Should We Just Assume Cal Will Have a Strong Defense Again?

We have come to assume Cal will have an outstanding defense every season. And it is no different this year. But are we taking too much for granted this time, given that so many standout defenders from 2021 are gone?

You can see why this presumption is made. Cal has not finished worse than fourth in the Pac-12 in total defense in any of the past four seasons, a statistic that is more impressive when you consider that the Bears’ mediocre offense puts additional pressure on the defense, forcing it to be on the field longer with no wiggle room for error.

The best year under Justin Wilcox was 2019, when the Bears went 8-5. The Cal offense’s mission that year was simple: Don’t lose the game; let the defense win it. Which in most cases it did, despite having an offense that finished last in the Pac-12 in both scoring and total offense

Peter Sirmon, named the Bears’ defensive coordinator in 2019, contributes to the defensive philosophy and its implementation, but this is Justin Wilcox’s defense.

In Wilcox’s five seasons as Cal’s head coach the Golden Bears have had eight players named to the first- or second-team all-conference squad on defense, but none on offense. One, Evan Weaver, was even named Pac-12 defensive player of the year. This year, two Cal defensive players were named to the preseason all-conference team, but no offensive players were on the first team.

The respect for the Cal defense was illustrated when Tim DeRuyter, who was essentially demoted from the defensive coordinator role at Cal in 2019, was named the defensive coordinator at Oregon in January 2021.

The image of Wilcox’s football program is simple: Outstanding defense, mediocre offense. It is the opposite of the Cal program under predecessor Sonny Dykes, when the Bears had a productive offense but no defense to speak of. Neither is a recipe to win a Pac-12 championship, but defense remains the unit on which Cal hangs its hat under Wilcox, who was a respected defensive coordinator at five big-time college football programs before landing the Cal head coaching job.

“We feel good about the [defensive] product we put on the field since coach Wilcox has been here,” Sirmon said in the video atop the story. “I think we do a nice job of being consistent with our system, and in turn you see players develop in it. And we have thousands and thousands of reps in it.

“We are very mindful of not being a junk-scheme team, but, I like to use the term, I think we have a lot of durable calls. Durable calls that can withstand formations, shifts, different personnel groupings. So I think the way that coach has built it has been – it’s his background, and we fell good about that.”

And reputation provides its own momentum.

“And, you know, if the reputation is that we play great defense, that’s awesome,” Sirmon said. “Those things tend to continue on. Legacies, anything that a program is known for, that’s a positive thing and we have to continue and need to get better.”

That reputation made an impression on sophomore inside linebacker Femi Oladejo when he was in high school.

”Cal’s defense was different,” he said. “They had dogs all around. . . . They were very intelligent, very smart, they have great schemes.”

The expectation in 2022 is that Cal will have a good season if its offense can score enough points because we know the defense will be strong.

But will it?

Only three of the projected starters on defense were starters last season, and the Bears two best defenders from 2021 – outside linebacker Cameron Goode and safety Elijah Hicks – are gone, trying to make it in the NFL.

Reputation does not make tackles or intercept passes, and that’s a lot of talent to replace from a 2021 defense that set a high standard, finishing second in the Pac-12 in scoring defense despite the Bears’ 5-7 overall record.

Nonetheless, there is every reason to believe Cal will be among the best defensive teams in the Pac-12 again.

First, and foremost, is the scheme. As Sirmon pointed out, the Wilcox scheme seems effective no matter which players are executing it. And Cal’s defensive coaches – with Wilcox’s support – have done a good job of producing good execution within at that scheme despite the numerous changes in the coaching staff and player personnel.

Almost as important is the talent of the players replacing the starters. Cal’s defense will benefit from the transfers it brought in. Inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon, a transfer from Washington, is a preseason first-team all-conference selection, and UCLA transfer Odua Isibor has been better than expected at outside linebacker. Plus Brett Johnson, who missed all of last season following hip surgery, is back and figures to be among the best defensive linemen in the conference.

Oladejo showed in the second half of last season that he might be the next great Cal inside linebacker. You may recall that the inside linebacker spots, which had been staples of the Wilcox defense the previous four season, were not as productive as they usually are in 2021. Cal should be better at that position in 2022 with Sirmon and Oladejo.

Cal’s secondary has arguably been the best in the Pac-12 over the past five seasons, and despite the departure of Hicks and Josh Drayden, it should be strong again. Lu-Magia Hearns returns at cornerback after winning the starting job midway through last year as a true freshman, and cornerback Collin Gamble is back after starting eight games last season. Either Miles Williams or Craig Woodson figures to be a capable replace for Hicks alongside returning safety Daniel Scott, a preseason all-Pac-12 selection.

Question remain, of course. Finding an adequate nickel back as well as players who can complement Johnson in the front three are unresolved issues, and we don’t know whether Cal can get the same big-play potential out of its outside linebackers that it got from Goode and Marqez Bimage last season.

However, some how, some way, Wilcox and Sirmon will find a way to produce another strong defense.

Now if the Bears can just score some points . . .

Cover photo by Kelley L Cox, USA TODAY Sports

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