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Cal football spring practice preview: Sonny Dykes press conference

On the eve of the team's first spring practice, the Cal Bears' head coach spoke on position switches, program changes, and more. Jared Goff had some comments of his own.

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In which...nah

After one of the worst football seasons in school history, there are no fans -- and certainly nobody on the staff -- that wants to see more of the same Cal Bears.

So, here's the good news:

Whether or not those widespread changes will pay off, we'll have to see over the course of the season, but at the very least, Coach Dykes and company aren't exactly twiddling their thumbs idly.

As to more specific changes we can expect to see this spring, let's start with one Bryce Treggs, who Coach Dykes confirmed will be switching to inside receiver, now that Trevor Davis is eligible:

More analysis on the exact wide-out situation can be found in our earlier position breakdown, but you can bet we'll be watching Treggs' role changes in the slot. Alongside him, you can expect to see Stephen Anderson, Darius Powe, or even Ray Hudson:

We got a hint at the offensive line's makeup earlier this week when we spoke to Coach Yenser, but on Sunday, Coach Dykes gave a clearer look at the battle for right tackle, which remains largely open:

As far as quarterback Jared Goff's health goes, there should be no concerns. Although the Marin native has been throwing 100% for almost a month, Coach Dykes still plans to bring his starting quarterback along slowly:

He's also gained some weight since we saw him last, which will help protect him better.

Of course, the changes on offense are less pressing than the ones that must be made on the other side of the ball. Two new pieces -- defensive end Jonathan Johnson and defensive tackle Trevor Kelly -- there will be available starting Monday, both plucked from the JUCO ranks. We've written extensively about the impact that both could have for new defensive coordinator Art Kaufman:

Kelly's integration on defense is even more important now that Mustafa Jalil and several other key defenders will essentially be missing until August:

Brennan Scarlett isn't technically a new piece like Kelly or Johnson, but he may as well be, given his absence last year. The buzz around the big defensive end has been building all off-season, and Coach Dykes made it clear again on Sunday that he is expected to be a big contributor:

Beyond the revamped defensive line, one final bit of news revealed involved mid-year enrollee Devante Downs, who will play linebacker for now with the team still depth-starved there:

That about wraps it up for things we learned from Coach Dykes' comments from yesterday. Now comes the interesting part -- watching it all actually unfold.

As a programming reminder: CGB will have coverage of spring ball beginning later today, with yours truly still figuring out how that's going to work and what he'll be allowed to write/tweet about. Unlike all the changes going on inside the program, it'll be business as usual, in that regard, so stay tuned?