Cal Depth Chart Discussion and Projections - Offensive Line

Offensive Line AKA: Knights of the Round Table

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The room that has given Cal fans the most headache in recent times has unfortunately been the most important position group on offense. But interestingly, while other positions turned over dramatically portal-wise, it will likely have the smallest makeover with four returning starters.

I liken the offensive line to the Knights of the Round Table: reliable, the pinnacle of the sport while doing the dirty job blocking; without whom nothing can be done; and if one were to fall, the Cal offense would falter the same way Camelot did after the Battle of Camlann.

The Knights of the Round Table: Lancelot, Gawain, Agravain, Arthur, Bedevere, Tristan, and Mordred.

Let’s hope there isn’t a Mordred or Lancelot in the group to falter and fail, taking us down to an early trip to Avalon (AKA, the land of 7-5).

Looking into the projected depth chart, we have four players returning from last season’s mixed lineup. There are legitimate questions as to whether the talent level or scheme were the reason for severe under-performance, especially in the run game.

Left Tackle

LT1: Jimothy Lewis

LT2: Frederick Williams III

LT3: Jacob Arop

Now there is a chance that the LT and RT spots will flip since for a lefty QB, you want the better pass protector on the blindside. However, the modern football theory is that both tackle spots are equally important, so I am placing Lewis in his go-to spot. He has the prototypical size and agility as well as HS recruiting accolades on top of having Alabama being the suitor in the portal indicate that he is a high high ceiling player who has potential to become a plus tackle in college football and a potential NFL draftee.

Theoretically, this ought to be an improvement over the Nick Morrow/Williams rotation experiment, where we struggled to find an answer at the position for the longest time. I do believe and buy into the FW III upside, considering his athletic profile, his hand skills and gametime snaps. Jacob Arop is another addition to the. “this lad is big and moves well, but boy is he raw” stack of players Cal has been collecting. He has prototypical size, but will he develop?

Left Guard

LG1: Tyson Ruffins

LG2: Ashton Rivera

LG3: Kahlee Tafai

Here we enter the area of relative strength: the interior of the offensive line. And this strength is anchored on Ruffins, who can play all 3 positions on the interior of the offensive line. His biggest strength is the fact that he is versatile and a real freaking strong lad. He moves people, and doesn’t get moved all that much. There is some discussion about his pass protection, but it is coachable, and with another year with Anae, I can see him being the best lineman we have on the team.

Rivera comes in from the Golden Flashes as a natural center; however, I do think he has some flexibility, since Cal does have a returning starter at the center position. He comes in with experience as a guard on both sides, thus making him a natural choice as the backup for the interior OL.

Tafai comes in as another developmental player who has had stops at Minnesota and Washington. He hasn’t been able to find his foothold to gain snaps at the P4 level, but being on the bench and developing further can help him in the long run.

Center

C1: Bastian Swinney

C2: Ashton Rivera

C3: Tyson Ruffins

The center position brings both a ton of production, but whether past production will lead to above-average production in the future remains to be seen. None of the players has yet to produce high enough quality results to settle the position, making this an ultimate low-ceiling, high-floor situation.

The upside case will be the average Cal football fan never identifying the center who is doing the yeoman’s job of blocking, tackling, snapping the ball, and calling protections. The downside case is the average Cal fan knowing all three of their names, as Cal can’t find someone to take over the position cycling through the center spot, making everyone aware of the fact.

Right Guard

RG1: Sioape Vatikani

RG2: Tyson Ruffins

RG3: Ashton Rivera

RG4: Kahlee Tafai

This is likely the deepest position group on the offense overall. The expectation is that Sioape keeps developing pass protecting, along with some of his lateral agility for zone run blocking. I do think if he takes this step in his development, he can be a late-round draft pick.

Ruffins is slotted in as a backup here, since in my view, the RG is more important for both the pass protection and run game, since they will have to support the less proficient of the two tackles on the depth chart.

Rivera slots in as the utility interior OL who has experience.

Right Tackle

RT1: Frederick Williams III

RT2: Jacob Arop

RT3: Mykeal Rabess

Here we have a possible point of concern for the OL. Even if we flip the LT/RT line-ups, whichever side that has Williams and Arop will have similar issues —raw skillsets that need to catch up with good athleticism in a critical position for the OL to succeed. The concern with FWIII is that his starting snaps at Cal showed a raw prospect with more lows than highs. The upside was tangible, but he has to reach it through the off-season.

The question with Arop is the fact that all of his production came from a FCS South Dakota squad that made the FCS quarterfinals in 2025, and he did not play football until his Junior year of High School. If either of them develops into their bodies, there is a high upside.

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. Here, I will take a look at how the Knights of the Round Table fall:

I feel that…

• We are going to see Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele learning how to climb the pocket more than he has in the past. This is because of the relative strength of the OL between the tackles than on the edges. This will likely extend to the running game, where, especially early on, Cal will hammer the A-gap, and try to use the athleticism of FWIII and Lewis in the screen game. It’s a good thing we have a hammer in Adam Mohammed and an agile screen threat in Carter Vargas.

I think that…

• Offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville and offensive line coach Famika Anae understand that the offensive line will dictate whether this offense will live or die throughout the season. I think that early in the season, we will see a lot of six-man protections with the running backs. Also, I could see 12 personnel looks where the two tight ends would be in-line, and given chip responsibilities to help the tackles if needed.

• If the need for such pass blocking help is not needed, I can see tight ends and running backs go into routes more often, without having pass blocking responsibilities, allowing for deeper routes (such as my beloved RB Wheel and Texas routes, or the TE Y crosser).

  

  Here we have an example of a case where the TE stays in pass protection, and the RB has to check before releasing into the outlet pass. This restricts the passing game to three deep players, allowing the opposing team to cover them with ease.

I know that…

• If there is a case where we see constant non-injury caused changes to the lineup in weeks 2-3, then it will portend a rough season for the offense. By trying to find answers early season, it will mean that none of the retentions or additions provided us with answers across the line. I am a believer in the idea that you do not find the starting 5 during the season, you find them in the off-season and field them together as much as you can to build unit cohesion.

Next up: The Offensive Coaches