(Written by kencraw)

We move to the defensive side of the ball in our depth chart analysis…

NG – Kendrick Payne with Moala as backup (or Tipoti, who’s been injured): Payne has shown flashes of greatness in his backup time behind Derrick Hill, but he’s also shown inconsistency. Here’s to thinking he may pull a Cameron Jordan this year… or perhaps next year when he’s a senior. That said, he’d better do it right away if he wants to keep his starting spot, because true freshman Viliami Moala has the frame, the size and the talent to possibly become the best Nose Guard in the Pac-12. One assumes all he needs is the experience and time in the program to deliver on that, if he’s even half as hungry to succeed as the articles have suggested. Having Tipoti as a 3rd backup is of great comfort because while I never see greatness from him, he’s definitely serviceable if Payne goes down and Moala isn’t ready.

DE – Trevor Guyton and Ernest Owusu with Deandre Coleman and Gabe King as backups: I won’t lie, I’ve had a thing for Owusu ever since I saw him at the Spring game 3 years ago. For some reason he hasn’t been quite able to live up to the hype. Part of that is he’s always been behind Cameron Jordan. So will he come of age this year? Hard to tell, but there’s no doubt he has potential and is at a minimum capable from what we’ve seen of him in the past. Guyton on the other hand has been the guy who continually over-delivers and gets more playing time and has more success than his press clippings would indicate. I feel pretty comfortable with him as a starter. But just like last year, the best thing about our DE’s is our depth. There won’t be any exhausted players out there this year. Both Coleman and King are ready to make an impact and the word on the street is Mustafa Jalil and Brennan Scarlett are coming along nicely as well.

OLB – Dan Camporeale and Dave Wilkerson with Cecil Whiteside/Ryan Davis and Chris McCain as backups: With Mychael Kendricks moving to the inside, the intrigue on defense was always at outside LB. And “intrigue” it provided. Dan Camporeale? WHO!?! This guy is either the next Alex Mack of the team (remember he was an unheralded 2-star who was fairly unknown when he was named a starter) or none of our outside Linebackers are quite where they need to be and the walk-on is getting the starts until someone emerges. Wilkerson is of course a more known quantity, but still not someone who we’re ready to jump up and down about. Here’s guessing that OLB will be running a lot of blitzes this year, something that even the less refined guys can do as opposed to being involved in lots of complex scheming. If there’s good news, it’s that depth won’t be a problem and there’s lots of young talent, Whiteside and McCain in particular, who by the end of the season may have turned the corner.

ILB – DJ Holt and Mychael Kendricks with Robert Mullins and Steven Fauna as backups: Unlike a number of the other positions on defense, it’s depth that is the issue at inside linebacker. The starters are solid and I have every reason to believe that both Kendricks and Holt are set to have breakout years. They’re going to be the heart and soul of the defense. Luckily injuries at linebacker seem less common than on the line because what’s behind them is a bit scary. Mullins has never quite made the jump, although I have more confidence in him not being a detriment. The others are young, which is a positive (they will improve), a negative (lack of experience) and a question mark (is there greatness there? are they a flop?). Fauna and Forbes (another who has been mentioned) fit in that category. If there’s good depth news, it’s that there are lots of candidates so one would hope at at least a couple of them will step up.

SA – DJ Campbell and Sean Cattouse with Avery Walls and Michael Coley as backups: Cattouse is another who’s shown signs of brilliance but also inconsistency. He’s also another I’m optimistic will turn the corner this year, and frankly by the 2nd half of last year in many ways already had. Campbell is consistent and more than capable, so those two give me a great deal of confidence as starters. If it weren’t for true freshman Avery Walls, who’s getting so many props from Tedford in the post-practice reports one thinks he’s got a bit of a man-crush on him, I’d be more concerned with depth. But with the semi-serviceable Moncrease and the supposedly talented redshirt Freshman Michael Coley back there as well, one has to think the depth at safety is more than acceptable.

CB – Marc Anthony and Steve Williams with Josh Hill and Stefan McClure as backups: There’s been little in the way of reports for the cornerbacks, which I see as a good thing. Anthony and Williams should do just fine and Josh Hill has had a lot of experience. He’s one who could also jump to the head of the pack, but Hill’s academic problems has significantly impacted his playing performance, having missed practice numerous times to get his studies back on track (and this is as good a time as any to praise Tedford for continuing to be a standup guy in this area). I wouldn’t be surprised to see Hill in a starting spot come the end of the season. Not to be overlooked Williams has impressed with his abilities and stealing the starting job mid-season last year was no small feat. He didn’t disappoint. As for downsides, the depth here is not as great as other positions, particularly considering how often Cal likes to put a 5th DB on the field, and that 5th usually comes from the cornerbacks, not the safeties for whatever reason (although some indications have Walls and Coley as leaders for that spot).

Overall, there’s no position on the defense that is in trouble or even a big question-mark. Thus, there’s every reason to believe this will be a solid unit this year. But what’s encouraging is that there is a LOT of upside with this group. Frankly, of our 3 defensive guys lost to the NFL (Jordan, Mohammed and Conte) only Jordan was a particularly impressively talented player. The other two were exceptional because of their technique and their heart. I see MORE talent this year than I saw in last year with those three. But will that talent make the leap? Will the leadership be there to come up with the critical and decisive play when it is needed, the sack, forced fumble or interception that will be a game changer? If not, this will still be a solid group, more than good enough to keep Cal in games and allow the offense plenty of chances to succeed. If so, this unit could be scary good.