Photo credit: calbears.com

By Ana Kieu

The hype surrounding the Cal Golden Bears’ defensive backs in 2019 is real.

With the entire unit returning from a stellar season last fall, the group entered 2019 ranked among the top 10 nationally by nearly every media outlet, and as high as No. 2 in one ranking behind only Alabama.

Perhaps the coolest part of the attention was that the emphasis and accolades were bestowed upon the group more than any single individual.

“It’s not one person,” Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said. “It’s the way they play together, the way they meet, the extra work they do. The thing that’s special is the collective group. It’s the connection of the players in that room — their humility and their work ethic combined with the talent. Sometimes you have some of that without the other, but what is different is to have that many guys with that humility, that work ethic and that talent.”

The core returnees to Cal’s defensive backfield made all but two of the team’s possible starts in 2018, and they combine for nearly a quarter century of collegiate football experience. The group features a trio of fifth-year seniors (Ashtyn Davis, Jaylinn Hawkins and Trey Turner III), three fourth-year players (senior nickelbacks Traveon Beck and Josh Drayden, and junior cornerback Camryn Bynum), and the “baby” of the family in third-year junior cornerback Elijah Hicks.

They were all still pups in January 2017 when Wilcox was hired after the Bears had arguably posted some of the worst defensive seasons in the history of college football in the years leading up to his arrival. Wilcox put his trust in a then-mostly unproven assistant coach in Gerald Alexander to nurture a young but talented group of defensive backs. Alexander had only two seasons of experience as a full-time member of a collegiate coaching staff when Wilcox brought him to Berkeley, but Wilcox had coached Alexander at Boise State before he went on to play in the NFL and believed in the young coach.

After two-plus seasons in Berkeley, it looks to be a genius hire that has yielded both results on the field and admiration from the players.

“I feel like he’s the best defensive backs coach in the nation,” Hawkins said. “He doesn’t just teach out of the playbook. He teaches you the game of football. He’s got what we call ‘above the neck.'”

Alexander admitted that he didn’t know what he had in his defensive backs when he arrived at Cal, but he certainly knew what he wanted.

“I had a vision of what I wanted this group to be,” Alexander said. “From the beginning, our goal has been to be the best, and we are going to work like hell until we are. I knew what my job was, and I knew what I wanted out of this group. I knew how I wanted this group to play. It’s my responsibility to get them to believe.”

That vision yielded dramatic improvement on defense in year one and the defensive backs were a big reason why the Bears cut 14.2 points off their per game allowed average from the previous season. Cal also improved in 14 of 15 primary defensive statistics by an average of nearly 40 spots by category.

But that was just the beginning.

“We thought we were good at the time,” Bynum said. “When we look back at it now, it’s like ‘what were we doing?'”

What they were doing was getting better and putting in the work to pull off what they did in 2018.

Despite their hefty statistics last season, they’re far from satisfied.

“We haven’t accomplished our goals,” Hicks said. “We haven’t won a bowl game. We haven’t won a Pac-12 Championship. We’re going to have a chip on our shoulder because although we’ve done some good things, there is still a lot more to be done. That’s how we’re going about everything — in the film room, in the weight room and on the field.”

“We just want to win, that’s it,” Beck added. “We want to win in every aspect — every 1-on-1, every practice. That will translate to helping us win games. That’s really our ultimate goal.”

“We just need to be us,” Drayden chimed in. “We need to keep grinding away the way we are, keep studying the way we are, keep watching film the way we are. If you see somebody slacking, tell them let’s go because like (Alexander) says the most important part of the day is practice.”

Alexander recognizes the culture of sacrifice and accountability the group has created and applauds them for it.

“This group understands what sacrifice is,” Alexander said. “They sacrifice their time to be able to work and do the things necessary for them to have the success that they have. One of the things that we always talked about last year and now into this year was continuing to raise the bar. Nobody’s expectations for these guys should exceed their own.”

“Our hunger just to be good is one of the best things,” Bynum said. “We all want to outwork each other, which just breeds a bunch of competition and good energy around the whole group.”

Bynum believes the efforts of Cal’s current group of defensive backs will influence generations to come.

“They see how much work we put in and they have nothing else to expect out of our football program because that’s normal to them,” Bynum said.

Defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter is also excited about the possibilities ahead.

“I think they’re as a competitive of a position unit that I’ve ever been around,” said DeRuyter, who’s now in his 29th season in collegiate coaching. “They all push each other, and that competitive drive is challenging each of them to get better at their craft. It shows at practice and it shows in the games.

“What’s nice is having this same core group for the third season,” DeRuyter added. “The first year, it was just learning the fundamentals of the position. That next offseason after guys had demonstrated they understood the concepts, it was time to take the next step. That’s where we were a year ago — our guys could disguise and really understand what was happening around them. This year, we can play at an even faster speed and have more guys involved.”

Cal’s current defensive backfield has combined for 27 career interceptions with the most recent, thanks to Davis at Oregon last Saturday. The Bears hope their continued evolution and development will help them make history.

“Legacies are made when you leave places better than you found them,” Alexander said. “When we’re looking at the end of it and they can wipe their hands clean, hopefully this group is going to be forever remembered for the work they’ve put in and the foundation they’ve laid for this football program.”