The Golden Bears return the fewest starters of any Pac-10 team, but the media ignored that and gave them a #4 preseason ranking. It isn't completely clear yet if Cal has any chance at staying in the Top 10 with so many starters leaving, looks like HB Darrell Green and defensive stars CB Terrence Miller and DE/OLB Chris Martin will have to lead the team. Coach London has his work cut out for him, but after the last two seasons he would have to go 0-12 for the next ten years to get fired.
California has been picked to finish 3rd in the Pac-10 this season, behind #7 Stanfurd and #20 USC.
2011 Overall Record : 13-0
2011 Conference Record : 9-0 (1st)
Returning Starters
Offense : 4; Defense : 4; Kicker/Punter : 0
Top Returners : HB Darrell Green, CB Terrence Miller, OLB/LE Chris Martin, SS Keenan Allen
Key Losses : WR Marvin Jones, QB Beau Sweeney, TE Anthony Miller, DT Kendrick Payne
2011 Statistical Leaders (*Returning Starters)
Rushing : Darrell Green (1446)*
Passing : Beau Sweeney (3887)
Receiving : Marvin Jones (2229)
Tackles : Chris Martin (80)*
Sacks : Chris Martin (12)*
Interceptions : Terrence Miller (12)*
SPRING ANSWERS
1 - Ground Game Settled. Cal's running back situation is settled, and should be for at least the next two years. Darrell Green took the starting job from Covaugn Deboskie-Johnson and never looked back, Green played so well he came in 3rd in the Heisman vote. Both HB's that started games return, so if Green were to get injured nobody would worry with Deboskie-Johnson starting in his place. Green starts the year as the Heisman favorite, so the pressure is on in Berkeley .
Could Green be Cal's third Heisman winner?2 - Linebackers Aplenty. Coach London struck some serous gold on the recruiting trail last year, and its most apparent at the LB position. Cal landed the three top LB prospects, and as camp closes all three of them will be starting. London isn't afraid to start freshman so it isn't that shocking considering how many players left, but the Zojirushi-Friday-Towers trio have been amazingly good in practice and could end the season as the nations top LB corps.
3 - Defensive Stars Return. The giant whooshing sound you hear in Berkeley is the mass exodus of starters, most damaging to the offense. Luckily Cal's best defensive players return and look to continue leading the nations top defense. The junior tandem of Chris Martin and Keenan Allen are going to be captains, but Terrence Miller is going to do his best to prove that he is Cal's top defender. Miller lead the nation in INT as a freshman and looks to be more than comfortable on an island.
FALL QUESTIONS
1 - QB Depth. Beau Sweeney was a breath of fresh air after the Riley years, but he decided to leave early for the NFL. To make things worse his backup, Brock Mansion, was a senior and won't be returning. When camp opened the roster had four QB's that haven't taken a single snap in a game, not to mention first team practice, so things were very much a mystery. At first it looked like the job was JR Allan Brigford's, but he quickly lost the job to redshirt FR Kyle Boehm and surprised everyone. Boehm managed to come into spring practices with a new found burst of speed and impressed coaches with his legs as much as his arm. Coach London is looking to use more option plays, so Boehm's running ability put him ahead of Bridgford in the end. .
Kyle Boehm will have to sink or swim.2 - Defensive Front Four. Chris Martin returns, and that is about it. There will be three first time starters on the defensive line, the only notable player being massive freshman DT Dalvin Glass out of Austin TX. Cal's D-Line managed to contain the run and post the top rush defense in the nation, but things could change very quickly if this line doesn't gel quickly. An opening game at LSU's Death Valley will be an excellent litmus test for this unit.
3 - Lots Of New Faces. Cal is going to have seven first time starters on offense and defense, and nine of them are true freshman. This will be Cal's least experienced team during London's tenure, so nobody really knows how they are going to perform. From the look of things Cal should be competitive, as some of the true freshman look legit, but starting such an inexperienced team will probably be an issue eventually.
2011 Recruiting Round-Up
California's 2011 recruiting class could be one for the ages, not just because London took them from 91st to 1st. Cal raided the Lone Star state and brought in the nation's top DT (Dalvin Glass) and MLB (Brian Friday), beating out Texas, LSU, and Florida for their services. London's biggest triumph was landing an arsenal of top prospects on offense, all of which are expected to start right away. Cal was losing alot of players at skill positions, so London was able to promise the moon when it came to starting time. The jewels of this recruiting class are ATH Travon Harvin, the nations top overall prospect out of Florida, and massive T Reggie Riboudeux out of Louisiana. Harvin will probably start at FS and get some snaps at WR, his position in HS, look for Cal to use him as a speedy slot receiver or HB out of spread formations. London was also able to bring in the nation's top WR and TE prospects, Mike and DeAndre Brown, twins out of Compton CA. The Golden Bears look set for the future, if London could do this playing out of AT&T Park the nations superpowers could be in trouble as Cal heads back to completed facilities in Berkeley.
Projected Starters (*Returning Starter)
QB - K.Boehm
HB - D.Green*
FB - M.DeLuca
LT - R.Riboudeux
LG - S.Good
C - M.Brazinski*
RG - T.Rigsbee*
RT - M.Summers-Gavin*
TE - D.Brown
WR - M.Brown
WR - S.Hagan
K - G.Tavecchio
DE - T.Guyton
DT - D.Glass
DT - K.Kaufusi
DE/OLB - C.Martin*
MLB - K.Towers
MLB - B.Friday
OLB - T.Zojirushi
CB - V.Samuels*
CB - T.Miller*
FS - T.Harvin
SS - K.Allen*
P - G.Tavecchio
2012 Schedule
Sept. 1 at LSU
Sept. 8 #11 West Orion Union
Sept. 15 Iowa
Sept. 22 at UCLA
Sept. 29 #20 USC
Oct. 6 at #21 Oregon
Oct. 13 Arizona
Oct. 20 #23 Oregon State
Oct. 27 at Washington
Nov. 3 at Arizona State
Nov. 10 Washington State
Nov. 24 at #7 Stanfurd
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