, Sioape Vatikani and TJ Session have all performed solidly and fairly consistently and appear to be joined by Stanford portal transfer Barrett Miller as the fifth starter at left tackle. Former starter Brayden Rohme, Texas A&M transfer Matthew Wykoff and center Dashaun Harris all appear to be capable backups to form an 8-man rotation. A caveat however was the line looked at least serviceable last fall and was anything but as things played out so how the line performs will be one of the stories to watch this season.
The running back room is potentially thin if Williams-Thomas doesn’t return anytime soon and will rely heavily on talented starter Jaydn Ott who is backed up by Montana State career yardage record holder Ifanse and speedy backups Ashton Stredick and Jaivien Thomas.
At tight end, the Bears were woefully lacking in the power game and unreliable in the passing
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TE Jack Endries
game last season. They addressed the power element by adding OSU transfer JT Byrne and North Texas transfer Asher Alberding. The receiving threat option will come from RS frosh TE Jack Endries, who tore up spring ball and fall camp heading into the season and is poised to start.
On defense, with Johnson, McKenzie, Calhoun and Wilkins back and soph Nate Burrell taking a big jump this fall and Ethan Saunders also looking impressive, the line should be in far better position to pressure passing games and be stouter in the run. The linebacking corps added some pass rushing juice with the addition of Reese and Allen and go 2-3 deep at every position and the defensive backs corps features no less than 10 players in Williams, Moore, McMorris, Littlejohn, safeties Craig Woodson and Ray Woodie and corners Jeremiah Earby, Lu-Magia Hearns and Isaiah Young and nickel back Cam Sidney who are capable of being quality starters.
All-in-all, there is no comparison to this team’s quality depth compared to any Cal teams in the recent past.
Coaching Changes
Another Achilles Heel last season was coaching-related, with former OC Bill Musgrave’s outdated offense never finding a rhythm before he was relieved of his duties midseason as well as less-
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OC Jake Spavital
than-steller OL coaching and development by departed OL coach Angus McClure, who met a similar fate to Musgrave during the season. Veteran TE coach Jeep Chryst was also replaced by former UC Davis and Boise State OC Tim Plough, who also played a role in Cal’s late-season play calling as an offensive consultant.
The replacement of Musgrave with veteran OC Jake Spavital, who is back at Cal after leading the Bears to the #10 rated offense, averaging 513 yards per game in total offense in 2016, has paid immediate dividends in breaking away from the stodgy west coast offense Musgrave ran at Cal. Spavital’s more wide-open, fast-paced offense should serve the Bears well with their plethora of big and athletic receivers, a lightning-quick dual threat QB in Jackson and a future NFL back like Jaydn Ott executing his scheme.
On the OL, new OL coach and run game coordinator Mike Bloesch has his charges playing much more as a unit and with a tougher mentality than we’ve seen in the trenches for years and with
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OL coach Mike Bloesch
better depth than they’ve had on the line in years, as well. However as a caveat, spring ball and fall camp aren’t always the best proving grounds for how an OL will perform when the bullets are flying, particularly against strong pass rush teams so despite what looks like solid improvement on the line, they still have much to prove once the season kicks off.
Add it all up and what does it mean? It could mean another 4 or 5 win disappointment with more close losses to better opponents or it could be the year that the program turns the corner, despite the oddsmakers' predictions.
Don’t bet against the latter in 2023.
