Cal Football: New O-Line Coach Mike Bloesch's Rebuild Job Just Getting Started
Cal has a sophomore running back oozing with talent and potential. The Bears have a new quarterback, who reportedly runs a 4.3-second 40-yard dash yet says the best part of his game is his arm. The receiving corps, led by Jeremiah Hunter, is solid.
And Jake Spavital has returned to Berkeley to assemble it all in his encore role as offensive coordinator.
The Bears hope all of this adds up to a remedy for what has been their consistently biggest issue the past five years — an inability to score enough points.
Over that 52-game span, Cal has scored at just a 23.3 points-per-game pace, which doesn’t cut it in modern college football. Consider that five of the 11 highest-scoring teams in the country last fall came from the Pac-12, all of the averaging at least 38.6 points, and it’s pretty clear the Bears have a problem.
New offensive line coach Mike Bloesch knows this lands on the shoulders of the big men he has begun to mentor.
“I tell them all the time, as the O-line goes so goes the offense,” Bloesch (rhymes with flesh) says in the video at the top of this story.
During Bloesch's three seasons at North Texas, including the past two as offensive coordinator, the Mean Green averaged 31.5 points and 236 rushing yards over 37 games.
Bloesch, 37, who replaces Angus McClure, will have to sculpt a more productive line with pretty much the same personnel the Bears had last fall. Only one of Cal’s 24 offseason signees was an offensive linemen — 6-foot-6, 310-pound Martin Tine of East Los Angeles JC — and he won’t arrive on campus until this summer.
Bloesch said he believes in his own ability to help players improve and he believes in the new uptempo offense the Bears intend to use.
“I think they’re going to be better because we’ll put them in great situations,” he said. “I came here with Coach Spav because I knew that everywhere he’s been he has had success. He’s the type of guy I wanted to coach with.
"I’ve had success everywhere I’ve been and I’m confident in my ability to develop offensive linemen.”
His North Texas offense allowed just 11 sacks all last season - Cal surrendered 31.
Sixth-year senior Matthew Cindric, who will start at either center or guard, is being held out of contact this spring after missing the final six games of the 2022 season with a torn muscle in his chest.
Reflecting on a season in which the Bears ranked last in the Pac-12 in rushing yards at 96.6 per game, Cindric said Bloesch has been “awesome” and players are motivated to make sure 2022 isn't repeated.
“We did not do what we wanted to do, for sure. And I think a lot of the guys know that,” he said. “We came into this offseason knowing we wanted to make a change as a group.
“That just started with who we wanted to be and our identity — just a physical, fast group that is smart and gritty. That’s the foundation of a good O-line.”
There were some encouraging signs Saturday during the Bears' 90-play scrimmage. The offense ran the ball 54 times for 303 yards and four touchdowns, including 139 yards by starter Jaydn Ott and 117 more by Ashton Stredick, who hopes to become more than the fourth-string back.
Everyone had a good time but it was, after all, just the fifth practice of spring ball. Coach Justin Wilcox wasn’t ready to jump and down too enthusiastically just yet.
“I think they’re working well together. The techniques are still new. I think their communication overall is pretty dang good for being in a new system. They’re pretty comfortable with knowing what to do,” he said.
“Now it’s just the detail of how to do it, and being able to do it for an entire drive, an entire game. That’s conditioning, that’s technique, that’s mentality. Encouraged by the improvement, but we’re far from being a finished product.”
With Cindric watching from the sideline, the Bears’ first O-line unit had junior Brayden Rohme at left tackle, sophomore Ender Aguilar at left guard, junior Brian Driscoll at center, sophomore Sioape Vatikani at right guard and junior T.J. Session at right tackle.
The second five was redshirt freshman Jackson Brown at left tackle, redshirt freshman Trent Ramsey at left guard, sophomore Dylan Jemtegaard at center, junior Everett Johnson at right guard and sophomore Colin Hamilton at right tackle.
Bloesch wants to develop depth and versatility on the line but said he expects to plug in the best five players as starters, regardless of their position.
“It’s about those five guys playing together,” he said. “I don’t need one guy to be a superstar and four guys being not very good. We’ve got to be a unit, and that’s what we’re focusing on right now.”
Bloesch talks in the video above about the players’ willingness to develop a work ethic and a fresh culture.
“To me, this game is so mental and there’s got to be a mentality built on the O-line,” he said. “Xs and Os and schematics, everybody has that. But developing a culture in the room and a mentality in the room is really what I’m focused on this spring.”
“Coach Bloesch has just brought a great mentality to the room,” Cindric said. “Everyone has really meshed well with him.”
The Bears’ intention to play with tempo means everyone must be in better shape in order to survive the pace. Bloesch also believes playing fast can benefit a team without a dominant offensive line because that tempo creates a more level playing field.
“It sure helps whenever you get later on in a drive.” he said. “As you keep (the opponent’s defense) on the field and you keep hammering them on play 8, 9, 10, I think that’s where the tempo can come into your favor as an offensive line.”
Cindric returned for a sixth season to be part of something that represents a change.
“We weren’t happy with where we were,” he said. “Now we’ve got a fresh start to get to where we want to be.”
Cover photo of new offensive line coach Mike Bloesch
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
