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Cal football: Spring practice preview — defensive line
By Jonathan Okanes
Saturday, March 7th, 2009 at 9:44 pm in off-season stuff.
RETURNING STARTERS: Nose tackle Derrick Hill, defensive end Tyson Alualu, defensive end Cameon Jordan.
WHO TO WATCH OUT FOR: Defensive end Trevor Guyton
POSSIBLE SURPRISE: Nose tackle Aaron Tipoti
THE BREAKDOWN: The Bears have all three starters returning next season, so the competition will be to determine depth. Defensive coordinator Bob Gregory consistently used backups at all three positions last season, giving the starters a series off now and then throughout a game. So determining the next wave of players on the depth chart will be significant.
Hill will miss spring practice because of his recurring knee problems, so Kendrick Payne, Aaron Tipoti, Mike Costanzo and Kevin Bemoll will all get a look inside. Payne impressed early on before a knee injury knocked him out for the season. He’s healthy now and figures to be the top candidate to be the No. 2 guy behind Hill. Gregory said Tipoti, who will be a redshirt freshman, has had an excellent offseason so far and is ready to compete. Costanzo has a little more experience than the others but has yet to live up to billing when he came to Cal, and Bemoll is a converted offensive lineman who has potential with his imposing size (6-4, 325).
Guyton may not supplant Alualu or Jordan, each of whom are all-conference caliber players. But Gregory loved what he saw from Guyton as a true freshman last season.
“He has a chance to be a really good player for us,” Gregory said. “There were some mental mistakes, which we totally expected. But we watched him hammer some guys. He would be in the wrong gap and be able to get back in the right gap and get tackles for losses. ”
This will be an important spring for defensive ends Keith Browner and Ernest Owusu. Browner saw some playing time at the beginning of the season but it tapered off, while Owusu struggled to get on to the field as a redshirt freshman.
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March 7th, 2009 at 11:02 pm
Just the first piece to our incredibly deep team! Jordan is an absolute beast and Tyson opens up the line for the linebackers to have their way. I am so excited to see the pressure these guys put on the QB. Roll On!
March 8th, 2009 at 6:06 am
Is Cody Jones still with the team?
March 8th, 2009 at 7:58 am
It was the annual Roll ‘n Shoot at UC Berkeley in which disabled and able-bodied people mixed together on teams of three in an all-day tournament. Perceptions about athleticism were turned upside down, along with the occasional player and chair…Quarterback Kevin Riley said he thought wheelchair basketball was harder than football, but tight end Skyler Curran disagreed. “I’m still going to have to go with football – it has more rigorous practices,” he said. He should know, having taken a one-unit wheelchair basketball P.E. class and inspiring his teammates to give the tournament a try. ____________________________________________________ More gimmee units for football players in the #1 rated public university in the country. HAHAHAHA!!!! The next thing you know those same football players will be graduating with degrees in Social Welfare, Sociology, and American Studies.
March 8th, 2009 at 8:30 am
The beauty of depth is on display. It will be an intriguing spring. Go Bears!
March 8th, 2009 at 10:25 am
FSU got put on probation. I have a feeling SC could be going on probation soon too. The economy IS bad. Maybe they’ll not be able to pay the NCAA.
March 8th, 2009 at 11:10 am
What about Cody Jones? He should be a senior this year, correct?
March 8th, 2009 at 11:15 am
Hey moron, you’re the last person who should be making fun of people’s majors. At least these guys are graduating, unlike yourself who have mental breakdowns and are forced to drop out of school.
Besides, getting a degree at Cal means something, getting a degree at $C means you’re licensed to become a janitor (which you’re an expert at now! Good job moron!).
March 8th, 2009 at 12:06 pm
Not merely content to be a moron and a troll, but it has to excell at being an idiot as well. Did moron ever hear of posting on topic? What part of ‘Cal football’ doesn’t it comprehend?
March 8th, 2009 at 12:25 pm
Depth at the nose seems like the only question mark. God forbid Derrick misses PT because of an injury, but there is no real established/experienced depth behind him anymore. Browner played a decent amount last year, the development of Guyton is encouraging, and Cody Jones should be effective as a 3-4 DE, so we should be fine at DE.
March 8th, 2009 at 12:26 pm
I have a great feeling about the D, especially if M Mohamed (sp?) and a couple of the young LB’s deliver. We know the D line and the secondary are going to be rock solid.
Go Bears!
March 8th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
Here is a link to some Lynch news. Make sure to read the comments at from the readers at the end of the article. Don’t say I haven’t done this board another favor.
http://www.profootballtalk.com/2009/03/08/lynch-buys-jim-kellys-house/
March 8th, 2009 at 9:20 pm
Moron, I don’t think anyone is insane enough to click your links. We all know you’re into some pretty dirty stuff. That’s right, your daddy told me about that time he busted you on the computer looking at dirty things…
March 8th, 2009 at 10:35 pm
Amy is a clinical nut job, but what is everyone’s opinion of the idiots who respond to her? I’m completely clueless how to characterize them.
March 9th, 2009 at 8:31 am
Moron won’t go away, so you might as well have some fun with his stupidity.
March 9th, 2009 at 8:45 am
Here is something of value
An interesting article in the LA Times.
http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-crowe9-2009mar09,0,2446566.column
March 9th, 2009 at 3:01 pm
Calduke,
Thanks for the link. That was cool.