Cal's D-Line Eager to Show It Will Carry Its Weight This Season

The Bears added two transfers to the interior group and worked on becoming leaner and more explosive

T.J. Bollers /

Cal football has made its living on defense since coach Justin Wilcox arrived for the 2017 season. That is, until last season.

The 2023 Bears were a mess defensively. They ranked 111th nationally in scoring defense, surrendering 32.7 points per game. They were 128th in pass defense and allowed 30 passing touchdowns, owing partly to a leaky secondary but also to an inconsistent pass rush.

Yes, there was plenty of blame to go around. Cal opponents scored on 54 of 61 red-zone chances and while the Bears were 35th in rushing defense their 23 rushing touchdowns allowed were the most among those 35 teams.

All of this despite sharing the nation lead with 28 takeaways.

In an effort remedy the problem, the Bears added more speed in the secondary, newcomers on the edge and two new interior defensive linemen — transfers T.J. Bollers of Wisconsin and Aidan Keanaaina of Notre Dame.

The Bears’ D-line room knows it must perform better this fall as Cal transitions into the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“Especially with what everybody had to say last year and how things went,  we all know we’ve got something to prove this year,” redshirt junior defensive lineman Stanley Saole McKenzie said. “I’m expecting big things and everybody else should, too.”

Defensive line coach Andrew Browning says his guys are carrying a chip on their shoulders as a motivator. Players on the D-line have become better physically and technically since last season, he said, and have a better understanding of the scheme.

He knows the evidence will begin to surface on Aug. 31 when the Bears open their season against UC Davis.

“I’m very confident in the group of guys we have. They’ve worked really hard, they understand the role that we play in our defense and they’ve put a chip on their shoulder with that.” Browning said.

Browning asked returnees Ricky Correia and Soale-McKenzie and newcomer Aidan Keanaaina (pronounced Key-ahn-uh-eye-nuh) — the group’s three most stout players — to become a bit leaner in order to improve their quickness and explosiveness.

Saole-McKenzie talks about the two newcomers in the video above.

Brown also is encouraged by what the two transfer arrivals have demonstrated so far.

On Keanaaina: “Very, very tough guy. Strong. He’s wide, carries his weight really well. Smart. We ask him to do a lot of things — he’s got a good technical background coming in.”

On Bollers: “We’ve played him inside, asking him to play some different alignments. He’s done a good job, learning the playbook. He’s had very minimal assignment errors with the scheme. He’s handed that really well. He’s got good athleticism, smart, tough.”

Redshirt junior Akili Calhoun, limited by injuries to nine games over his first three seasons, is healthy and ready to be part of the D-line rotation. Browning said he’s gotten his body in shape, is playing faster and more physically and beginning to regain his confidence.

Keanaaina, who arrived at Cal in time for spring practice, said he was initially hesitant, unsure of how he’d be accepted by his new teammates. That concern didn’t last long.

“Their belief in me wants me to do better every day,” he said. “I think that hesitation has disappeared just because of how welcoming the D-line has been to me and T.J. and how much they’ve made us feel like family.”

Bollers, who talks in the video above about growing up in tiny Tiffin, Iowa, echoed Keanaaina’s thoughts.

 “The second I got here they were like family right away. There was never a time when I felt like an outcast, and that was with the whole team,” said Bollers, who played outside linebacker at Wisconsin before being moved to the interior defensive line late last season.

The defensive line’s bond grew over the summer when players developed what Keanaaina called a brotherhood.

“We’ve hung out on weekends. Watched UFC together. It’s really gotten us close and made us much better on the D-line,” he said.