Cal Sports Report

Will Cal LB Cade Uluave Play on Offense Too This Season?

Bears coach Justin Wilcox made an offhanded remark Tuesday that prompts the question, or was he joking?
Jake Curtis|
Cal's Cade Uluave during ACC media day Tuesday
Cal's Cade Uluave during ACC media day Tuesday | Jim Dedmon-Imagn Images

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California Golden Bears

Toward the end of an interview session at ACC media day on Tuesday, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox came up with a surprising statement regarding Bears linebacker Cade Uluave:

“He’s going to be really, really productive for us on defense, and there’s a chance we may put him on the other side too.,” Wilcox said.

Uluave on offense? What?

Uluave is one of the best inside linebackers in the ACC and probably the Bears’ top defensive player. Would Cal put him on offense on occasion in 2025? Or was Wilcox just joking?

Uluave was a two-way player at Mountain Ridge High School in Utah, getting plenty of carries at running back in all three of his varsity seasons. He even spent time with the running backs when he first arrived at Cal, so it's not complete nonsense.

Uluave rushed for 1,638 yards and 27 touchdowns during his high school career, and he rushed for 345 yards while averaging 7.0 yards per carry in four games as a senior.  However, he suffered a season-ending knee injury from an ATV accident that limited him to those four games in his final high school season.

But Uluave is healthy now, and he’s has been open to playing on offense in college. When you add the fact that Cal lost its top seven rushers from last season, including Jaydn Ott and Jaivian Thomas, who knows?

The Bears brought in three running backs through the transfer portal -- LJ Johnson from SMU, Kendrick Raphael from North Carolina State and Brandon High of Texas-San Antonio – but do the Bears need another running back? Would they put Uluave in the backfield?

Can Uluave handle playing both ways? Travis Hunter demonstrated that it can be done.

Or was Wilcox just joking?

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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