Will Cal OLB Ryan McCulloch Be a Star in 2025?

McCulloch expects to record a lot of sacks next season, and the Bears need that kind of production to be successful

Cal edge rusher Ryan McCulloch points the way / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

The defensive surprise of 2024 could be a Cal star in 2025.

Outside linebacker Ryan McCulloch started six games for Cal last season as a sophomore, in large part because of injuries to first-stringers, and his three sacks and eight quarterback hurries in 2024 suggest he could be an elite pass-rusher next season.

He was more productive than expected last season, and his sack-total goal for next season is certainly elite.

“At least 10, hoping for 20,” he said with a chuckle. “But realistically 12, 15, as many as I can get. But really just help the team win.”

The team high in sacks last season was nine, by Xavier Carlton, and the last time a Cal player posted 10 sacks or more in a season was 2008, when Zack Follett had 10.5.  Only 10 Cal players in history have recorded 10 sacks or more in a season, and Ryan Riddle holds the Cal record with 14.5 in 2004. (Sacks became an official statistic in 1981.)

Mike Green of Marshall led the nation with 17 sacks last year, and Donovan Ezeiruaku of Boston College was next with 16.5, and both have a chance to be taken in the first round of next month’s NFL draft.

So McCulloch is setting his sights high, but the Bears will need it. The top three Cal players in sacks last year are gone, leaving McCulloch as the top returning sacker with three.

Outside linebackers coach Vic So’oto can see the difference in McCulloch from the fall to the current spring practice sessions.

“Yeah, absolutely,” So’oto said. “His body has changed. He’s taken nutrition seriously. He understands the playbook, and now he’s one of the older guys.”

McCulloch says he’s “making way more food at home,” often having a dinner of ground beef, rice and fruit, but it is the experience on the field that has accelerated his development, allowing instinct to take over.

“Being more technically sound,” he said of how he is different now. “To me, I’m making the biggest impact on the field when I’m not thinking and my body is just making the right plays, making the right reads, going full speed, but as I’m in it it feels as if I’m in slow motion, but really my body is going full speed.”

The Bears are working without a defensive coordinator during the spring, but McCulloch doesn’t see that as a problem, since the defense is still Justin Wilcox’s defense.

“As long as Coach Wilcox is here we’re running the same defense with the same mindset and same mentality,” McCulloch said.

The question is whether McCulloch can have a major impact in 2025 at a position that is expected to make a major impact with sacks, tackles for loss, quarterback pressures and other big plays that turn a game around.

He said he was “pleasantly surprised” with the amount of playing time he got last season, but he is a projected starter with big expectations for 2025.

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