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As promised, Jeff Tedford and company have released the fall depth chart, or at least the one that will set the stage for personnel for the season opener against UC Davis. Yet, instead of answering a host of questions, some position announcements simply opened up a whole slew of new ones.
Note: There’s been a whole slew of good reporting from Jonathan Okanes at CC Times, as well as the release of the official depth chart which is a bit misleading without the proper information.
Movement Along the Offensive Line
The most surprising announcement today was that Matt Summers-Gavin, upon returning from injury (hopefully early next week) would actually man the right tackle position. If you remember, MSG was projected to start there at the end of camp, but made the move back to left guard in fall camp as a result of Donovan Edward’s emergence as well as the desire to have both MSG and Mitchell Schwartz on the left side of the line.
Now it appears the coaches will have MSG move back to RT due to the depth at the guard position with Brian Schwenke and Dominic Galas battling it out for the starting left guard spot. The “loser” of that battle will push Justin Cheadle for the RG spot. It’s interesting to note that the current depth chart has both Schwenke and Galas as starters at the guard positions.
RS frosh Mark Brazinski will backup Chris Guarnero at center.
The whole situation would leave Donovan Edwards out of the mix, but you can bet he’s going to find plenty of playing time during the season. And as it stands, with MSG’s return for the opener questionable, Edwards is still projected as your starting right tackle.
While the situation may appear confusing, it seems the coaches are really taking an aggressive stances towards getting the best 8 or 9 offensive linemen, and starting the best 5, regardless of position really.
It’s both concerning and exciting to see Schwenke and Galas make a strong push. Some may have taken comfort in the idea of having 4 returning starters at the offensive line, but given the line’s struggles last year, it may be a bit more encouraging to know that one or more of them may ultimately be unseated.
A Few Other Snippets on Offense
FB Eric Stevens has emerged as the starter at fullback. Will Kapp will certainly get playing time, but it may be hard for him to jump back into the starting spot given how Stevens has performed.
I always thought Stevens seemed to be the better fit for the position because of his athleticism and having the more prototypical fullback frame. I had been quietly rooting for Kappy however, for sentimental reasons. Again, how awesome would it have been to have Kapp help lead the Bears to the Rose Bowl for the first time since his dad led them as the Bears QB?
As suspected, Isi Sofele is your number two runningback. Covaughn Deboski-Johnson will is slotted at RB3, while Dasarte Yarnway will be fourth on the depth chart. It’s looking like Trajuan Briggs is headed for a redshirt year as expected.
True freshman Jacob Wark will indeed play. A bit surprising given that he’d be fourth on the depth chart, but I’m sure he could make himself useful in some goal line situations with 3 TE sets, or blow some people up on special teams.
And Ryan Wertenberger is your starting quarterback! Just kidding. Kevin Riley has apparently looked as good as any QB has at a Fall camp under Tedford. Wertenberger is giving Brock Mansion a run for his money for the 3rd QB spot though.
Mansion is the starting holder though. Woot!
Also as suspected, Marvin Jones and Keenan Allen are your starting wide receivers. While Jeremy Ross will be the next up in line, it gets a little bit cloudy after that. Michael Calvin and Colemon Edmond will rotate for that fourth wide receiver spot.
It’s still yet to be determined whether Tevin Carter or Kaelin Clay will redshirt, but they will at least in the meanwhile practice with the team and likely come in as needed during the season.
Secondary Settled?
The cornerback battle appears to be over—for now. Sophomore Marc Anthony will man one side of the field, with senior Darian Hagan holding down the other. RS frosh Steve Williams and senior Bryant Nnabuife will back them up.
I know many were excited about the idea of Steve Williams jumping into the fold as starter after many had extolled his praises, including Tedford himself. My only guess is that he was simply beaten out in camp by the veterans. He still lacks experience behind Hagan and Anthony, and may be even more of a testament to how well Anthony and Hagan have been playing.
The nickelback position will be filled by either Nnabuife or Josh Hill.
Speaking of Josh Hill, the sophomore who made the switch to safety at the beginning of camp, has played well enough to catch up to starters Chris Conte and Sean Cattouse, along with DJ Campbell in terms of playing time. The four are all considered “starters” with Conte and Hill manning the strong safety positions, and Cattouse and Campbell at the free safety spot.
If you’ll remember, the designations of strong and free safety is a bit different from how Bob Gregory assigned his safeties. There were simply two roaming safeties, one to cover one side of the field.
It will be interesting to see how the quartet rotate throughout the season, and who might ultimately emerge as consistently starting in the defensive backfield.
Linebackers Set
Your starting linebackers are set with DJ Holt and the Prophet manning the inside, with Keith Browner at the weakside OLB spot, and Mychal Kendricks at the strong side. There has been a bit of confusion, at least in my mind, as to who would be the rush backer. Looks it’s set with Browner in that role. It makes sense given his size, being able to function as that hybrid DE/OLB position.
Kendricks may also possess better speed to work in coverage more often, but then again, that’s just my guess.
Defensive Line
Cameron “Gumby” Jordan is naturally your defensive end, with Kendrick Payne manning the middle in the NT role. Expect Derrick Hill to play plenty as soon as his toe heals up.
It looks like either Ernest Owusu and Deandre Coleman have overtaken Trevor Guyton for the other starting DE spot. Owusu has shown flashes of brilliance, but has yet to consistently put it together. Guyton is the most experienced, but Coleman may have the most upside with his gigantic frame. I might argue that the depth at DL is the strongest on the defensive side of the ball.
Special Teams
Finally, Giorgio Tavecchio (Forza Italia!) will handle field goal duties, and will kick off as well. Walk punter Jed Barnett has also been doing a nice job, so may get a few shots.
David Seawright has apparently been sharp in practice, but in my limited research, haven’t heard too much about Vincent (now Vincenzo) D’Amato. Forza Italia!
Jeremy Ross is your punt return man, and Isi Sofele will line up for kickoff returns alongside possibly Chris Conte, Keenan Allen, and Coleman Edmond.
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