{"id":7127,"date":"2026-08-18T13:40:37","date_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:40:37","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127"},"modified":"2026-08-18T13:40:37","modified_gmt":"2026-08-18T13:40:37","slug":"how-tosh-lupoi-tried-to-address-cals-most-glaring-weakness-from-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127","title":{"rendered":"How Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"
\n
\n

BERKELEY \u2014 Like probably every other head coach across the country, Cal\u2019s Tosh Lupoi is not satisfied as the Bears look ahead to their season opener on Sept. 5 against UCLA.<\/p>\n

Read more Five arrested, 8.4 pounds of fentanyl seized in East Bay drug investigation<\/a><\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m never going to be satisfied,\u201d Lupoi said Monday, two days after the team\u2019s first scrimmage of fall camp. \u201cCertainly pleased with the guys\u2019 hunger, their approach, attention to detail and really the response. This group, every time we challenge them, they respond to that.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cComing off of a scrimmage and having live tackling, a lot of reps, I really respected the way they handled their business (at practice) today. Felt like there were some things that got better, which was the goal.\u201d<\/p>\n

There is no position on the roster facing greater urgency to improve than the offensive line. The Bears have struggled up front for several years, and last year Cal gave up 32 sacks while finishing second-to-last nationally in rushing yards per game (81.7).<\/p>\n

The Bears fired Justin Wilcox in late November after a 31-10 loss to Stanford, in which they ran for a net 12 yards. Cal finished the season with a 7-6 record.<\/p>\n

Developing an effective ground game to complement sophomore Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, the Bears\u2019 rising star at quarterback, was a priority in recruiting through the transfer portal, and it continues to be a focal point in practice.<\/p>\n

Lupoi saw some progress on Saturday. \u201cEvery single group, our quest is to improve and grow,\u201d he said. \u201cThe O-line absolutely has done that.\u201d<\/p>\n

Cal also brought in new talent at running back, starting with junior Adam Mohammed, who rushed for 523 yards at Washington last season and was projected to be the Huskies\u2019 starter this fall before heading south.<\/p>\n

Read more Berkeley, a Look Back: Downtown merchants unveil their fall 1926 lineups<\/a><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

\u201cBefore we got him, just praying he\u2019d end up coming to us,\u201d Sagapolutele said. \u201cI\u2019d seen his film. Explosive guy. Got contact balance. An even better person \u2014 he\u2019s always happy. Having a guy like that on the team is just amazing. He\u2019s impressed me way more than I would have expected.\u201d<\/p>\n

New offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville, who came to Cal following a stint as assistant quarterbacks coach with the NFL\u2019s Tampa Bay Buccaneers, said Mohammed takes the field with \u201cill intent.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019ll do the dirty work. He\u2019ll do the splash plays,\u201d Somerville said. \u201cHis energy is infectious. He doesn\u2019t say a whole lot, but the way he runs or even if he\u2019s not carrying the football, his everyday play and energy and ill intent, that\u2019s what he\u2019s going to bring.\u201d<\/p>\n

Asked if Mohammed is what the Bears expected while recruiting him, Somerville said, \u201cEven more. Adam works his tail off, the way he carries himself in and out of the building. A true professional in every aspect.\u201d<\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n

Somerville stresses that it starts up front. \u201cIt\u2019s all 11. It\u2019s not one guy,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s about all 11 having an attitude and a love for one another as we take the field, especially in the run game.\u201d<\/p>\n

Sagpaolutele agrees. \u201cThe O-line has made tremendous strides, just being able to get to the second level, being able to make those hard blocks,\u201d he said. \u201cIt\u2019s a credit to them because that\u2019s where it really starts. Once they\u2019re moving, things start to get rolling.\u201d<\/p>\n

Read more What to know about 49ers\u2019 joint practice with Chargers in SoCal<\/a><\/p>\n

