Last year, it look a little bit of time for Cal’s coaches to figure out how to play to the strength of Cal’s personnel on defense last year, but by the end of the season the secondary was the strength of the team.
With Elijah Hicks and Josh Drayden graduating, there was some concern that the secondary might take a step back. But four of the five main secondary players got tons of playing time last year, and the 5th was a veteran returning from injury.
And while the entire secondary played well yesterday, it was certainly encouraging that the best plays of the game came from the aforementioned 5th DB, and a 2nd unit DB who wasn’t a clear candidate for playing time as a true freshman. Let’s look at three plays that highlight how Cal plays pass coverage.