Nicknames and monikers are not handed down or granted, they are earned just like money and respect. Even if the Wilcox era started the TAKER concept I fully expect Tosh to take this title and demand his secondaries to earn the right to join that exclusive fraternity of Cal players.
I have covered the STAR position with the Front 7 since without him it would be Front 6 and that doesn’t work in my brain. That simple.
CB
CB1: Daniel Harris
CB2: Khamani Hudson
CB3: Miles Groves-Killbrew
CB4: Jae’on Young
CB
CB1: Ricky Fletcher
CB2: Miles Groves-Killbrew
CB3: Khamani Hudson
CB4: Jae’on Young
This is a very experienced and inexperienced group all at the same time. Harris, Fletcher, and Groves-Killbrew come in with a ton of snaps played from the SEC and Big-12 but like Hudson and Young they are quite new to playing with each other and in this scheme. I am giving Harris and Fletcher starting spots due to their large bodies of work, especially with Harris trying to prove that his down year at Georgia was a fluke.
On Hudson and Groves-Killbrew I have them alternating at CB2 because either can be stepping up next on the depth chart with their size and length in the case of Hudson and experience with Groves-Killbrew. However, behind them there is the last 4* DB of the Wilcox era Jae’on Young who oozes talent and if Wilcox thinks he was someone worth bringing in with the following recruiting notes:
Young has a smallish frame at about 5-10, 155 pounds, but he can really run and shows off both initial quickness and long speed. He ran multiple sub-11.0-100-meter times last Spring with a personal best of 10.77 seconds and a 21.87-second 200-meter dash. He’s explosive with the ball in his hands and had a productive season at receiver but projects best as a nickel corner in college. He’s a tough, scrappy kid who plays bigger than his size and always competes with a chip on his shoulder. He has natural cover instincts, doesn’t panic and has good ball skills. He’s a versatile athlete who can also return punt and kicks and projects as a Power 5 prospect who we think can play early on in his college career.
Safety
Safety1: Aiden Manutai
Safety2: Cam Sidney
Safety
Safety1: Isaiah Crosby
Safety2: Michael Hurst Jr.
Safety3: Jordan Sanford
A small note is that Kingston Lopa who is sharpied into the STAR position could slot into the safety spot but I assume that our base personnel would have the STAR and 2 safeties on the field most of the time.
Manutai and Crosby are the only true holdovers from the Wilcox era that will man an entire position group. With these two players we have an intriguing combination of high level experience and reliability in Crosby and Manutai who started as a true freshman and acquitted himself decently in one of the mentally hardest defensive position groups in college football.
Sidney, Hurst Jr., and Sandford provide experienced back up in the last line of defense for the … defense (I promise you I am a better writer than this). Hurst comes in with a bevvy of experience in the FCS level while Sanford is a high level recruit who comes in from the Texas Tech program.
NB
NB1: Jasiah Wagoner
NB2: Cam Sidney
NB3: Kington Lopa
NB4: Quimari Shemwell
To be honest Wagoner and Sidney ought to be about even on the Nickel chart but I am slotting in Wagoner there since he has a higher athletic floor due to his pedigree but I can see Sidney coming in when faced with a less athletic slot WR with his ability to read the game at a high level.
Lopa and Shemwell are the default back-ups behind the duo with Lopa sliding in from the STAR position and Shemwell as well who can play the NB with his ability to cover though he might be a detriment to the run game if the opposing defense chooses to run at him.
I feel, I think, I know
I want to end every segment of this series with some feelings, thoughts, and beliefs I have on the group of players discussed, based on the level of evidence and confidence.
I feel that…
That the defensive back situation carries a lot of volatility with a ton of upside. There is a reason why Groves-Killbrew, Harris and Fletcher played in the SEC and were recruited by top flight programs to play there. Sometimes you need a change of scenery and whole bucket “I will show you” to get you to the next gear, spite is one hell of a motivator.
I think that…
We’re going to see the defensive scheme trying to help the corners early on as they adapt to the team and scheme with a predominantly zone coverages (which may lead to zone blitzes where we pair a blitz with zone coverages behind them). However, as the players get more acclimated to the scheme I can see DC Hutchings taking off the training wheels and going absolutely hogwild with blitzes leaving the back-end in man coverages.
I know that…
This is going to be defense that will look dramatically different in week 5 and week 1 as DC Hutchings figures out what his guys can and cannot do as his front 7 try to make the life of the opposing QB living hell. There will be a lot of movement on the depth chart as we discover who can and who cannot keep up with the tempo of Cal football and it’s demands.