Golden Bear Preview: Cam Sidney
He's a runner he's a track star
Remember when i said all those months ago on the Ashton Hayes preview that speed kills? Well, let me introduce you to the defensive side of speed kills in Cam Sidney, a defensive back from Southern California. Some people like to refer to certain athletes like Devonta Smith as a slim reaper and Sidney without question fits that mold with his effort and execution on the field. But what does Cal really have in Cam Sidney? Well lets dive on in!
The Bio and Measurables:
5 ft 11 inches
175 LBS
Mater Dei High School (via Riverside, CA)
Had 40 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, 14 passes defended and one fumble recovery over 12 games as a senior at Mater Dei
Varsity career stats: 70 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 3 Interceptions (1 Touchdown), 8 passes defended, and two forced fumbles over a total of 27 games.
Cam Sidney is by far one of the more impressive players in Cal’s signing list, mainly in the sense that he just has the intangibles and hustle to get himself in position to make plays. He’s certainly held his own and then some against receivers like Tetairoa Mcmillan who is going to Arizona next year, the likes of other St.John Bosco receivers, among others. Defensive backs at this level tend to gravitate towards wanting to make a big play or big hit in the passing game, but Sidney does more than that. Look at this play at the 1:00 mark, in the CIF Open Division State Championship game against my alma mater in Serra from San Mateo. Petelo Gi goes up the middle just before half and looks to be gone and off to the races. Enter Cam Sidney, who chases him down from across the formation and ends up getting a touchdown saving tackle just before halftime where Mater Dei made a goal line stand as the buzzer went off. One intangible that Sidney has that really sticks out is his timing on routes and hands, whether it be putting his hands in on a go route or timing up the PBU on an in route, he just always seems to be in the right place at the right time. Sidney provides exceptional effort, effort that wins you games. Think of the Big Games of the likes of 2017 and 2020, where a play here and a play there were really the difference in the game. Sidney would fit seamlessly in this context, because those effort plays will be the difference in the future.
What gives me pause?
The only glaring issue I find is that Sidney’s mold is really small, he is going to need to put on some weight and a lot of it. Remember all those times Collin Gamble got picked on due to his stature early in the season? I forecast some of the same for Sidney’s first significant playing time but once he gets past that he should be all good. Now obviously his skill set and football IQ will continue to develop well since it already has a great foundation, but you can only do so much when someone like Calvin Jackson Jr. is lining up against you. But for now, I like what I see and hopefully will also get to see Sidney grow physically while he’s in Berkeley.
Senior Tape: http://www.hudl.com/v/2GkPdj
Best of luck to Cam as he starts his Cal career!
Welcome to Cal Cam and thanks for the write-up.