Cal Must Improve Tackling With Oregon State RB Jermar Jefferson Next

Bears' biggest shortcoming in the lopsided loss to UCLA was poor tackling, and Cal must be better in that regard against the Beavers' running game

Cal’s most obvious shortcoming in its 34-10 loss to UCLA was poor tackling, a problem that could be amplified in Corvallis, Oregon, this Saturday afternoon when the Bears face perhaps the best running back in the Pac-12, Oregon State’s Jermar Jefferson.

“We didn’t tackle well in the [UCLA] game, that’s obvious,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said Wednesday.

It was obvious in play after play as Cal defenders seemed to have greased hands as they slipped off UCLA ball-carriers. It was particularly noticeable since Cal has been a good tackling team in Wilcox’s first three seasons in Berkeley.

Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon was concerned about tackling back in mid-October as he noticed how the pandemic-related practice restrictions had caused tackling problems throughout the country. Cal had more practice restrictions that most teams, and the absence of all its defensive linemen for two weeks immediately before its opener did not help matters.

“To simulate a live game is really difficult,” Wilcox said.

Tackling has been emphasized this week, and practices have been described as “spirited” and “physical” with the defensive linemen back.

“We tackle in practice, and continue to work on tackling in practice,” Sirmon said Wednesday. “Yesterday we worked on some big tackling drills, a lot of space and finding ways to find some more contact withing the structure of practice. We have to get our legs underneath us.

“It’s good to get everybody back together and we continue to emphasize tackling and find new ways to emphasize tackling. When misses kind of show themselves, you try to identify the best ways to correct those.”

**Defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon talks about trying to improve tackling

Having a game under their belt and having the defensive line back at practice may alleviate the Bears’ tackling woes, but the challenge will be greater against Oregon State than it was against UCLA.

That’s because the Beavers have Jefferson, and they structure their offense around the running game.

Jefferson, a preseason first-team all-Pac-12 selection, rushed for 1,380 yards two years ago as a freshman, but had only two carries for 34 yards in Oregon State’s 49-7 loss to Cal that season. He missed much of last season with injuries and did not play against Cal last year, when Oregon State beat the Bears 21-17.

He is back at full strength this season.

Jefferson has rushed for 253 yards in two games, including 133 last week in a 27-21 loss to Washington.

“Really good balance, he runs through a lot of arm tackles, so he’s a tough guy to bring down,” Wilcox said.

Beavers quarterback Tristan Gebbia passed for only 85 yards against the Huskies, so the Bears will focus on stopping Jefferson and his backup, B.J. Baylor.

“They do a real nice job of working to [Jefferson’s] strengths,” Sirmon said. “I think he’s a real nice kind of a slashing kind of runner. He’s a strong powerful inside runner.”

**Sirmon discusses Jefferson's style:

Needless to say, if Cal’s defenders don’t tackle better than they did against UCLA, it will be another long day for the Bears.

“Time will tell,” Wilcox said, “but I would expect us to improve in that area.”

.

Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

Find Cal Sports Report on Facebook by searching: @si.calsportsreport

Click the "follow" button in the top right corner to join the conversation on Cal Sports Report on SI. Access and comment on featured stories and start your own conversations and post external links on our community page.