Justin Wilcox made his career as a high-level defensive coordinator before taking over in Berkeley. His tenure started out okay, but the fanbase is starting to get a little restless after five straight losing seasons. His 2025 defense isn’t really the issue, but it hasn’t helped much in the goal of getting over the hump to a winning record. Wilcox has areas of his defense that have excelled, but getting them to put it all together each game has been a struggle.
Cal runs a 3-3-5 with great size up
front on the line. Louisville won’t likely see an interior defensive lineman under 305 pounds on Saturday night, and they also won’t likely see any of these players making plays that show up on the stat sheets. TJ Bollers and Aidan Keanaaina spend their time eating up blocks and being disruptors. Keanaaina has 18 run stuffs on the season, but the defensive line as a whole has combined for 2.5 tackles for loss.
The edges of Cal’s defense are solid, with TJ Bush being one of the better pass rushers in the ACC. The Liberty transfer has 6.5 tackles for loss and 22 total pressures on the season, and he plays with a good motor to chase down plays away from him. Miami transfer Jayden Wayne hasn’t been as productive, but he is a solid player at the line of scrimmage. Louisville should have an advantage up front with Cal’s struggle to stop the run, but the 3-3-5 alignment could cause some issues with blocking assignments.
The Bears have one of the best linebackers in the ACC, Cade Uluave, who is second in the conference in tackles. Uluave is all over the field when you watch Cal. He plays extremely hard, and he runs like a safety. Cal’s big interior linemen do a great job of keeping Uluave clean, and he repays them by making plays all over the field. He leads the team in tackles for loss with 10.5 and 3 sacks. Uluave has 15 pressures on the year, and he’s also just super fun to watch.
Depth isn’t much of an issue for the Bears, either. Luke Ferrelli combines with Uluave to make a strong tandem in the middle. Harrison Taggart is a former high-level recruit who has made some plays this year, as well. Aaron Hampton is a former walk-on who has also provided solid depth for the Bears. I don’t expect Uluave to miss many snaps, but the Bears have some guys who can spell him if needed.
A good argument that will likely come up at the end of the season will be over the top cornerback in the conference. One player in that argument will be Hezekiah Masses. Masses has allowed an opposing quarterback rating of 37.6, while allowing only 44% of passes to be completed, 10 PBUs, and 4 interceptions. If Cal had a better pass rush, he’d probably be one of the best corners in the country. Cal is ranked 4th in the country in PFF’s pass coverage grade, and Masses is a key reason for that.
While Brent Austin isn’t having the season Masses is, he is no slouch on the opposite side of the field. Austin is only allowing 47% of passes to be completed against him, but he hasn’t picked off a pass this year, and he hasn’t been targeted as often. Austin does have 10 PBUs on the year, and he fits the aggressive approach Wilcox’s defense deploys. The Bears play a lot of press-man coverage, which leads to some penalties, but these corners can run, and they play physical in coverage.
Safety is another strong spot for Cal’s defense, with strong coverage numbers and good run support. True freshman Aiden Manatui is the leader of the group when it comes to snaps played, and the first-year player has been solid for the defense. Manatui pairs with Dru Polidore at the other safety spot, with Jordan Sanford getting plenty of snaps as well. This group doesn’t jump out on film, but the staff mixes up how they use them. They will rotate down into the box and blitz in certain situations. UofL’s main concern with this group is how they help in run support.
