Cal Offensive Line Coach Famika Anae Highlights Spring Standouts

The returning O-line coach has a bigger staff around him and a deeper room to work with heading into the fall.

Offensive line coach Famika Anae opened by framing spring ball less about locking in a depth chart and more about development and competition.

“It’s all about chemistry, development and really establishing what’s going to be important to us as a football team right now. More so than setting lineups, quote unquote. It’s about the development of the mind and letting guys compete in that arena in terms of figuring out who’s going to be in what spot.”

A significant addition this spring has been co-coach Viane Talamaivao, a former Power Five offensive line coach in his own right.

“Viane and I were friends prior to this Cal deal. Now that we’re working together, we see things the same, we communicate the same, and I love it because there are no blind spots anymore in that room. Things that I see and things that I’m naturally good at, and then things that he sees and things that he’s naturally good at, it pairs really well. I think our development has been expedited because of it.”

Their approach in the room is collaborative by design, with no rigid division of responsibility.

“I want Coach Viane to talk to the centers, the guards, not just the tackles. We choose not to limit ourselves in terms of the delegation of responsibility, and more so the delegation of being responsible.”

The alignment between what the offensive line is working on and what the team is building toward overall has been a point of pride.

“One of the things I’ve loved in this deal is the alignment in terms of what I think the offensive line needs to work on at this point of the season being exactly what Coach Lupoi is working on with the team. Now you’re talking about total alignment from top to bottom. There are no hidden agendas, no one group doing one thing and another doing something else. Everybody is building toward the same thing at the moment, which is unity.”

Working alongside offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville and the rest of the offensive staff has added to that sense of cohesion.

“Coach Jordan Somerville’s a stud. He’s extremely intelligent, but what he does a really good job at is connecting the dots between the information we have and getting it to our kids. There’s been a lot of collaboration with the kids in and out of the building. With all those guys on the offensive staff, there’s a good sense of unit and a good sense of urgency to learn because of the relationships being built.”

A couple of players have stood out individually. Jimothy Lewis has caught the staff’s eye with his athleticism and intention.

“Jimothy’s doing really well. Extremely athletic. He’s done a good job of being intentional about learning the playbook and figuring that deal out. Really excited about his progress so far.”

Frederick Williams has also taken a step forward.

“Frederick is actually having a really good spring. He’s bounced around interior and exterior of the line and done a really good job managing both positions. His focus and his attention to detail is taking a great jump, so I’m really excited about him.”

Among the other newcomers, Famika highlighted a few names.

“You got guys like Ashton Rivera, who’s an experienced player, did a really good job at his last place. Tell him one thing one day, he’ll execute it four weeks later, and that’s been a huge help. Kahlee Tafai, Mykeal Rabess, all those guys have come in and brought skillsets that we’re really intrigued by that are going to help us.”

With more depth than the unit had a year ago, rotation becomes a real possibility.

“Your objective is to get the best five on the field, but when you round up guys that you trust outside of the five, now it becomes that revolving door in terms of keeping guys fresh. I feel like we’re totally headed in that direction.”

On building chemistry with so many new faces, Famika acknowledged the challenge while putting it in perspective.

“It’s not unique to the University of California. Everybody’s going through it right now. It really becomes the race of who does more with the same allotted time to build that chemistry. Everybody’s got the same hours of operation under the assumption that everybody’s new, so it becomes who puts more effort into building it.”

The returning veterans have been a big help in that regard.

“When you’ve got returning guys, Frederick [Williams], Sioape [Vatikani], Bastian [Swinney], Tyson [Ruffins], all those guys that have had meaningful snaps here at Cal, that is a huge help to the acclimation of all the new guys into the program.”

Two players in particular have stepped into leadership roles on the line.

“Bastian’s done a good job. This is like year two or three for him, so he’s been vocal and getting the guys on the same page. Tyson’s a guy that leads by example, does things the right way, and the younger players, the new guys, they follow suit and appreciate that. There are a lot of guys finding their voice and leading in their own way. It’s been fun to watch.”