Cal football spring practice position battles to watch

The 2024 California Golden Bears have some depth concerns and some starting concerns.

Credit: Cal Football

Cal spring practice is kicking into high gear this week! Aside from quarterback, which is a given, let’s take a look at some of the most interesting position battles to watch in the coming weeks.

Wide receivers, everywhere

There appear to be clear favorites for the starting four: Wide receiver corps look (three wide receiver, one tight end). Trond Grizzell is likely locked into a starting spot, especially if Fernando Mendoza elevates his game and maintains his connection with his favorite wideout. But expect Grizzell to stay in the slot as the new talent comes in and lights up the outside.

Transfers Mikey Matthews, Tobias Merriweather have been impressing in fighting for wideout snaps. It’s unclear who will spot up at the X and Z spots. Jonathan Brady is also deeply involved and Marquez Dortch is starting to turn heads. It’s safe to say between the incoming transfers, plus the young players on the roster, this is a deeper wide receiver bench for Burl Toler to pick from.

Abundance at secondary

The Bears could see all their transfers contribute pretty quickly. Cornerback Marcus Harris has been the standout so far this spring on defense, and is going to push Nohl Williams and Lu-Magia Hearns III very hard for a starting position. Safeties Ja’ir Smith and Isaiah Crosby are making plays and will be battling for a 1 spot with Craig Woodson and Miles Williams.

These are the good problems, but expect a very competitive battle that runs through the fall.

Defensive line volatility

This position is not quite as settled. There is a three person rotation at defensive tackle between Ricky Correia, Stanley Saole-McKenzie and new transfer Aidan Keanaaina will occupy the front to replace the massive loss that is BRETT JOHNSON. I would not expect anyone to run away with this position but jostling for starting snaps will be an ongoing battle. Correia is likely to start but don’t discount the Irish defender.

Nate Burrell likely has one defensive end position sown up, but the other is anyone’s guess. Ethan Saunders is back, but injuries derailed his 2023 campaign. Expect Akili Calhoun and Derek Wilkins to contend for that spot as well.

If I had to guess Cal’s priority in the spring transfer portal, it’s defensive end talent. This is a unit with depth but definitely less-than-proven talent.

Offensive guard #2 and offensive tackle #2

Cal wil have three returning starting offensive lineman who are assured, led by Matthew Wykoff, who assumes duties at center.

At tackle, TJ Session is almost certain to be one of the tackles. Nick Morrow is making a real push to get into the offensive tackle lineup, as he takes most of the spring practice snaps. Transfer Victor Stoffell is not quite yet back from injury. It’s possible the Bears will want to grab another offensive lineman.

At guard, it’s Siaope Vatikani, Rush Reimer, Bastian Swinney, and many of the youngsters who will be competing in that two deep. Vatikani is likely the most assured to keep his starting position as he improved mightily through last season. Swinney saw a lot of action as well. Reimer is going to push hard to get in the mix.

It’s almost certain the Bears will dip back into the spring portal in hopes of bolstering depth, most likely on the outside. Cal has what they need, but more will help buffer off injury issues.

Backup inside linebacker

The outside linebacker position is shored up for the Bears. But the interior is where Cal’s defense got exposed for a good chunk of last season.

Cal has one known commodity at insider linebacker in Cade Uluave, who had a very impressive freshman campaign to help steady Cal’s unsteady defense in 2023. Uluave figures to be the heir apparent to Jackson Sirmon on the interior. Uluave is not practicing at the moment and neither of the transfers (Teddye Buchanan or Liam Johnson) are here until summer. This opens the door for freshman like Luke Ferrelli and walk-ons to get reps.

But Cal does like to run with four linebackers in their base formation, which means they need another player inside. Nate Rutchena was one such candidate, but he has switched over to tight end. Sergio Allen struggled to make a big impact. Hunter Barth also had a late surge. There is definite volatility here that probably won’t be settled until the fall, but perhaps we will see someone step up as Uluave did last fall when pressed into action.

Running backs #2 and #3

Due to an insane run of injuries, Cal was basically down to one runner by the end of last season, and luckily it was Jaydn Ott. Cal will again enjoy an embarrassment of riches in depth here this year to hopefully unburden Ott.

Kadarius Calloway has made some noise in the first week to try and be first man up to take the next RB snaps and is likely to get a lot of time to transition in. Byron Cardwell is not yet fully back from his fall injury so will likely not see much time until the end of camp. Justin Williams-Thomas had some late season momentum. But this figures to remain pretty wide open the next few months.

Which position battles interest you the most this spring?