BERKELEY — Cal’s offensive line, led by Famika Anae, is focused on building chemistry during spring ball.
“Kind of the same situation we were in last year,” the Bears’ second-year offensive line coach said after practice Monday. “It's all about chemistry, development and really establishing what's going to be important to us as a football team right now, more so than setting lineups, quote unquote.
“It's about the development of the mind and letting guys compete in that arena to figure out who's going to be in the spot.”
The offensive line is one of the few areas on the roster demonstrating some continuity.
With Anae, of course, remain key offensive linemen such as Sioape Vatikani, Tyson Ruffins, Lamar Robinson, Frederick Williams III and Bastian Swinney; when considering Cal’s struggles in the trenches over the past few years, and when understanding the context of the transfer portal era, it can’t be understated how valuable that familiarity can be.
Anae joked when highlighting Swinney, a sixth-year redshirt senior, for his veteran leadership.
“This is like Year 29 for him,” Anae said. “So, he's done a really good job (of) being vocal and getting the guys on the same page.”
The Bears are also sporting several new offensive linemen, including Ashton Rivera, Jacob Arop, Jimothy Lewis, Elisha Faamatuainu, Daniel McMorris, Kahlee Tafai, Mykeal Rabess, Kamo’i Hui-Hui-White and Roger Vanderhoef, who will arrive this summer.
“We're all coming together,” Rivera, a Kent State transfer, said. “The more we practice, the more we go through these hard days together, the closer we're going to become as a team.”
“I love the O-linemen,” McMorris, a true freshman, said. “To be honest, I know I just came in from high school and stuff, but it's really well-connected. Definitely a lot better than I thought it would be.”
McMorris added that Tafai has taken him under his wing as a “best friend.”
As Anae said, the Bears aren’t focused on any depth charts at the moment; it’s all about cohesiveness and learning instead.
And Cal, with a bigger staff across the board entering the 2026 season, has assistant offensive line coaches in Viane Talamaivao and Beau McAndrew to support Anae’s mission.
“I love it because there's no blind spots anymore,” Anae said of the arrangement. “I think our development has been expedited because of it, and I look forward to continuing to build that.”
The offensive linemen themselves are certainly responding well to the setup.
“He’s a great dude,” Rivera said of Anae. “He's a family man. He's funny. He'll get after you're behind when he needs to, but he’ll also tell you a good job when he needs to as well.”
Each of the five who spoke Monday — Rivera, McMorris, Arop, Lewis and Tafai — spoke highly of their coaches, from Anae to head coach Tosh Lupoi.
Lewis, a transfer from Mississippi State, shared his appreciation for Cal’s patience as a team.
“They're more patient as far as everything goes,” Lewis said. “They give you more time to develop. (At) my last school, it was really no excuse — you came there to play, (and) you should already know what you're doing when you get there.
“There's more of a development process here … I like that. They take time to build their players.”
Five months remain before Cal faces UCLA in Week 1 at Memorial Stadium; now is the time to patiently figure out what works and what doesn’t, especially in the trenches.
“(Our) defensive line’s really good, so I think the more times — it’s kind of like an iron-sharpens-iron thing,” Arop said. “The more times we go at it, the better we get (and) the better they get.”
Fair enough.
Anae said he envisions the Bears having a rotation of offensive linemen to keep the unit fresh during games.
Of course, there will be five starters, but Anae made it clear that he is big on trusting players to uphold certain standards and wants his bunch to be as trustworthy as possible during the season.
With high expectations on quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and the offense, it’s as pivotal as ever for Cal’s big boys to bring the boom.
“There’s no better ball than the West Coast,” Tafai, an Inglewood native, said, having been beaten by Cal as a member of Minnesota in 2025.
> A Los Angeles native, Joaquin currently is a senior at Cal, pursuing a Bachelor's Degree in Media Studies and a Minor Credential in Disability Studies.
> Joaquin also is a Digital Content Writer/Editor for NBC Sports Bay Area and California, where he started as an intern in 2023 and has since written over 1,000 articles about Northern California's professional teams.
thanks for updates, JR, and all the best after graduation # gobears
Looks like we have a lot more depth across the O-Line than we've been accustomed to, assuming at least a handful of the transfers are ready to contribute.
If you figure Ruffins will likely be a starter at guard (based on comments by the mods), you have Fred Williams and Vatikani who should challenge for playing time, and possibly Swinney as well.
Among the newcomers, my impression is than Jimothy Lewis could be an early favorite for a starting tackle role. Who out the other newcomers -- Arop, Rivera, Faamatuainu, Tafai, and Rabess might also challenge for a starting spot? I have no idea but I hope that at least one of those guys can really stand out and seize a job.
I'm still hoping Williams will make a leap this year and lock down the other tackle spot. If so, you could have an OL that might start out something like this:
OT Fred Williams G Ruffins C Swinney (or Rivera) OG Vatikani (or Rivera or one of the other newcomers) OT Jimothy Lewis
I know it's really early but I'm just spitballing to envision what a possible lineup could look like. As I mentioned, it seems like there would be decent depth, and the rotation might change as players learn the system and develop.
My hope is that by the middle of fall camp there are 4-6 guys who really stand out as our best linemen and who will make the coaches' decisions easy.
Lots of potential here, but it's no lock that our OL will actually be good. Definitely one of the key success factors and crucial variables for the 2026 Bears!
