Cal Football: Eight Questions Facing the Bears When Spring Practice Begins in April

Cal won four of its final six games in 2021 but there is significant personnel turnover.

Cal will begin spring football practice on Wednesday, April 6, with the Bears wrapping things up in their spring game on Saturday, April 30.

The program said goodbye to a long list of significant players after the close of the 2021 season, including:

— Quarterback Chase Garbers

— Outside linebackers Cameron Goode and Kuony Deng

— Running backs Christopher Brooks and Marcel Dancy

— Wide receivers Nikko Remigio, Kekoa Crawford and Trevon Clark

— Defensive backs Elijah Hicks and Josh Drayden

— Offensive linemen McKade Mettauer and Valentino Daltoso

— Defensive lineman Luc Bequette

— Tight ends Jake Tonges and Gavin Reinwald

Whew! That’s a lot of turnover. Those 15 players alone suited up for 568 career games at Cal, most of them in starting roles.

It prompts an avalanche of questions as the Bears enter Year 6 under coach Justin Wilcox. Cal won four of its final six games last season, including vs. Stanford and USC, but the process of building off that late-season momentum begins on April 6, when the Bears return to the field for the first of their spring workouts.

Here are eight questions we have heading toward spring ball:

* Who will win the starting quarterback job?

Garbers has been the Bears’ regular for most of the past four seasons, and no one else in the program with any realistic chance of replacing him has ever played in a game for Cal.

The frontrunner is Jack Plummer, the mid-year transfer who started 13 games over three seasons at Purdue, passing for 3,405 yards with 26 touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Redshirt sophomore Zach Johnson and redshirt freshman Kai Millner also will get every chance to impress.

There also has been some speculation that Arizona State quarterback Jayden Daniels, currently in the transfer portal, might consider Cal, so stay tuned.

Running back Damien Moore

Photo by Kelley L. Cox, USA Today

* Will the Bears use a committee at running back?

Gone is Brooks, who rushed for more than 1,700 yards and was effective when healthy but has transferred to BYU. How the Bears fill the void? Is there one player ready to take over the job or should we expect to see running back by committee?

Junior Damien Moore has rushed for 705 yards in 15 games over two seasons but his role diminished late last season. Chris Street and DeCarlos Brooks will get the chance to stake their claim to playing time this spring. Promising freshmen Jaydn Ott has enrolled for spring semester and Ashton Hayes will arrive this summer.

* Are the sophomore wideouts ready to emerge?

There are opportunities in the pass game for receivers after veterans moved on. The coaching staff is high on sophomores J. Michael Sturdivant and Mavin Anderson, but they had no impact on game days last year. Likewise, junior Jeremiah Hunter should continue to blossom after averaging 18.5 yards on 21 receptions last season. The coaching staff is hoping this becomes a position of strength.

* Will the Bears unveil the other young tight end?

Keleki Latu, 6-foot-6 and looking for a weight room, showed great potential as a freshman but it was East Bay product Jermaine Terry II who came to Cal last fall as perhaps the top prospect in the 2021 recruiting class. He looked dynamite in fall camp but played sparingly during the season and caught just one pass. Cal fans are eager to see what the 6-4, 270-pound Terry can do when unleashed on game days.

* How does Cal reshuffle its offensive line?

The right side of Cal’s O-line must be rebuilt after tackle Valentino Daltoso completed his eligibility and guard McKade Mettauer transferred to Oklahoma. Left tackle Will Craig missed the final four games last season with an ankle injury. Starting center Matthew Cindric and left guard Ben Coleman both return, while Brayden Rohme and Everett Johnson will get the chance to compete for regular starting assignments.

Linebacker Mo Iosefa (55)

Photo by Jerome Miron, USA Today

* Who steps into leadership roles on defense?

The Bears lost productive veterans on that side of the ball, led by Hicks, Goode, Deng and Bequette, who also served in leadership roles. The Bears are counting on a pair of Pac-12 transfers— inside linebacker Jackson Sirmon and defensive end Xavier Carlton — to infuse talent and experience. Safety Daniel Scott, the team’s top tackler last fall, is among a small group of returning seniors on defense. Linebackers Mo Iosefa and Trey Paster stepped into bigger roles as sophomore last fall and two freshmen — cornerback Lu-Magia Hearns III and linebacker Nate Rutchena — gave the Bears a lift.

* Are young outside linebackers ready to fill openings?

Aside from senior Braxten Croteau, the Bears are young at outside linebacker. Beside losing Goode and Deng, who missed much of the season with injury, the Bears also bid farewell to Marqez Bimage, the grad transfer from Texas who had 40 tackles in his lone season. Junior Orin Patu will get the chance to compete, but the coaching staff also will look at three redshirt freshmen — Patrick Hisatake, Kaleb Elarms-Orr and Ieremia Ieremia.

* Will Brett Johnson healthy enough to fulfill his potential?

Johnson was expected to be the Bears’ top defensive lineman last season but missed the entire year after a car accident last March 18 which required him to undergo hip surgery. The 6-5, 300-pounder was named freshman All-American by Pro Football Focus in 2019 but it will have been 21 months since he played in a game by the time Cal kicks off vs. UC Davis on Sept. 3. If healthy, Johnson could become the team's best player.

Cover photo of Purdue transfer quarterback Jack Plummer by Marc Lebryk, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo