12 Questions Facing Cal Football Before Preseason Camp Starts July 30

Cal opens preseason football camp on Wednesday, July 30, with a lot of questions to be answered before the Bears play their first game on August 30 against Oregon State in Corvallis.

Let’s consider 12 questions:

---1. Who will be Cal’s starting quarterback?

This is the most important question because Cal will succeed or fail to a large degree based on the play of its quarterback. Ohio State transfer Devin Brown seems to have the edge coming into preseason practice, but Justin Wilcox says true freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele and redshirt freshman EJ Caminong are still in contention.  None has much game experience.  Brown played in 17 games at Ohio State but nearly all of them were in mop-up duty. He made one start but left that game in the first quarter with an ankle injury. Caminong’s only playing time came in last season’s LA Bowl after the starter got hurt. The quarterback competition was necessitated by the departure of two-year starting quarterback Fernando Mendoza to Indiana.

---2. Will the Cal coaches be able to work the Bears into a cohesive, well-connected group in just four weeks considering the enormous turnover in the roster and coaching staff?

A total of 36 players who were not on the Bears 2024 roster have transferred to Cal, and that does not include incoming freshmen. Thirty-seven players left Cal during the offseason via the transfer portal. All teams have significant turnovers these days, but Cal had more than most. Plus Cal will have new coaches at seven of the 11 assistant coaching positions, so there is a lot to get used to.

---3. Which of this year’s transfers will land starting spots for Cal in 2025?

There seems to be only three set starters on Cal’s defense and only one or two on offense, so a number of transfers are expected to land starting spots.  But there are few clearcut favorites at any of the vacant positions, so a lot will be decided in preseason camp. Name any position and there’s a possibility that a transfer will be a starter at that spot. From the outside looking in, it does not appear than any transfer is assured a starting role based on his history at previous schools.

---4. What will the offense look like under new offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin?

Harsin will be Cal’s fifth offensive coordinator in the past seven years and the third in three years. He had success as Boise State’s offensive coordinator and head coach, but less success as Auburn’s head coach. He has to put together a lot of new parts led by a quarterback with limited (or no) college game experience. Harsin’s past suggests he will focus on a physical, downhill running game with plenty of pre-snap shifting and motion. His quarterbacks operate under center and in shotgun formation.

---5. Can Cal’s defense continue to be effective despite the loss of defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon to the NFL?

Cal had a solid defense every year but one in which Sirmon was its defensive coordinator. He left to join the New Orleans Saints staff, and outside linebackers coach Vic So’oto and defensive backs coach Terrence Brown were promoted to co-defensive coordinator positions. The defense is Justin Wilcox’s defense, so it won’t change much in basic structure.

---6. Will Cal have a reliable place-kicker this season?

Missed field goals cost Cal a few games last season. The Bears could have had a regular-season record of 8-4 instead of 6-6 if the Bears had made their field goals.  Both place-kicker from last season – Ryan Coe and Derek Morris – are gone. Kicker Kyle Cunanan transferred into Cal prior to spring practice, then transferred out after spring ball. Cal brought in two transfer kickers – Abram Murray from Miami and Michael Kern from Penn State – to compete for the job. Murray made his only field-goal attempt, a 38-yarder, as a freshman in 2024. Kern did not do the kicking for Penn State in 2024, but he was 17-for-120, with a long of 47 yards, in 2023 while playing for Tulsa.

---7. Will the impact of general manager Ron Rivera be noticeable?

Rivera will take care of a lot of off-field issues, including revenue-sharing payments and the like, but he is expected to have a significant influence in on-field issues as well. How much influence and impact he has will be difficult to measure, but it is critical.

---8. Will Cal continue to have a strong secondary?

Cal’s defensive backfield has been the Bears’ biggest strength since Justin Wilcox became head coach, with a number of their defensive backs now in the NFL.  But the Bears lost all five of their starting defensive backs from last year’s squad, three of whom were taken in the 2025 NFL draft. The competition will be heavy in the secondary to sort out starting jobs and backups.

---9. What will be the Bears’ pecking order at running back?

Cal brought in three transfer running backs to vie for playing time after losing its top two rushers from last season, Jaydn Ott (Oklahoma) and Jaivian Thomas (UCLA) in the transfer portal.  Transfer running backs LJ Johnson (SMU), Kendrick Raphael (North Carolina State) and Brandon High (Texas-San Antonio) will compete for playing time at running back, and Cal hopes one of them can emerge as major ground-game threat.

---10. Can new offensive line coach Famika Anae make significant improvements in the Bears’ offensive line?

Cal’s offensive line was a major weakness last season. Cal allowed 50 sacks in 2024, tied for the most in the country, and the Bears ranked 14th in the ACC in rushing. As New Mexico’s offensive line coach last season, Anae helped the Lobos lead the nation in sacks allowed, giving up just five sacks the entire season. The Lobos also had one of the best ground games in the country. Anae will try to something similar at Cal.

---11. Will standout inside linebacker Cade Uluave play some on offense?

Justin Wilcox dropped a surprise last week when he suggested Uluave might play some on offense.  He was a running back in high school, and was with the running back group briefly when he arrived at Cal.

---12. Can Cal achieve a winning conference record for the first time since 2009?

The Bears have had a losing conference record in 15 consecutive seasons, the longest such active streak in the country. The Bears don’t face preseason ACC favorite Clemson or Miami this season, so their ACC schedule is set up for success. The Bears are predicted to finish near the bottom of the ACC, so recording their first winning conference record since 2009 or its first overall winning record since 2019 will be challenges. If Cal gets off to a slow start, the issue of Wilcox’s job security might arise.

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