Cal Football: New O-line Coach Angus McClure Impressed With His Big Guys

New Cal offensive line coach Angus McClure knows he has walked into a good situation.

The Bears return all five O-line starters from last season, and expect two projected 2019 starters -- Will Craig and Gentle Williams -- to return to the mix after missing last season with injuries. Craig should be ready for spring ball, beginning on March 4, McClure said.

"I've watched a lot of film from last year . . . in fact, I've recruited a lot of these guys from when I was at UCLA so I have a previous relationship with (some of) them," said McClure, who spent the past 2 seasons at Nevada after 11 years working at UCLA.

"I'm impressed. They got a lot of great experience last year, they won a lot of big games, I really like their effort. I've been watching a lot of the winter workouts in the morning and they're working hard. They seem very dedicated.

"I'm very excited about this spring. I think the spring is going to be huge for the offensive line."

Here's the way the Bears lined up for their Redbox Bowl game against Illinois:

-- LT: Valentino Daltoso (33 career starts)

-- LG: Matthew Cindric (13 starts)

-- C: Michael Saffell (19 starts)

-- RG: McKade Mettauer (12 starts)

-- RT: Jake Curhan (38 starts)

That's 115 starts, which is all the more impressive considering Mettauer was a true freshman and Cindric a redshirt freshman last fall.

Asked to identify the next step for this group, McClure said, "Cohesion, consistency and synergy. Those are the three things this group is going to have to work on this spring. To do that, a lot of it just takes repetition."

McClure also talks in the video above about his regard for and relationship with former Cal O-line coach Steve Greatwood, who retired after last season.