Cal Defense Hoping to Overwhelm Foes With Sheer Numbers

Keeping track of which Cal players on the field when Syracuse has the ball in today's game may be a challkenge.

Last week against UCLA, 23 Cal players played at least 12 plays on defense, and that does not include outside linebacker Justin Beadles and defensive backs Jasiah Wagoner and Marquis Groves-Killebrew, who sat out last week’s game but figure to get significant playing time when they are healthy.

The biggest defensive shuffle came in the secondary, where 10 players got on the field for at least 13 defensive plays apiece.

What was particularly interesting is that three of the four starters in the secondary were not players who were projected to be starters. Furthermore, three of the four defensive backs who got the most playing time were not starters.

Of course, there are certain defenses for certain situations, but this substitution pattern did not correspond to situations.

It was assumed Cal coaches were just trying to get a look at a lot of players in the first game, to see which players performed best before settling on core groups for each situation.

But defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings and head coach Tosh Lupoi suggested this week that the mass substitutions will continue.

“Overall I think it goes to really our guys that have earned that playing time through camp,” Hutchings said. “I think we felt comfortable playing a large amount of guys, that’s the way our system has been built to make sure our guys get reps, create depth, and you always want to go into a game with multiple guys.

“There’s a lot of snaps, you know this is a physical game, and just the wear and tear on the bodies, so if you can keep fresh bodies in there and keep the execution level the same, you definitely want to rotate as much as possible.”

Asked whether this pattern will be typical going forward, Hutchings said, “I would hope so.”

Lupoi is on the same page, although he noted that he is also looking to get playing time for players who have limited experience while determining which players fit in certain defensive packages. He confirmed that Cal may use a lot of players at some defensive positions and that the starters may change from game to game.

“We want to rotate quite a few guys,” said Lupoi, who was a defensive coordinator at Oregon and Alabama, “and, per package, finding out who’s best. We’re going to continue to have an open competition throughout practice of certain places, and that’s the environment I want. These guys are going to come to work and compete every week, so you might see some different guys as far as who runs out first, but keeping that healthy competition.

“I think we have a lot of individual contributing that haven’t played a whole bunch of football on defense, and that’s ultimately how you get better, you got to bank those reps.

“In some positions we’re going to be a service by committee.”

True freshman JD McKinley Redshirt was a surprise starter at linebacker and he ended up playing 40 defensive plays. Only safety Kingston Lopa played more defensive snaps for Cal.

It's debatable whether this defensive strategy is working. The Bears allowed 45 points and 461 yards of offense to UCLA in the opener. However, before the season began it appeared that defense was going to be a concern with all the starters the Bersa lost from last seaosn and all the newcomers expected to contribute this season despite limited experience.

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