Cal’s 2026 offense already comes with one obvious strength and one giant question mark.
The strength is the talent. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, receivers Ian Strong and Chase Hendricks, running back Adam Mohammed, and tight ends Dorian Thomas and Mason Mini give the Bears real skill-position juice.
The question is everything else.
Jordan Somerville has been handed the offense, and the 30-year-old coordinator is still a bit of a mystery because he has never run a unit before and because preseason practices and scrimmages are off limits to the media. His background is unusual, too: he never played college football, earned his Arizona State degree in business in 2019, and worked as a student assistant there in 2017 and 2018 before becoming a graduate assistant in 2019.
Cal’s September 5 opener against UCLA will give the first real glimpse of what Somerville has built.
What we do know is that the Bears say they’ll run a pro-style offense, which sets them apart from the many FBS teams built around spread principles. That choice may also have something to do with Sagapolutele and his NFL goals.
The spread, as a rule, leans on wide alignments, quick passing, and RPO concepts, with the quarterback almost always in shotgun. The pro-style approach is different.
It’s built around balance, a real run game, and play-action passing that comes off rhythm and matchup reads. The quarterback has to process a lot before the snap, and he can line up either in shotgun or under center.
That still doesn’t tell us exactly how Somerville wants Cal to function. The best clues come from the three offensive minds he says shaped him most: Kenny Dillingham, Liam Coen, and Dave Canales.
Somerville connected to Dillingham during his time on the Oregon staff, then worked with Canales and Coen when both were offensive coordinators for Tampa Bay in 2023 and 2024. When asked whether Cal would resemble Oregon or Tampa, Somerville didn’t force it one way or the other.
"You'll see reminiscences of both for sure, between Oregon, Tampa, early years Oregon, when Dan [Lanning] first got there and Kenny Dillingham was the OC," Somerville said.
That mix points to an offense that could borrow from all three.
Dillingham’s 2022 Oregon attack with Bo Nix showed a pro-style structure with shifting tempo. At times it went fast; at others, it slowed down so the quarterback could work through pre-snap reads. The whole thing was built around getting the most out of the personnel, whether that meant leaning on the run when the line had the edge or putting specific players in spots to win one-on-one matchups.
Coen’s offenses, shaped by Sean McVay’s Rams system, are heavily quarterback-driven before the snap. Motion and shifts help uncover the defense and create the right looks. There’s also a strong emphasis on physicality up front and a running game that can hold its own.
Canales brings another version of balance: run the ball, build the play-action game off it, and keep the passing game efficient and high-percentage. His offenses use a lot of formations, and the quarterback functions almost like a playmaking guard, getting the ball to versatile skill players who can turn routine touches into chunk gains.
That’s where Cal may be headed.
The Bears should try to build a downhill run game and could lean on two or three tight ends at a time to help the line. Oregon used two tight ends in its starting lineup in most games last season. That said, Cal’s challenge is obvious: the Bears had the second-worst running game in the country last season.
Sagapolutele is likely to spend plenty of time in shotgun or under center, with a heavy dose of pre-snap reads and a chance to get Cal into the right play. A hurry-up pace may show up now and then, but not often. Most of the time, the Bears are expected to huddle, then let Sagapolutele diagnose the defense.
Strong, Hendricks, Thomas, Mini, Mohammed and Carter Vargas should all be used in different ways to create space and favorable matchups.
The setup seems to fit Sagapolutele, who is a pure drop-back passer rather than an RPO quarterback. Outside of the occasional scramble, he won’t be asked to run much in Somerville’s system.
Somerville said Sagapolutele is adjusting well so far. The real answer comes September 5.
In Other News...
Cal Fall Camp Is Exposing Two Crucial Position Battles
Fall camp has given Cal a closer look at two jobs that can shape the early season rhythm, and one of them has already started to separate itself. Special teams remains a live evaluation, but Auburn transfer Towns McGough has emerged as the most encouraging name in the kicker mix, giving the staff a cleaner read as practices stack up and the competition unfolds.
The other key decision is at backup quarterback, where the Bears are using camp reps to sort through the pecking order while freshmen and veterans rotate through drills and absorb coaching from Nick Rolovich and Keith Bhonapha. The staff has treated the session structure as a real evaluation tool, and that should make the coming practices especially telling as Cal keeps building toward the opener. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Football Just Earned Recognition That Speaks To Its Identity
Californias offseason buzz picked up a bit of meaningful recognition this week, with three Bears landing on the 2026 Polynesian College Player of the Year Preseason Watch List from the Polynesian Football Hall of Fame. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, linebacker AJ Tuitele and offensive lineman Sioape Vatikani were included on a list that spans 68 players from 35 Division I programs, a nod that reflects both the programs profile and the identity it continues to build.
For Cal, the watch list placement is more than just an individual honor. It puts three important pieces of the roster in the same national conversation as the season approaches, with the awards finalists and winner due in December 2026. Vatikanis presence on the list also carries some familiar weight for the Bears, adding a layer of continuity to a recognition that already says plenty about the group around him. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Fans Have A New Reason To Believe In Sagapolutele
Jaron-Keawe Sagapoluteles first season gave Cal plenty to build on, and now the sophomore quarterback has added another bit of national recognition. The California signal-caller has landed on the preseason watch list for the Davey OBrien Award, which goes to the nations top college quarterback, giving the Bears an early-season reminder that his rise is already getting attention beyond Berkeley.
Sagapoluteles freshman year was packed with production and records, the kind of start that can change how a program is viewed at the position. The award will unfold through a series of key announcement dates later this season, with fans also getting a say along the way, and Cal will be watching closely to see whether its young quarterback can keep turning that promising debut into something even bigger. [Read more 🡒]