Inexperience up front figures to be the biggest concern on Bears' defense
By Jonathan Okanes
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BERKELEY -- The linebackers figure to be the strength of Cal's defense this season, with Zack Follett, Worrell Williams and Anthony Felder making plays and Greg Van Hoesen and Justin Moye providing depth. The secondary also could be strong, with all four projected starters having started games last year.
The defensive line? Check back on Sept. 1. The Bears' front four is the great unknown of Cal's defense, having lost three starters, two to the NFL. Defensive line coach Ken Delgado is lining up players who have yet to make an impact in college football, and he is asking them to do just that. "I have a core of guys that have been with us for a couple of years," Delgado said. "They're well indoctrinated with the system, but what they lack is a lot of game experience. We're going to be inexperienced until after that Tennessee game. Then we'll no longer be inexperienced." When the Bears host the Volunteers to open the season on Sept. 1, there only is one certainty: Senior Matt Malele will line up at defensive tackle. The rest still is up in the air, as Delgado sorts through his personnel to determine who is most ready to play the most snaps.
Malele is a two-year starter, but the rest of Cal's defensive linemen have a combined two career starts. Defensive tackle Tyson Alualu and defensive end Cody Jones each started once last season, and both are running with the first unit during camp. "I'm confident we'll be able to field a defensive line to the standard, and potentially even better," Delgado said. "Once these guys get experience, we have a really good group of players. I feel confident we'll be able to do our part." Defensive end Tad Smith has provided some eye-opening moments this fall. Smith has been at Cal for two years but has yet to play in a game. He took a redshirt season in 2005 and missed all of last season because of a knee injury. Smith has played his way onto the first team and has been a disturbance for Cal's offensive linemen during 11-on-11s. "He's all over the place," Cal coach Jeff Tedford said. "He's really running well. He's a force chasing guys down sideline-to-sideline."
Mika Kane and Rulon Jones are running with the second team at this point, but Delgado said he expects both to make a major contribution. He also said the freshman class of defensive linemen is the best he's had in his six seasons at Cal. Alualu was a regular part of the playing rotation last season as a true freshman, and Delgado said he expects at least one of this year's freshmen to provide the same production. Cameron Jordan, a 6-foot-4, 260-pound freshman defensive end from Chandler, Ariz., has an otherworldly combination of size and speed. Other freshmen vying for immediate playing time are Scott Smith, Ernest Owusu and Solomona Aigamaua, although Aigamaua has been hampered recently by a hamstring injury. "(The freshmen) have come in and really given us a spark with their athletic ability and their size," Delgado said. "They're going through some aches and pains of trying to learn the system. One of those freshmen is going to plug in somewhere to help us."
The Bears were hoping to get major contributions from Derrick Hill, a redshirt freshman who missed most of last season with a knee injury. Hill had a strong spring but has missed all of fall camp so far with back spasms. "Derrick would be in that mix, but he's out of that because he hasn't been able to practice," Delgado said. "It's frustrating because he had such a good spring. Coming off spring, he was going to be challenging for one of those inside spots. But when we get him back, we'll be that much stronger. At some point in the season, he'll be a vital cog for us." Malele was overshadowed last season by Brandon Mebane and Nu'u Tafisi -- both are in the Seattle Seahawks' training camp this fall. Now he is being counted on to anchor a line that will enter the season with a measure of uncertainty. "I know there's a lack of experience, but I'm confident we'll be able to get things done," Malele said. "The guys we have running with the (first unit), they didn't start last year, but they got some playing time. We're making progress physically and with our technique. Every day we're getting a little better."
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