His Freshman Season Behind Him, Cal Linebacker Cade Uluave Ready to Blossom

`My game will excel a level up. Got to keep working, got to stay hungry. Can’t be satisfied. Got to keep going.'

Cal linebacker Cade Uluave /

Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon says the best thing the coaching staff did last season for freshman inside linebacker Cade Uluave was keep it simple and stay out of his way.

The approach worked perfectly, as Uluave moved into the starting lineup at midseason and went on to deliver a season impactful enough that he earned freshman All-America honors from College Football News and The Athletic.

“Cade showed that he was a dynamic athlete. You saw the ability for him to burst and finish,” Sirmon said. “He was extremely inexperienced as a player, but I thought what he did was a really good job of managing his emotions.”

The South Jordan, Utah native finished the season with 66 tackles, 6.5 tackles for loss, 2.5 sacks, two forced fumbles, two fumble recoveries — including one he returned 51 yards for a touchdown against Washington State — and two interceptions.

He was a three-time Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Week and was chosen Pac-12 Freshman Defensive Player of the Year by the league’s coaches. 

Dynamic indeed.

It helped that the coaches did not load up Uluave with too many responsibilities. And that Uluave was “mature beyond his experience,” Sirmon said.

“He didn’t have a full backpack. We weren’t asking him to carry even his load. `OK man you just focus on these thing and let the other 10 guys support you. They need to carry a little more of the water,’ “ Sirmon said. “Don’t put a lot on him and just let his ability shine. 

“That’s where less is more. When a young player that has talent goes out there, I think coaches can hurt them more than they can help them.”

Uluave, who has sat out spring practice so far with a lower-body issue he said is not serious or long-term, is ready to take the next step in his development.

He says he intends to become an Alpha player on the Cal defense.

 “As a freshman, it’s easy to be the low guy,” he said. “Now having a season under my belt, now it’s time for me to level up on the field, be more of a leader and be a better teammate.

“Now let’s put more stuff in, set me up to make more plays. I’m ready.”

Peter Sirmon suggested Uluave will soon be ready to start taking on the role Jackson Sirmon — his son and an All-Pac-12 linebacker — fulfilled the past couple seasons. 

“Cade needs to be a person who impacts the team. That can mean a lot of different things. That’s on the field, that’s in the meeting room, that’s in the locker room, that’s with some of the very, very young, inexperienced players on our team,” he said. 

“It’s his opportunity to pay it forward. If you watched the last six games of the year, the linebacker coach wasn’t coaching him, Jackson was coaching him.”

Even from the sideline this spring, Uluave is convinced the Bears will “be a force to be reckoned with” on defense next fall.

He believes he will be a different player. Recalling his first play against Oregon State, he snapped his fingers and said, “Man, what happened?” By season’s end, he was more easily reading his keys and playing with more confidence. “The game slowed down,” he acknowledged.

“My game will excel a level up. Got to keep working, got to stay hungry. Can’t be satisfied. Got to keep going.”

Peter Sirmon is eager to watch Uluave’s talents blossom.

“Cade’s on the right path,” Sirmon said, “and he’s a very talented athlete who can be as good a linebacker as we’ve had here in a long time.”