California Golden Bears 2018 Football Preview

California Golden Bears 2018 Football Preview

Opening Statement: A 1-4 finish tainted what had been a rock solid start for the Bears in year one under Justin Wilcox as head football coach. The Bears started out red hot after wins over North Carolina, Weber State, and Ole Miss drove the to a 3-0 start. The Bears would then finish the season just 2-7 to fall just shy of a bowl bid. That will likely change in year 2 under Wilcox, who has already made his mark on this football team, which has become a more balanced version of this program than what Sonny Dykes had rolled out before. Cal has a real shot to turn a corner this fall, but will they get to that point, or will Cal totally Cal up yet another season with another late year plunge?

Breakdown Offense: Cal may have dropped 8 points in scoring on average, but what they managed to do on offense was become more balanced. They ended up scoring 27.8 points per game, while passing for 258.9 yards per game. They passed for 358 yards per game the year before. Cal rushed for 125.58 yards per game, which was not great at all, but the focus on the run should be higher in 2018.

Ross Bowers is the perfect fit at QB for what the Bears want to do on offense. They will still fire it away in the passing game, even if it is not to the degree of previous seasons. Bowers passed for 3039 yards with 18 TDs to 12 INTs. The focus will be on widening that TD to INT ratio, while also increasing accuracy, as he completed 59% of his passes as a sophomore. Expect bigger things out of Bowers this fall. Chase Forrest is back as the primary backup as a senior, while Chase Garbers and Brandon McIlwain battle it out for the 3rd spot.

Patrick Laird exploded onto the scene once he was awarded the starting job at RB, and rushed for 1127 yards and 8 scores, while averaging 5.9 yards per carry, and 102.45 yards per game. He did miss one game, but he is the primary back this fall, and is one of the better backs in the PAC-12. Derrick Clark is the primary backup heading into the fall, but the RB position is mostly without depth, so Laird has to stay healthy.

Vic Wharton III is back as the leading receiver for the Bears. He caught 67 passes last fall for 871 yards and 5 scores. Kanawai Noa, the 2nd leading receiver returns as well after posting 56-788-4, and he averaged 14.07 yards per catch. JOrdan Duncan and Brandon Singleton will battle to take the job that opened up when Jordan Veasy moved on after last season. Jeremiah Hawkins also returns to provide depth, as he caught 8 passes as a freshman last season. IN all, there were 13 receivers on the Cal spring roster, but not many with any real experience returning after the starting unit.

Gavin Reinwald caught 11 passes at TE as a freshman last fall, and returns to the starting job in 2018. RS senior Kyle Wells returns to back him up, with Jake Ashton returning as a senior as well as the 3rd TE on the chart.

The line is in a good place at the Tackle spots, as Jake Curhan and Patrick Mekari are projected to start there. Kamryn Bennett and Valentino Deltoso are the Guards, while Addison Ooms is the Center. Michael Saffell can back up all 3 interior positions, while Henry Bazakas backs up the Tackle spots.

Breakdown Defense: Cal allowed 42.6 points per game in 2016, and Wilcox, formerly a DC at USC and Wisconsin, came in to fix that problem. While the scoring defense is still far from perfect, it was 14 points better in 2017. The Bears allowed 28.4 points per game, and are trending in the right direction. They still allowed 265 yards passing per game, and allowed another 164.08 yards per game on the ground. It's called a work in progress.

Cal runs the 3-4 defense that Wilcox has run most of his career. Luc Bequette and Chinedu Udeogu are the DEs in this setting. Bequette slides into the spot vacated by James Looney, while Udeogu did not do much as a RS freshman last fall. Tevin Paul has a shot at one of those jobs, but either way will still see major reps, but the position does not boast much actual depth.

Chris Palmer returns for his senior season at NG, but did not provide much punch last fall. Siulagisipai Fuimaono  and Hunter Abel also both return to the fold to provide some push. Again, this is not a deep spot.

Alex Funches returns at OLB, and recorded a team leading 10.5 TFLs last fall with 36 total tackles. Malik Psalms returns opposite Funchess, but recorded just 3 tackles in 12 games played as a sophomore. Russ Ude is the lone real depth at OLB, and he recorded just 3 tackles last season in 7 games played. Jordan Kunaszyk starts at one ILB spot after leading the team in tackles last season with 74. Gerran Brown also returns at WILL, and recorded 61 tackles last fall. Derron Brown and Evan Weaver provide some depth.

Camryn Bynum and Elijah Hicks both return to action to start at CB this fall. Bynum broke up 8 passes last fall, and he tied for the team lead in INTs with 2. Hicks recorded 3 PBUs and 2 forced fumbles as a freshman in 12 games played. Traveon Beck and Josh Drayden are back as well, with Drayden being a specialized DB blitz package player, as he recorded 3 QB hurries last season rushing from the slot.

Ashtyn Davis returns as the starting SS, after reocrding 33 tackles last fall. Quentin Tartabull could push him for that job, as he totaled 49 tackles, while adding 3 PBUs. Jaylinn Hawkins is the SS, and finished with 41 tackles last season.

Breakdown Special Teams: Matt Anderson hit 20/27 FGs last fall, but is now gone. He will be replaced this fall by Gabe Siemieniec with Chris Landgrebe in pursuit.

Dylan Klumph is also gone after averaging over 42 yards per punt last fall. Steven Coutts, an Australian prospect and transfer, is the lone Punter on the roster heading into fall camp.

Ashtyn Davis returned 29 kicks last fall, and will handle that job once again. Vic Wharton averaged 9.89 yards per punt return, and also will handle that job once again in 2018.

Final Analysis: Wilcox is a defensive coach, and while he showed some serious improvements last season on that side of the ball, the work is far from finished. As the defense improves, the Cal Bears improve with it, and I see a real opportunity for Cal football to take the next step and head to a bowl game. That said, they also must prevent that mid to late season crash that has plagued Cal football for the last 40 years. If they can get over those two issues, you could be looking at the most improved team in the PAC-12 for 2018.