So he is expecting an improved run game?<\/p>\n

\u201cA thousand times better,\u201d he promised.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Cal football team’s offense has a new weapon at running back this season<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":7126,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[5],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-7127","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"yoast_head":"\nHow Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025 - Next City Digest<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"How Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025 - Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Cal football team's offense has a new weapon at running back this season\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next City Digest\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2026-08-18T13:40:37+00:00\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:label1\" content=\"Written by\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data1\" content=\"admin\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:label2\" content=\"Est. reading time\" \/>\n\t<meta name=\"twitter:data2\" content=\"3 minutes\" \/>\n<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"yoast-schema-graph\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@graph\":[{\"@type\":\"Article\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127#article\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127\"},\"author\":{\"name\":\"admin\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"headline\":\"How Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-18T13:40:37+00:00\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127\"},\"wordCount\":610,\"commentCount\":0,\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/f71955d56863d7c42026c9a45a13f28d-scaled.webp\",\"articleSection\":[\"Sports\"],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"CommentAction\",\"name\":\"Comment\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127#respond\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127\",\"name\":\"How Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025 - Next City Digest\",\"isPartOf\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\"},\"primaryImageOfPage\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127#primaryimage\"},\"image\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127#primaryimage\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/f71955d56863d7c42026c9a45a13f28d-scaled.webp\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-08-18T13:40:37+00:00\",\"author\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\"},\"breadcrumb\":{\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127#breadcrumb\"},\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"ReadAction\",\"target\":[\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127\"]}]},{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127#primaryimage\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/f71955d56863d7c42026c9a45a13f28d-scaled.webp\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/08\\\/f71955d56863d7c42026c9a45a13f28d-scaled.webp\",\"width\":2560,\"height\":1707},{\"@type\":\"BreadcrumbList\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?p=7127#breadcrumb\",\"itemListElement\":[{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":1,\"name\":\"Home\",\"item\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\"},{\"@type\":\"ListItem\",\"position\":2,\"name\":\"How Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025\"}]},{\"@type\":\"WebSite\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#website\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/\",\"name\":\"Next City Digest\",\"description\":\"\",\"potentialAction\":[{\"@type\":\"SearchAction\",\"target\":{\"@type\":\"EntryPoint\",\"urlTemplate\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?s={search_term_string}\"},\"query-input\":{\"@type\":\"PropertyValueSpecification\",\"valueRequired\":true,\"valueName\":\"search_term_string\"}}],\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\"},{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/#\\\/schema\\\/person\\\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b\",\"name\":\"admin\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"inLanguage\":\"en-US\",\"@id\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"contentUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/secure.gravatar.com\\\/avatar\\\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g\",\"caption\":\"admin\"},\"sameAs\":[\"http:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\"],\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/nextcitydigest.com\\\/?author=1\"}]}<\/script>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"How Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025 - Next City Digest","robots":{"index":"index","follow":"follow","max-snippet":"max-snippet:-1","max-image-preview":"max-image-preview:large","max-video-preview":"max-video-preview:-1"},"canonical":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127","og_locale":"en_US","og_type":"article","og_title":"How Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025 - Next City Digest","og_description":"Cal football team's offense has a new weapon at running back this season","og_url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127","og_site_name":"Next City Digest","article_published_time":"2026-08-18T13:40:37+00:00","author":"admin","twitter_card":"summary_large_image","twitter_misc":{"Written by":"admin","Est. reading time":"3 minutes"},"schema":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@graph":[{"@type":"Article","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127#article","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127"},"author":{"name":"admin","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"headline":"How Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025","datePublished":"2026-08-18T13:40:37+00:00","mainEntityOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127"},"wordCount":610,"commentCount":0,"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f71955d56863d7c42026c9a45a13f28d-scaled.webp","articleSection":["Sports"],"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"CommentAction","name":"Comment","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127#respond"]}]},{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127","name":"How Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025 - Next City Digest","isPartOf":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website"},"primaryImageOfPage":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127#primaryimage"},"image":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127#primaryimage"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f71955d56863d7c42026c9a45a13f28d-scaled.webp","datePublished":"2026-08-18T13:40:37+00:00","author":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b"},"breadcrumb":{"@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127#breadcrumb"},"inLanguage":"en-US","potentialAction":[{"@type":"ReadAction","target":["https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127"]}]},{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127#primaryimage","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f71955d56863d7c42026c9a45a13f28d-scaled.webp","contentUrl":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/08\/f71955d56863d7c42026c9a45a13f28d-scaled.webp","width":2560,"height":1707},{"@type":"BreadcrumbList","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?p=7127#breadcrumb","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"name":"Home","item":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/"},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"name":"How Tosh Lupoi tried to address Cal’s most glaring weakness from 2025"}]},{"@type":"WebSite","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#website","url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/","name":"Next City Digest","description":"","potentialAction":[{"@type":"SearchAction","target":{"@type":"EntryPoint","urlTemplate":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?s={search_term_string}"},"query-input":{"@type":"PropertyValueSpecification","valueRequired":true,"valueName":"search_term_string"}}],"inLanguage":"en-US"},{"@type":"Person","@id":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/#\/schema\/person\/13065d40d633843429ac57d4e5c06f9b","name":"admin","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","inLanguage":"en-US","@id":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","url":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","contentUrl":"https:\/\/secure.gravatar.com\/avatar\/50b1ad2e498f523425ee0a8cc5180a210646db1622662a3d56cc405d3e0c346a?s=96&d=mm&r=g","caption":"admin"},"sameAs":["http:\/\/nextcitydigest.com"],"url":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/?author=1"}]}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7127","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=7127"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/7127\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/7126"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=7127"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=7127"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/nextcitydigest.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=7127"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}