Thank you for this fair, thorough and thoughtful analysis. I believe last years team in general was a reflection of the Wilcox era with less talent due to the portal. I feel Tosh will address the talent concerns eventually. My big question is will our defensive scheme be similar to Tosh's defense at Oregon or our Defensive Coordinators from the Vikings. Both are more aggressive which I like.
IMO, Wilcox’s strength in building the secondary was his ability to not only teach technique, but also ingrain his guys with a great understanding of strategy, where to be when, and recognizing what the offense was most likely going to do. The best evidence of this is Woodson going from a 4th rounder (based on physical attributes) to a starting safety for New England…and he had a great game in Super Bowl. It’s mentally challenging to play DB and/or safety. Wilcox gave his players the playbook to succeed.
PFF has Masses as a more or less average tackler. I suspect that Masses was OK at wrapping up, but if he had to take down a guy who had a head of steam, his lack of size put him at a big disadvantage and those kinds of plays stood out as really bad looking.
Masses was mostly ok when he was actually in position to make a tackle. But more often than not, he'd go for the big splashy play instead. It worked sometimes (see his 5 interceptions) but also burned him several times (see the Hawaii Bowl).
Great summation Mr. Kranz. We will just have to wait and see what kind of defense we have for the 2026 season until September 5th when we play UCLA. Everybody better get tickets to the game so we can find out together in a big crowd of blue and gold what this new defense can really do by relentlessly pursuing the quarterback.
It's a good question, and I have no idea how to weight a variety of factors, including:
-ability to identify and hire good DB coaches.
-ability to identify undervalued talent while recruiting.
-ability to develop talent.
-having a scheme that maximizes his talent.
What's interesting is that Wilcox always built strong DB units even when the way he recruited changed drastically (going from high school focused to portal focused).
That is a good question. It seems to me he was a good DB coach and had an eye for that talent based on his experience of being a good DB at Oregon and knowing what it takes to play those positions.
Thank you for this fair, thorough and thoughtful analysis. I believe last years team in general was a reflection of the Wilcox era with less talent due to the portal. I feel Tosh will address the talent concerns eventually. My big question is will our defensive scheme be similar to Tosh's defense at Oregon or our Defensive Coordinators from the Vikings. Both are more aggressive which I like.
IMO, Wilcox’s strength in building the secondary was his ability to not only teach technique, but also ingrain his guys with a great understanding of strategy, where to be when, and recognizing what the offense was most likely going to do. The best evidence of this is Woodson going from a 4th rounder (based on physical attributes) to a starting safety for New England…and he had a great game in Super Bowl. It’s mentally challenging to play DB and/or safety. Wilcox gave his players the playbook to succeed.
I loved your points about Buchanan and hope that the incoming players would make Manutai battle to start.
Would you say (or via PFF) that Masses was the worst tackling starter in the Wilcox era? Is there a whiff rate for tackling opportunities?
PFF has Masses as a more or less average tackler. I suspect that Masses was OK at wrapping up, but if he had to take down a guy who had a head of steam, his lack of size put him at a big disadvantage and those kinds of plays stood out as really bad looking.
Masses was mostly ok when he was actually in position to make a tackle. But more often than not, he'd go for the big splashy play instead. It worked sometimes (see his 5 interceptions) but also burned him several times (see the Hawaii Bowl).
I think Braxten Croteau was the worst tackler.
Great summation Mr. Kranz. We will just have to wait and see what kind of defense we have for the 2026 season until September 5th when we play UCLA. Everybody better get tickets to the game so we can find out together in a big crowd of blue and gold what this new defense can really do by relentlessly pursuing the quarterback.
Made me go down the Dabo Swinney rabbit hole on the Ferrelli situation. What a mess. Free agency with no rules and players can do whatever they want.
is there anything out there that can show me how he built strong defensive back groups? technique drills edds? etc
It's a good question, and I have no idea how to weight a variety of factors, including:
-ability to identify and hire good DB coaches.
-ability to identify undervalued talent while recruiting.
-ability to develop talent.
-having a scheme that maximizes his talent.
What's interesting is that Wilcox always built strong DB units even when the way he recruited changed drastically (going from high school focused to portal focused).
That is a good question. It seems to me he was a good DB coach and had an eye for that talent based on his experience of being a good DB at Oregon and knowing what it takes to play those positions.
Will Cal be using a 3-4 or 4-3 defense?