Five players who could make a difference for Bears in 2020
Cal has higher expectations for this delayed Pac-12 football season than it has in more than a decade.
The Bears, picked to finish second in the Pac-12 North, have not compiled a winning conference record since going 5- 4 in 2009. That left them in a tie for fifth place in the Pac-10 that season.
No one in Berkeley will be remotely satisfied with that outcome in 2020.
If Cal hopes to live up to its own goals, it will require contributions from a wide range of players, along with dashes of good health and good luck.
Beyond that, key players will need to excel, allowing the Bears to maximize their potential against a schedule that includes home games against key North rivals Washington, Oregon and Stanford.
With the Bears making their debut Saturday against Washington, here are five of those players worth watching this season:
1. QB CHASE GARBERS >> Well, of course, the quarterback is a key player. In Cal’s case, a look back at the 2019 season highlights what Garbers means to the Bears’ success.
Cal was 7- 0 a year ago when Garbers started and played more than half the game. They were 1-5 on every other Saturday. Garbers sustained injuries against Arizona State ( broken collarbone) and USC (concussion) that left him unavailable for four full games.
With experience everywhere on offense — all 11 offensive starters from the Redbox Bowl victory return — Garbers should have plenty of weaponry around him. He has embraced the pro-style system installed by new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave, who has had consistently high praise for the redshirt junior.
A Lot has to happen for Cal to challenge for the Pac-12 North title, but there is no getting around the fact that Garbers must stay healthy and play well.
2. RB CHRISTOPHER BROWN JR. >> Cal’s offense began to click late season after Garbers got healthy. But his revival wasn’t the only factor in the Bears’ wins over Stanford, UCLA and Illinois to cap the schedule.
Brown, a 230- pound running back, battled his own injury challenges last season. None of them put him entirely on the shelf, but Brown was limited to a total of 12 carries in games against Utah and USC — Cal’s two most decisive losses of the year.
Brown opened the season with a 197-yard tease against FCS foe UC Davis, then never topped 100 again until the final two games. He rushed for 111 yards and two touchdowns against UCLA and 120 yards with a receiving TD against Illinois.
The Bears have some depth at running back, but Musgrave said Brown is critical to the Cal offense. Brown rushed for 914 yards in 2019, and topping 1,000 this season seems a reasonable goal.
3. CB CAMRYN BYNUM >> Bynum considered declaring for the NFL draft last spring, then decided to return for his senior season. But when the Pac-12 canceled the fall schedule late this summer, Bynum — projected as perhaps a third-round draft pick — decided there was no reason to stick around.
Even then, Bynum explained he would have stayed if there were a season. So when the Pac-12 did an aboutface a couple of weeks later, Bynum did the same.
He is a leader in every way on the team, smart, skilled and articulate, but he also is the only member of Cal’s secondary who returns to play the same position this fall. Fellow senior Elijah Hicks, a career corner, has moved to safety.
Bynum would love to get some fresh videotape for NFL scouts, but he also has big goals related to the team. On the day he announced he was opting back in, Bynum said he expects the Bears to win all six games on their regular-season schedule.
4. ILB KUONY DENG >> Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year Evan Weaver took his 182 tackles and left for the NFL. But his sidekick at inside linebacker returns. Deng (whose first name is
pronounced Coin), is back for his senior season after collecting 119 tackles in his first year at the FBS level.
There is every reason to believe Deng will be super-productive in 2020. At 6-foot- 6, he has added strength and weight to his frame but still looks lean at 240 pounds. He is fast, smart, an excellent communicator and he understands Cal’s defensive scheme.
Deng has NFL ambitions, so he will not merely be going through the motions in his final collegiate season. He could blossom into a Pac-12 star. 5. DEFENSIVE LINE BRETT JOHNSON >> The Bears have lots of wide receiver options and they have five starters back among at least seven veterans on the offensive line. But their defensive line took a couple of unexpected hits.
Senior defensive end Luc Bequette — searching for a school that was playing in the fall — transferred to Boston College. Then defensive end/ outside linebacker Tevin Paul opted out for reasons that may have to do with COVID-19 concerns. He is expected back in 2021.
But for now, the defensive line is perhaps Cal’s biggest area of concern, primarily because the numbers are down. Brett Johnson was drafted into action as a true freshman last season and became the starter at nose guard when two players expected to challenge for the assignment were unavailable.
Johnson excelled, playing in all 13 games and collecting 26 tackles at a position that doesn’t normally generate many. The 6-foot-5, 290-pounder, a former high school wrestler, handled himself nicely and now may be moved around on the line at times to accommodate the Bears’ needs.