BearTalk

WHAT WENT RIGHT: Finally starting after two good seasons as a backup, Mike Mohamed developed into one of the Pac-10′s best players this season. He led the conference with 112 tackles. He had two sacks and three interceptions, including one of the more memorable picks in Cal history when he sealed the Bears’ win in the Big Game. After shuttling between the outside and inside early in the year, Mohamed found a home inside and was the anchor of the defense. Eddie Young had a solid year at strongside outside linebacker. He tied for fourth on the team with 56 tackles while recording two sacks and two interceptions. Both picks were big — one was pivotal during the win over Arizona State and his second he returned for a touchdown in the Poinsettia Bowl against Utah.

WHAT WENT WRONG: It was clear from the beginning of the season that the Bears weren’t going to be able to have a seamless transition after the departure of Zack Follett, Worrell Williams and Anthony Felder. Defensive Bob Gregory tinkered with the lineup often in search of answers and never found consistency. Even by the end of the season, it seemed like the linebacking was in a state of flux. The biggest problem was the lack of a rush linebacker. Nobody ever emerged as the guy to replace Follett, who gave opposing coordinators fits with his speed off the edge. Mychal Kendricks seemed to physically be the most suitable for the spot, but saw his playing time decrease midway through the year and didn’t play a whole lot until the Poinsettia Bowl. Devin Bishop was solid but not great next to Mohamed on the inside. D.J. Holt impressed during training camp and saw some extensive playing time in the middle of the season but couldn’t sustain it. Guys like Keith Browner, Charles Johnson and Chris Little all got shots at playing time as well. But it was evident all season that not only did the Bears miss the skills of the three departed linebackers, they missed their experience and knowledge of the game as well.

IN SUMMATION: The Bears thought they had the talent at linebacker to be just as good or even better than last year’s group. Either it was inexperience or a misjudgement of that talent, but that certainly didn’t turn out to be the case.

MOVING FORWARD: The return of Mohamed is a good starting point in the Bears’ efforts to improve here. Kendricks played very well in the Poinsettia Bowl, so he may have positioned him well heading into spring practice. Young and Bishop are gone, and considering there were a lot of moving parts already this season, there should be a lot of competition at linebacker starting in the spring. Mohamed will be the only sure thing. Kendricks still has the talent to become a very good Pac-10 player, but needs to cut down on his mistakes before he puts it all together. Browner displayed some potential, as did Little, and each should compete for a starting spot. Cal has oral commitments from four highly accomplished linebackers — Chris Martin, Cecil Whiteside, David Wilkerson and Nick Forbes — Martina nd Whiteside probably have the greatest chance to compete for playing time right away.  Steven Fanua, who redshirted the season, could also be in the mix.

GRADE: C-