A proven recipe for success in the sport of football at any level goes as follows; wear down opposing defenses with a powerful running game, and shut down opposing offenses with a powerful defense.

Will this be the year that the Cal Bears finally translate this recipe into a win over USC and, more importantly, a Pac-10 title? To go with one of the best running backs in the country, Cal has a defense that is rock solid at all three levels; and no unit is much stronger than the defensive line.

Cal returns all three starters from last year’s defensive line, a unit which helped lead Cal to be the nation’s 23rd best scoring defense (19.9 PPG) and 26th best rushing defense (122.23 YPG), as well as being 19th in the nation with 90 tackles for loss and 13th in the nation with 35 sacks.

No reason the unit won’t be as good as they were last year, and a good chance that they will be even better.

Defensive End

44 Tyson Alualu, 6-3, 295, Senior
92 Trevor Guyton, 6-3, 285, Sophomore

Tyson Alualu enters his final season at Berkeley having played in all 39 games that the Bears have played since 2006. As a true freshman he saw action in all 13 games primarily as a reserve, registering 16 tackles, which was good for fourth on the D-Line that year.

In 2007, Alualu took over as the starter and never looked back. He started all 13 games, leading the defensive line with 52 tackles including 3.5 for loss with 2.5 sacks. He also had an interception and a team leading four fumble recoveries. His excellent play earned him the team’s most valuable defensive lineman award.

2008 was even better for Tyson Alualu. He once again started all 13 games and amassed 62 tackles, including 11 tackles for loss with six sacks. On top of winning the team’s most valuable defensive lineman award again, Alualu also earned conference honors, being named second team All-Pac-10.

At 6-3 295 pounds, Alualu is built like an interior lineman but has the burst, agility, and technique of an end. Very few offensive lines can do anything against Alualu one-on-one, and his grit and determination to get to the ball first doesn’t often go unrewarded. Having shown steady improvement in each of his three seasons with the Bears, the sky is the limit for year four of his outstanding career.

Trevor Guyton received a 4-star rating from Scout.com and was ranked the 18th best defensive tackle in the country by the service. Rivals.com rated him the 43rd best defensive tackle in the nation. Guyton earned valuable experience as a true freshman in 2008, seeing time as a reserve in the final seven games of the season while collecting three tackles (including two in the Big Game vs. Stanford).

Guyton has had a nice offseason and should see plenty of time in relief at both DE spots.

Nose Guard

76 Derrick Hill, 6-2, 302, Junior
96 Kendrick Payne, 6-2, 300, Redshirt Freshman

Derrick Hill received a 4-star rating and was ranked the 5th best defensive tackle and the 48th best overall player in the class of 2006 by rivals.com. Injuries have kept Hill from reaching his full potential, but after missing time this spring all systems look to be go this fall.

After redshirting in 2006 due to a knee injury, Hill played in 10 games as a reserve and started in one in 2007. He accumulated 24 tackles and an interception, which earned him honorable mention Freshman All-American honors from Scout.com.

In 2008, Derrick Hill started in nine games, ending the season with 29 tackles including 2.5 tackles for loss.

As the sole interior lineman in Cal’s 3-4 defensive scheme, Hill is a force to be reckoned with up the middle, and requires the attention of multiple offensive linemen. He moves well for his size, and has an elite skill set that allows him to shake off multiple lineman to get in on the tackle. If he can stay healthy, Hill should take a big step forward this season, which would make this defense even more dangerous.

If he doesn’t stay healthy, the Bears seem to have a good backup plan in Kendrick Payne. Payne took first team snaps during the spring while Hill was out and did plenty to impress coaches. He put on weight during his redshirt season but retained his quickness, and has forced offensive lines to double team him during drills. He will provide depth and gain valuable game experience in 2009.

Defensive End

97 Cameron Jordan, 6-4, 287, Junior
95 Ernest Owusu, 6-4, 268, Sophomore

Rated the 37th best defensive end in the 2007 class, Cameron Jordan jumped right into duty as a true freshman that year, playing in all 13 games as a reserve and recording 18 tackles. He also recorded two half-sacks and recovered a fumble for a touchdown that season as well.

After cracking the starting lineup in the fifth game of the season in 2008, Jordan went on to earn honorable mention All-Pac-10 honors. He finished the season with 47 tackles including 11 for loss and six sacks. He also added one interception, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.

Jordan has fantastic speed and strength, and much like Alualu he is very difficult to contain one-on-one. Coaches and pro scouts are looking for big things from Jordan this year, and All-Conference honors and even some All-American honors will not be out of the question in 2009.

Ernest Owusu is a smaller defensive end, but he also possesses great speed and agility because of it. After redshirting in 2007 and playing in six games (recording five tackles and one tackle for loss) in 2008, Owusu will provide depth as a reserve again in 2009.

My Take

To run a 3-4 defensive scheme with success, you need your three athletes up front to possess size, skill, and tenacity. In this group, the Cal Bears have that and more.

All three starters look poised to have monster years, and all three of them command double coverage to try and contain them. It will be a pick-your-poison situation for opposing offensive lines all season long; whoever you aren’t double covering is bound to break through. When three guys up front are creating as much havoc as four would be, it makes the extra linebacker that much more dangerous.

The real key here though is staying healthy, especially for Derrick Hall, who has been plagued by knee injuries throughout his career. I like the young backups quite a bit, but none of them are proven in game situations, and easing them into those roles as reserves this year instead of making them dive right in is critical.

I don’t envy the jobs of coaching staffs around the Pac-10 that are not only going to have to spend all week trying to figure out how to slow down Jahvid Best, but also must figure out how they are going to get out of the backfield on offense with this dangerous front seven staring them down.

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