Projecting Cal's Defensive Starters for the 2026 Football Season

New Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi and new defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings must completely remake the Bears' defense from the Bears' 2025 version.

Only one player who was a regular Cal starter last year seems assured of a starting spot this season (outside linebacker Jayden Wayne), and as many as eight new transfers could find themselves starting on Cal’s defense in the Bears' September 5 opener against UCLA. There is more uncertainty about Cal's defensive starters than there is for the Bears' offensive starters.

Cal’s base defense might be considered a 3-4, with three down linemen, although the Bears are more likely to use two down linemen with two outside linebackers (edges), making it a four-man front to go along with five defensive backs.

Last year, Oregon started two down linemen and five defensive backs in 13 of their 15 games, and did not start three defensive linemen in a single game. In the only two games in which the Ducks used four defensive backs, they started five linebackers instead of four.

Tosh Lupoi was the defensive coordinator for that Oregon squad, so the Bears’ defensive structure will likely be similar. (Last season, under Justin Wilcox, Cal’s depth chart showed three defensive linemen in the starting lineup, but the Bears actually started two down linemen and five defensive backs in nearly every game, much like Oregon.)

As a result, college depth charts often show 12 defensive starters, with three down linemen, two inside linebackers, two outside linebackers (edges) and five defensive backs, including a nickel.

Recent seasons have demonstrated how important defense is to winning championships. The 2023 national champion Michigan Wolverines ranked first in the nation in scoring defense that season, 2024 champion Ohio State also ranked first nationally in that category, and 2025 champion Indiana was second in the country in scoring defense.

Cal's projected starting lineup on defense (with an asterisk - * - indicating the that a third defensive lineman or a nickelback might not be starters):

Defensive line – Jericho Johnson

Defensive line – Nate Burrell

*Defensive line – Derek Wilkins

Comments: Cal is likely to use just two down linemen and five defensive backs, so two of these three are likely to be starters, and it’s hard to determine which two. Burrell missed all of last season with an injury, and at a weight of only 285 pounds, he might be the odd man out in this configuration since Cal needs beef up front. However, he made 21 starts over the prior three seasons and has shown he can handle bigger offensive linemen. The 345-pound Johnson, who played in nine games as a redshirt freshman at Oregon last season, provides a road block in the middle, and Wilkins has plenty of Cal experience. However, none of the three (or two) starting spots seems settled, and Mississippi State transfer Ashun Shepphard could work his way into the starting lineup.

Inside linebacker – Tristan Jernigan

Inside linebacker – AJ Tuitele

Comments: The inside linebacker spots are key, especially after 2025 starters Cade Uluave and Luke Ferrelli transferred out. Jernigan played little at Texas A&M last season, and AJ Tuitele played in only three games as a true freshman at USC in 2025. However, the talent of those two makes them the favorites to win the starting inside linebacker jobs, with Aaron Hampton, who played well in limited playing time for Cal last season, and Oregon transfer Kamar Mothudi trying to unseat them.

Outside linebacker (Edge)– Jayden Wayne

Outside linebacker (Edge) – Solomon Williams

Comments: Wayne started nine games for Cal last season so he seems set, and so does Solomon Williams, who played in 12 games for Texas A&M last year but did not start any of them. Williams is expected to be the Bears’ top pass rusher after recording three tackles for loss in limited playing time as a redshirt freshman for the Aggies in 2025. Justin Beadles, who is playing for his fourth school, could see some playing time at the position, but the most intriguing outside linebacker is Tennessee transfer Emmanuel Okoye, the most athletic player on the Cal team but one with little football experience.

Cornerback – Ricky Fletcher

Cornerback – Marquis Groves-Killebrew

Safety – Kingston Lopa

Safety – Aiden Manutai

Nickelback – Cam Sidney

Comments: Fletcher is the only member of the secondary that seems to have a starting job locked up. Groves-Killebrew figures to battle Daniel Harris for the other starting cornerback spot. This is a critical position for Cal, especially after losing standout corners Hezekiah Masses and Brent "Paco" Austin from last year's squad. Both are now on NFL preseason teams.

It looks like three players are competing for the two safety spots. Lopa, who played 13 games off the bench for Oregon last season as a redshirt freshman, and Manutai, who started 11 games for Cal as a true freshman last season, seem to have the inside track on starting roles. But Isaiah Crosby could supplant Lopa or Manutai for a starting spot at safety after being a Cal starting safety for the first four games of 2025 before suffering a season-ending injury.

The nickel position is expected to be part of the starting lineup in most games if not all of them, and several players are in the running for that spot. Sidney, who started eight games for Cal last season, and Utah transfer Quimari Shemwell are the main candidates for that starting job.

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