Cal Football: Cam Bynum Talks Up Bears' Inexperienced 2021 DBs
With cornerback Camryn Bynum’s defection to the NFL, only one starter from Cal’s 2019 defensive backfield is scheduled to return whenever the Bears begin their next season.
And that player, senior Elijah Hicks, has been moved to a new position, from corner to safety.
But Bynum is convinced the Bears’ secondary — the team’s strength the past two seasons — will remain effective.
“I just want to let them know they’re plenty capable to be the best in the country next year,” Bynum said. "Regardless of whether I stayed or not, there’s guys in that room that are super-good and are going to turn a lot of heads next year.
“I just want to let you all know that I’m proud of you guys,” he said, directing his comments directly to his former teammates, “and I believe in you all and I know you guys are going to go ball out without me.”
Bynum has particularly high hopes for redshirt sophomore Chigozie Anusiem, who got his first start against Illinois in the Redbox Bowl in place of Hicks, who had moved to safety for the first time. Anusiem came out of spring ball as one of Cal's projected starting corners.
“There’s a lot of guys in that room. But somebody who’s really good, standing out and working super-hard with me every day is Chigi,” Bynum said. “I guarantee you he’s going to be one of the best corners in the country these coming years.
“He puts in so much work, he’s super competitive and he’s been working his technique through me every day. He’s somebody I respect.”
Anusiem, whose named is pronounced CHIH-go-zay uh-NOO-see-um, is a 6-foot-1, 190-pounder from La Habra in southern California. He played in 12 games last season, collecting 15 tackles and five pass breakups.
Redshirt junior Daniel Scott, with one career start, emerged from Cal’s limited spring workouts as a projected starter at safety. The other cornerback spot is up for grabs, but senior Josh Drayden, who has played in 39 games with six starts at either corner or nickel back, is the most experienced of the candidates.
“Overall, I think the whole DB corps next year is going to turn a lot of heads. I’m proud of them and I know they’re going to lead the team as we’ve always done,” Bynum said. “I’m super-excited for them.”
But while the Cal offense currently anticipates the return of every starter from the Redbox Bowl, the defense has a lot of holes to fill.
Bynum was the second member of that unit in recent weeks to depart, following defensive end Luc Bequette, who transferred to Boston College, where he expects to play a fall season.
Bynum and Bequette each were three-year starters.
The Bears already had lost three 2019 seniors to the NFL: safety Ashtyn Davis, cornerback Jaylinn Hawkins and linebacker Evan Weaver. Including Bynum and Bequette, those five started a combined 178 games in their Cal careers.
They were remarkable productive, too, with the staggering total of 1,040 career tackles between them. Weaver, the Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and a consensus first-team All-American, had 412 of those tackles. Hawkins had 10 career interceptions. Bynum has 27 pass breakups.
Now, instead of returning eight starters on that side of the line of scrimmage, only six are due back. The 2021 projected starting unit has a total of just 117 starts among 11 players.
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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
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