Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon chats transfer portal and ILB newcomers

Where does the California Golden Bears defense stand going into the offseason?

On what the defense was working on at the end of spring

We have what we're calling that inside action gap games. And we're trying to minimize the separation between knowing and doing. And at times last year, I feel that that gap was was too large. And a lot of that has to do with coaching, how I'm instructing it, how our coaches instructing it, how we're walking it, how we're installing it.

But what we're going to continue talking about shrinking that gap that if the kids know what to do, then they can go out there and do it to their best ability.

On making the correct adjustments for the team

They knew what they were supposed to do, but they weren't able to execute it. I think there's a lot of different levels to that. I think some of it'‘s experience, some of it's concentration.

Sometimes I think that as a coach, I think one of my one of my strengths is I'm detailed and one of my weaknesses is I'm detailed. So I think that can go both ways. And I think I have to understand my audience a little bit better, quite honestly.

And we have adjustments. But to try to coach through every situation, maybe at times, you know, that's not that's not what my group needs. That's not what the defense needs. So in terms of trying to help mitigate that space… ok, do I coach some of the details a little bit less and play 95% of what's going to happen and not try to coach through the 5% of what is going to happen.

We're taking some strides. It's not less on the details. It's less on the details that happened 3% of the time. And effort and variety of the calls, I have to make up for some of those with with a little less predictability.

What have you thought of the progress of your inside linebacker group?

I think the young guys have made tremendous progress. The midyear high school guys, it's always a really interesting indoctrination, because every high school program, does different varying degrees of of how they get those guys ready and what the expectations were in high school.

But I think Aaron Hampton has been a real, real good surprise. I didn't know a lot about Aaron through the recruiting process, but he's a heavy, good instincts inside backer. I think he's going to be a really good tackler for us. And I see him around the ball

Eze Osundu. Another really young kid, turned 18 just last month.

And then Luke Ferrelli, I think, has a lot of good movement skills. And we just have to continue to get him developed in the weight room.

But all three of those those younger players were really bullish about what they're going to be for.

Elaborating on Aaron Hampton

He was a real instinctual player. He was around the ball a lot, played a lot of different positions.

And when you watched his film, you could tell he was the best player on the field. I believe he earned Gatorade Player of the Year up there in the great state of Alaska and then had the opportunity.

Malik McMorris, one of our GAs, was actively recruiting him, and then he had the opportunity to come down with his folks and we sat down and he thought he was a great fit for Cal had to offer, so he joined us.

What's it been like to have Cade [Uluave] back out there kind of doing the normal things?

Cade had a year last year that we're excited for him to build on. He has good tools, but experience is still something. You can't cheat. It's hard to manufacture it perfectly.

Practice does a good job of it. But the more the kid sees, the better he'll be. He'll be able to build on him from that first year

On transfer frequency increasing changing coaching style

So we're really focusing a lot on what we consider what our what our families are.We have these vertical families that certain techniques, certain alignments are going to live in these families. And we're trying to be very mindful of to not contaminate any of the words.

So the techniques or the techniques and the vocab is extremely precious to us. For us to be able to carry volume, I think we should be very concise with what we call things and how we instruct things. So those guys can integrate as fast as possible.

I mean, there's not a lot of unique left out there. Everybody does a lot on defense.

So most of these things these kids have done to a certain degree from wherever they're coming from, especially the for the four year transfer. So it's how clean can you make the transition in terminology to get them on the field and trying to let their their physical attributes shine.

On the transfer portal

I would say that kids, to be able to pursue what they think is in their best interest could have value. kids pushing through adversity could have its value as well.

Not to not answer that question, but it doesn't matter. Our eyes are forward. To not like something and to be able to be expected to win, I have to ditch that thought, “I don't like it”. Because if I'm thinking about “I don't like something”, that's not helping me help the team. I'm not a person that makes the rules.

So I am all about my eyes forward and doing the very best job I can regardless of what they ask me to do.

On things in the portal becoming more streamlined

I don't know if I go all the way to vanilla, but I would say that that the amount of formations you get and the amount of different looks that each team gives you, there's a lot to coach.

To not hit the details. We're going to hit the details. On 95% of everything I like a lot of things. That last 5% might take up 30% of the time I have to coach through the intricacies.

So we're going to focus more on playing 90, 95% of what's going to happen. There's always going to be something that we get prepared for that we don't see every week.

If you go back in and really kind of look at what people have done prior to us and what people give to us, the amount of variance is alarmingly large.

What we prepare for and then what we get is very rarely the numbers, the formations in the play codes, it's shocking. When I go back for four years to see what I prepared for, what they had done, what the plays look like in their run pass tendencies versus us. It wasn't the same a lot of the time.

What have you learned the most?

What I've learned most, I think we have a mature mentality group. We do have a lot of young guys, but Craig [Woodson], Marcus Harris Myles Williams, in the back end, Nohl [Williams], Matt Littlejohn, those guys are showing maturity. They're showing a consistency and performance.

Xavier [Carlton], David Reese. Those guys are showing a consistency in performance. So I feel right now I think I've seen a level of consistency in the team that sometimes in the spring. So I've seen a level of consistency day to day that I'm real proud of.