Looking at the newly released depth chart, something that really jumps out is that Dykes and Cal need to make the most of this year, because we lose a LOT of talent at the end of this season.
OFFENSE
Guys who will be gone after this year:
Farley
Rigsbee
(Probably) Goff
Lasco
Davis
Harris
Anderson
Treggs
Powe
(Potentially) Lawler
...the good news is, we keep three of our starting five offensive linemen, and there are good young players who will get a lot of playing time this year and should be ready to replace the two we lose.
The bad news is, we lose all of our other starters, including arguably the best QB in college football, the entirety of the best WR corps in college football, and an NFL caliber running back who should be in the conversation for All-Pac 12. We return only three of our eleven starters (all on offensive line), and we also lose our two co-starters at WR. That is a HUGE hit.
Unless some impact guys show up from next year's freshman class or otherwise, our starting offense next year looks like this:
QB: Forrest
RB: Enwere
WR: Noa
WR: Hudson
WR: Rockett
WR: Austin
LT: Cochran
LG: Borrayo
C: Granado
RG: Uluave
RT: Moore
...Singleton, Hansen, Aaron and Strickland will probably be in the mix there at WR as well...maybe one of them moves to the H and starts over Rockett. Watson and Powell probably get some carries.
Sure, some of these guys are going to emerge as good players, but this is an undeniable step down from the offensive personnel we'll be putting on the field in 2015.
DEFENSE
Defense won't be as decimated by graduation and NFL defects as the offense, but it isn't nearly as strong as the offense to begin with.
Guys who are gone after 2015:
Kragen
Barr
Davis
Jalil
Kelly
Johnson
Lopa
Broussard
Jefferson
White
McClure
Willis
We'll only be returning 6 of our 11 defensive starters in 2016.
...toughest losses will be on defensive line, where we lose two starters and four other depth guys. Westerfield and Mekari are not likely to fill Kragen and Jalil's shoes entirely. So, I'd expect this unit to take a step back in 2016.
...we'll also lose two of our starting four DB's, and arguably our best two pass defenders (on a squad that is sorely missing quality pass defenders) in White and McClure. Right now, their replacements would be De'Zhon Grace and Luke Rubenzer, but I find it a little hard to believe either of those guys are part of our starting defense next year. One would hope Albert, Dozier, Psalms, Willis, or Hawkins steps up and takes the starting corner position opposite Allensworth, and if Piatt is healthy it's hard to see Rubenzer holding him off at the safety spot opposite Drew. I'm not as concerned about the losses here, though, because I think we are reasonably well stocked with young talent here and will build enough quality depth to actually get better as a unit in 2016.
Linebacker should actually be an improved unit in 2016, despite losing starting Will Jalen Jefferson. Nickerson and Barton should develop into senior leaders, with Downs emerging as a defensive weapon and Anoa'i and Tongilava pushing those guys for playing time.
Here's what the 2016 starting defense might look like, based on the current depth chart (I took a few liberties here in my projections):
DE: Westerfield
DT: Looney
DT: Mekari
DE: Wilson
SAM: Kearney
MIKE: Nickerson
WILL: Barton
CB: Allensworth
CB: Albert
S: Piatt
S: Drew
Last but not least (okay, maybe least) -- Leininger graduates after this year. New punter is probably JC transfer Dylan Klumph.
Overall, we figure to return only 9 of our 22 starters, including 6 of 11 on defense and only 3 of 11 on offense (all linemen).
So, after 2015, the offensive line and linebacker units figure to improve marginally, and the defensive back unit probably won't get worse, but every other unit is looking at a significant personnel downgrade, including all of the skill positions on offense.
This is why it is absolutely critical that Dykes leads Cal to a huge 2015 and rides the momentum to a very strong recruiting class to restock the cupboard...there is no way around it, 2016 figures to be a setback and if Cal doesn't go into that year with significant momentum, we could find ourselves in the cellar for years to come.
OFFENSE
Guys who will be gone after this year:
Farley
Rigsbee
(Probably) Goff
Lasco
Davis
Harris
Anderson
Treggs
Powe
(Potentially) Lawler
...the good news is, we keep three of our starting five offensive linemen, and there are good young players who will get a lot of playing time this year and should be ready to replace the two we lose.
The bad news is, we lose all of our other starters, including arguably the best QB in college football, the entirety of the best WR corps in college football, and an NFL caliber running back who should be in the conversation for All-Pac 12. We return only three of our eleven starters (all on offensive line), and we also lose our two co-starters at WR. That is a HUGE hit.
Unless some impact guys show up from next year's freshman class or otherwise, our starting offense next year looks like this:
QB: Forrest
RB: Enwere
WR: Noa
WR: Hudson
WR: Rockett
WR: Austin
LT: Cochran
LG: Borrayo
C: Granado
RG: Uluave
RT: Moore
...Singleton, Hansen, Aaron and Strickland will probably be in the mix there at WR as well...maybe one of them moves to the H and starts over Rockett. Watson and Powell probably get some carries.
Sure, some of these guys are going to emerge as good players, but this is an undeniable step down from the offensive personnel we'll be putting on the field in 2015.
DEFENSE
Defense won't be as decimated by graduation and NFL defects as the offense, but it isn't nearly as strong as the offense to begin with.
Guys who are gone after 2015:
Kragen
Barr
Davis
Jalil
Kelly
Johnson
Lopa
Broussard
Jefferson
White
McClure
Willis
We'll only be returning 6 of our 11 defensive starters in 2016.
...toughest losses will be on defensive line, where we lose two starters and four other depth guys. Westerfield and Mekari are not likely to fill Kragen and Jalil's shoes entirely. So, I'd expect this unit to take a step back in 2016.
...we'll also lose two of our starting four DB's, and arguably our best two pass defenders (on a squad that is sorely missing quality pass defenders) in White and McClure. Right now, their replacements would be De'Zhon Grace and Luke Rubenzer, but I find it a little hard to believe either of those guys are part of our starting defense next year. One would hope Albert, Dozier, Psalms, Willis, or Hawkins steps up and takes the starting corner position opposite Allensworth, and if Piatt is healthy it's hard to see Rubenzer holding him off at the safety spot opposite Drew. I'm not as concerned about the losses here, though, because I think we are reasonably well stocked with young talent here and will build enough quality depth to actually get better as a unit in 2016.
Linebacker should actually be an improved unit in 2016, despite losing starting Will Jalen Jefferson. Nickerson and Barton should develop into senior leaders, with Downs emerging as a defensive weapon and Anoa'i and Tongilava pushing those guys for playing time.
Here's what the 2016 starting defense might look like, based on the current depth chart (I took a few liberties here in my projections):
DE: Westerfield
DT: Looney
DT: Mekari
DE: Wilson
SAM: Kearney
MIKE: Nickerson
WILL: Barton
CB: Allensworth
CB: Albert
S: Piatt
S: Drew
Last but not least (okay, maybe least) -- Leininger graduates after this year. New punter is probably JC transfer Dylan Klumph.
Overall, we figure to return only 9 of our 22 starters, including 6 of 11 on defense and only 3 of 11 on offense (all linemen).
So, after 2015, the offensive line and linebacker units figure to improve marginally, and the defensive back unit probably won't get worse, but every other unit is looking at a significant personnel downgrade, including all of the skill positions on offense.
This is why it is absolutely critical that Dykes leads Cal to a huge 2015 and rides the momentum to a very strong recruiting class to restock the cupboard...there is no way around it, 2016 figures to be a setback and if Cal doesn't go into that year with significant momentum, we could find ourselves in the cellar for years to come.
