Issues to Resolve in Fall Camp - Fullback

Who will pave the way for Best and Crew?

Other than resolutions at quarterback, the biggest question on the offensive side of the ball is at the most arguably underappreciated position--fullback. While Cal’s strength at the offensive line and runningback have received many accolades during the Tedford era, the strength of the fullbacks who have paved the way for some of Cal’s historic backs hasn’t been recognized nearly enough.

That changed a bit last year though when Will Ta’ufo’ou, one of the team’s more popular players, turned heads and put defenders on their backs on route to helping to pave the way for 2,421 team rushing yards, the most since the 2005 season.

With Cal’s offense losing just 3 starters, Ta’ufo’ou’s absence (that’s a lot of apostrophes by the way) has been magnified upon looking at the depth chart. Even Coach Tedford has admitted that the position battle at fullback will be one of the most critical to the team’s offensive success this year.


The most likely candidate to replace Ta’ufo’ou is redshirt senior Brian Holley. While much of his experience is on special teams, Holley has seen his share of playing time and will bring a veteran understanding to the game, having played 24 games over his past three seasons. The biggest question will be how quickly he will adjust to stepping up to taking first team snaps at the FB position. Despite being giving up twenty pounds and an inch to Ta’ufo’ou, Holley should have most of the physical tools to start.

Holley will be pushed hard by RS soph Will Kapp though. The son of Cal football legend Joe Kapp, Will has received his fair share of praise by Tedford, and is a serious contender for the starting spot. The biggest knock on Kapp is that he is a bit undersized for the position, weighing in at just 216 pounds. For some context, that’s just about fifteen pounds heavier than what Jahvid Best is reportedly weighing in now. However, Kapp lacks in size, he makes up for in a non-stop motor and surprisingly good instincts at the fullback spot.

To a lesser extent, RS soph John Tyndall and RS frosh Eric Stevens (brother of former Cal TE Craig Stevens), and RS junior Matt Russi should also battle for some playing time. While none have stepped up as much as Kapp or Holley have, do expect them to log in a number of snaps with the third and fourth team units during camp.

While Holley is the safest bet to start coming opening day due to his experience, Kapp is sure to make the competition interesting if he continues to turn heads in practice.

Regardless of who wins the job, there’s an enormous amount of pressure on the FB spot given its importance in the Tedford offense. With the increasing amount of Heisman hype on Best, strength at fullback will be absolutely critical for a successful rushing attack this year.

Let’s face it: I expect to see some drop off in play. Though this may not be the year of highlight fullback blocks, the eternal optimist in me does think the blocking game will be adequate enough to match or even exceed last year’s team rushing numbers.