Cal Football: Akili Calhoun Begins to Find His Way After Switch From DE to OLB

The biggest adjustment has been understanding what goes on behind him.

Akili Calhoun arrived at Cal a year ago as a highly rated defensive end from Liberty High School in the East Bay suburb of Brentwood.

A year later, the 6-foot-4, 280-pound redshirt freshman is playing a new position: outside linebacker.

To suggest it’s been dramatic transition is an understatement, as Calhoun explains in the video at the top of this story.

“It’s a big change for me,” he said. “I know that I can do it. The coaches believe in me. They wouldn’t move me if they didn’t think I could do it.”

From his new position, Calhoun says he views the game in a way he never saw it before.

“You have to understand what’s going on everywhere,” he said. “D-line, which is what I played for all of my life, everything is forward. You don’t worry about what’s going on back here.

"I was never worried about what was going on behind me. Ever.”

Calhoun was a high 3-star prospect in high school, a second-team pre-season All-State honoree in 2020 before his senior campaign was canceled due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

He was strong enough to be a high-level discus thrower on his high school track team, but fast enough he ran sprints as a freshman and sophomore.

It adds up to Calhoun being an athlete who could make this transition from D-line to a player who must be able to drop into pass coverage.

Asked if he’d ever been asked to cover a pass receiver during his high school days, Calhoun smiled. “Hell no,” he said. “Everything was pass rush and playing the run. In high school, you don’t know what you’re doing. You’re just running at people.”

He admits he had no idea what was going on behind on defense.

That’s changing. “Not only am I trying to make an impact, but I’m understanding the concepts of defensive football now, which I never understood before,” he said.

Calhoun, who projects as a backup OLB with a chance to move up, said picking up the skills he needs to drop into coverage is by far his biggest challenge.

“I’ve played D-line all my life and this for me is something so new it’s kind of crazy,” he said.

At the outset, Calhoun was totally lost.

“My first day, I don’t think I’ve ever messed up that much in my life. It was horrible,” he said. “I was backing up and there was so much going on around me, I was like looking everywhere.”

He recalled one play in practice where he was looking to the right but was supposed to be focused the other way. Of course, that’s where the ball went.

"They throw the ball over here and it’s a touchdown,” he said, howling with embarrassment. “Just completely messing up.”

Calhoun has bought in on his new role, and has begun to think big.

The ultimate personal accomplishment? An interception, as he explains in the video above.

“Every big boy dreams about getting a pick.”

He said he’s had conversations with defensive backs coach Tre Watson, warning him how he plans to celebrate when that big moment happens.

He told Watson, “If I ever get a pick, I’m going to run it to the house. I’m just letting you know now I’m going to find you and you better be ready to jump as high as you can because we’re going up.”

While Calhoun knows he still has much to learn, he’s beginning to develop some confidence.

After practice on Wednesday, Calhoun said, “I’m feeling a lot more comfortable. Last week I had a pretty good string of practices. Monday, not the best practice. But I came out today and had a very good practice.”

Cover photo of redshirt freshman outside linebacker Akili Calhoun 

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo