Cal fans have been on cloud nine for the past three years, and they can continue being happy as long as Coach London stays. It wasn't a surprise when the traditional superpowers (Texas, LSU, and Notre Dame) came knocking in the off season, London has become a hot commodity and turned down alot of money to stay at Cal. The Golden Bears can also look forward to two more years of QB Kyle Boehm, unless he decides to leave as a redshirt SO after this season, so the Bears could run their title streak to five.
2012 Overall Record : 13-0
2012 Conference Record : 9-0 (1st)
Returning Starters
Offense : 7; Defense : 7; Kicker/Punter : 0
Top Returners : HB Darrell Green, CB Terrence Miller, WR Mike Brown, SS Keenan Allen, QB Kyle Boehm
Key Losses : RE/OLB Chris Martin, CB Steve Williams, CB Vachel Samuels
2012 Statistical Leaders (*Returning Starters)
Rushing : Darrell Green (2732)*
Passing : Kyle Boehm (4089)*
Receiving : Mike Brown (1752)*
Tackles : Dalvin Glass (65)*
Sacks : Chris Martin (17)
Interceptions : Terrence Miller (9)*
SPRING ANSWERS
1 - Heisman Fight. HB Darrell Green made it three in a row for Cal, but QB Kyle Boehm and WR Mike Brown were right behind him at #2 & 3 in the voting. The offense shouldn't change much, so the three will probably be back in NY, but the addition of Dexton Fields could tip the scales toward Boehm. Brown excelled as Boehm's top target at WR, but with TE DeAndre Brown, FB Austin Box, and WR Dexton Fields it could be tough to repeat as a Heisman contender.
Could Green be a repeat Heisman winner?2 - Speed, Speed, Speed. Cal will probably field the fastest team in the nation. ATH Travon Harvin will move to FS full time and take over return duties, so the defense and special teams will have the nation's fastest player. Add in CB Terrence Miller and true freshman burner Sean Black and you get the speediest secondary in the nation. If that wasn't bad enough for opposing offenses the LB's and back up CB's (Andrew Booker and Dallas Winston) are also incredibly fast. Pac-10 defenses are also in for a long season, the four headed beast of Green-Brown-Brown-Fields will stretch coverage, that isn't even taking into account Boehm's ability on the run.
3 - Monster Defense. Cal's defense was the best in the nation last year, and it could get better. The Golden Bears allowed an eye watering 14 rushing yards in 2011-2012, not once did they allow 50+ yards rushing in a game. Cal added two new edge rushers, Auston English and Cortney Grixby, and mammoth DT Johnathan Utah to shore up the defensive line. The return of CB Terrence Miller and the nations best LB trio (Brian Friday, Kevin Towers, Toshi Zojirushi) will only make it harder to score. Look for some kind of rotation opposite Miller, top prospects Black, Booker, and Winston should see alot of action as teams will want to avoid "Miller Island" at all costs.
FALL QUESTIONS
1 - HB Depth. Darrell Green is still there, but recent graduations (Covaughn Deboskie-Johnson) and transfers (Trajuan Briggs) have left Cal thin at HB. Green will most likely be backed up by SR Dasarte Yarnway, who has 0 career rushing yards, but FB Austin Box could get some snaps at HB. Coach London is going to have to hit the recruiting trail hard this season, if Green leaves for the NFL draft his HB cupboard will be quite bare.
2 - Offensive Line Depth. The O-Line returns a number of starters, and after spring practices it looks like true freshman OJ Murdoch will start at RT, but after that it looks bleak. Cal added another top prospect, but he may be a year away from starting or being a solid back-up. If someone gets hurt the Golden Bears could have a huge hole on the line, lets hope they can avoid the injury bug.
3 - Even More New Faces. The true freshman experiment worked well last year, lets hope it works out again. Cal lost four starters and a solid contributor on defense, it could have been five starters but Coach London managed to talk SS Keenan Allen into staying for his senior year. Cal's depth chart lists seven freshman starters (Def 4, Off 3) and a few that should get solid playing time. The Bears look to be a juggernaut again, but their freshman could be a weakness down the stretch.
2012 Recruiting Round-Up
The Golden Beats basically reloaded on defense with a stunning recruiting class. The best recruits in the class are all on defense, aside from ATH Dexton Fields out of Compton CA, offenses will have quite a bit of planning to do. Stepping into Chris Martin's vacated DE/OLB spot is Austin English, a prized prospect out of Bastrop LA. Lining up across from English is talented DE Cortney Grixby, who was highly sought after by Texas and LSU. Coach London was also able to round up a giant DT to pair up with Dalvin Glass, Johnathan Utah figures to start and clog up running lanes along with Glass.
With so much talent filling starting spots there is a fear that it could negatively impact recruiting in the following season. There will be alot of pressure to find a replacement for HB Darrell Green and QB Kyle Boehm, if they decided to leave early.
Projected Starters (*Returning Starter)
QB - K.Boehm*
HB - D.Green*
FB - A.Box
LT - R.Riboudeux*
LG - S.Good*
C - M.Brazinski*
RG - R.Schwenke
RT - OJ Muroch
TE - D.Brown*
WR - M.Brown*
WR - D.Fields
K - J.Holmes
DE - C.Grixby
DT - D.Glass*
DT - J.Utah
DE/OLB - A.English
MLB - K.Towers*
MLB - B.Friday*
OLB - T.Zojirushi*
CB - S.Black
CB - T.Miller*
FS - T.Harvin*
SS - K.Allen*
P - J.Holmes
2013 Schedule
Aug. 31 at #10 West Orion Union
Sept. 7 Aegis Tech
Sept. 14 #25 Ariel
Sept. 28 UCLA
Oct. 5 at Washington State
Oct. 12 Washington
Oct. 19 at Arizona
Oct. 26 at Oregon State
Nov. 2 Oregon
Nov. 9 Arizona State
Nov. 16 at #24 USC
Nov. 23 #9 Stanfurd
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