Teddye Buchanan No Longer Cal's Secret Weapon on Defense

A national TV audience watched the transfer linebacker, who was the best player on the field in the Bears' 21-14 win at Auburn

Teddye Buchanan /

Cal coach Justin Wilcox has raved about transfer linebacker Teddye Buchanan at every opportunity since fall camp began more than a month ago.

But until Saturday at Auburn’s Jordan-Hare Stadium, Buchanan was Cal’s little secret.

He introduced himself to the rest of college football in the Bears’ 21-14 victory over the Tigers, who were nearly two touchdown favorites.

An FCS-level player at UC Davis the past four years, Buchanan led the Bears with nine tackles in their 31-13 win over the Aggies, his former team, a week ago in his Cal debut.

On Saturday, he played in front an ESPN2 national TV audience and a capacity crowd of 88,043, including 5,000 Cal fans who flew across the country to watch the game.

Cal linebacker Teddye Buchanan pressures Auburn's Payton Thorne / John Reed-Imagn Images

Buchanan got their attention by delivering a game-high 11 tackles, including three tackles for loss. He had two sacks, pressured the quarterback into a third one and forced a fumble that set up Cal’s final touchdown.

Buchanan was everywhere.

Asked what football fans who knew little about him know now, Buchanan seemed unsure just what to say.

“If they saw the game, hopefully they know,” Buchanan said. “Excited to keep it going, and moving forward that’s going to be my standard.”

The 6-foot-2, 235-pound San Francisco native was a good player for UC Davis, earning second-team All-Big Sky honors. It’s quite a leap from there to being the best player on the field in a matchup of teams from the Atlantic Coast Conference and Southeastern Conference.

“He’s a really good football player,” Wilcox confirmed. “We knew because we had played against him prior. Teddy’s a talented guy, he’s physical.

“But it’s his approach that’s as impressive as anything. When you’re around the building with him, the way he approaches meetings and walk-throughs and practice, he’s just a total professional. 

"There’s not much that he’s not prepared for. It doesn’t mean he’s going to be perfect but he’s going to be in the right places and he’s going to play really hard. If somebody gets a play on him, they’re going to have to earn it.”

The Cal offense clicked in the first half, building a 14-7 lead despite missing four potential starters sidelined by injury and having a half-power Jaydn Ott, who played through a sprained ankle but managed just 11 rushing yards on 10 carries.

It was the Bears’ defense that carried the day. Cal shared the national lead with 27 takeaways last year, and the five they notched against the Tigers gives them eight through two games.

“We were able to get the job done so it feels really good,” Buchanan said.

“It meant a ton, just to help the team win a game like that is huge. Luckily, I was able to make a few plays. I think we had five turnovers, so a great team effort.”

Buchanan says he is relishing the opportunity to play FBS football at Cal.

“Getting a chance in my last season to come back to the Bay and play for the Bears, it feels amazing,”

Buchanan was especially impressed by the huge throng of Cal fans who traveled 2,500 miles for a non-conference game.

“Shout out to Bear Nation for coming down and supporting us,” Buchanan said. “At the end of the game they were a lot louder than all the Auburn fans, so it felt good.”