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2020-21 Cal Poly Football Season Preview

are working toward that and I respect that," Baldwin added. "The reality is that there's only one football and, in our offense, just one running back most of the time, not all the time. You've got to be patient, gotta grind and gotta compete. Plus, there's always the possibility of guys potentially having position flexibility somewhere else."

When a fullback is needed, Tran-Sampson, Stewart and Semone are available. Bradley Mickey made 21 tackles and broke up three passes as a junior a year ago. A holder on special teams as well, Mickey intercepted a pass in the season opener against San Diego.

Wide Receivers

While the candidates carrying the football have just one spot in which to compete, the number of positions for those catching the football has grown from two to as many as five.

"We definitely could use three, four, could even get to five wide receivers, but definitely three or four wide receivers at a time," said Baldwin. "That is a big transition for our players and coach Nick Edwards did a real good job with that in the fall.

"Some of our quarterbacks were familiar with that type of offense in high school, so it wasn't as big a transition for them. Some of our wideouts had the same transition, but had to relearn those skills sets, running those three-, four- or five-route combinations and understanding that what you're doing will open up space for others," Baldwin added.

"They're not just running to get open, but they're understanding spacing, pre-snap spacing and just relearning skill sets to run a much more extensive route tree than they may have had before."

J.J. Koski, Cal Poly's leading receiver the last three seasons, is now wearing a Los Angeles Rams uniform, but the Mustangs have plenty of depth heading into the preseason.

Senior Quentin Harrison caught 17 passes, five for touchdowns, in 2019, while sophomore Xavier Moore made three catches, including an eight-yard scoring toss against Oregon State. Junior Eli Shelton caught one pass.

"Q has made a lot of plays, so he steps out," said Baldwin. "Xavier steps out as a really well-rounded guy. He was in a little bit of a different role in the previous offense, which was quite a bit different for him. With Q, there are some similarities with what he's done before and what he's doing within our offense." final four games to preserve his redshirt option. He caught three passes and rushed for 195 yards and two touchdowns as a junior in 2018.

"Juanie gives you a lot within that slot position," Baldwin said of the 5-7 senior. "He is definitely a little different with what he's doing in our slot position. A number of other guys have made plays as well and I am excited to see what they can do."

Other candidates high on the preseason depth chart include junior C.J. Cole and redshirt freshman Mitch Anderson.

In addition to pass catching duties, wide receivers in the Triple Option were adept at blocking as well to spring the slot backs loose.

"They might not do quite as much blocking in a game nowadays, but it's definitely not less of an emphasis when we do do it," said Baldwin. "Even when we threw for a lot of yards at Eastern Washington, our wide receivers took a lot of pride in playing the game within the game. Blocking is all a part of the 11 players on the field.

"No, there is not less an emphasis at all in blocking, but we might just do it a little bit less in a game and a season than before," Baldwin admitted. “That’s the only way you get big plays. Big plays in the run game come

Quentin Harrison is the top returning receiver as he grabbed 17 receptions for 362 yards and five touchdowns as a junior in 2019.

2020-21 Cal Poly Football Season Preview

from wide receiver blocking. That last line could be the difference between an eightyard play and a 50-yard play."

Tight Ends

Foreign to many Mustang fans the last 13 years, the tight end is back in Cal Poly's offensive formation with Baldwin at the helm.

"It's fun working with a position that definitely is doing something different than whatever they were doing before," Baldwin said.

Junior Michael Roth and senior Nick White both played some downs as tight ends in short-yardage situations a year ago. Neither made a catch. Sophomore Ryan Rivera was a backup fullback the last two seasons.

"Roth definitely jumped out as a guy who can really fit in to our system," said Baldwin. "White showed some things and Rivera as well. Those were the three that jumped out and are three of the veterans on the roster.

"Roth is very versatile. White presents a lot of length, can be tough on the edge, and still has soft hands. Rivera has a lot of physicality, a lot of snap, a lot of pop. He can do a lot of things and also can get out and catch the ball."

Matt Shotwell, Cal Poly’s leader with 90 tackles as a sophomore in 2018 and 89 stops last fall, moves from outside to inside linebacker this fall. In 2018, his first playing season at Cal Poly, defensive end Myles Cecil made 39 tackles, including 4.0 for lost yardage. He added 35 tackles as a sophomore in 2019.

Offensive Line

Perhaps the biggest change in offensive schemes affects the linemen. Of course, there are still five positions up front, but their assignments are much different today than under the Triple Option of years past.

"The change in the offensive scheme with this group can be the most extreme of all the positions," said Baldwin. "Some are learning some things for the first time, some are relearning some of the skill sets they used in high school, especially as it pertains to pass blocking and zone blocking, rather than some of the scramble blocking prevalent in the Triple Option.

"With his experience, Coach (Paul) Wulff understands so well the progression that it takes to get a guy from point A to point B to point C," Baldwin added. "That was fun to watch in the fall, the development of those guys and their understanding what we want from them and the progression with our individual drills and the walk-throughs, leading all the way to seeing some growth in that area of the O-line.

"I'm excited about this group. A veteran group, it's a deep group and also a lot of returners, not only for this year but next year as well."

Junior Nicolo DiFronzo, who played all 11 games at right guard in 2019, including five starts, moves to center this year. Junior Wade Willet, the only returning lineman with 11 starts a year ago, returns at left guard while junior De'Jon Stuckey made eight starts at right tackle. "Nicolo does a really good job up front, understanding his role so well," said Baldwin. "He's so sharp, a great guy at the center position understanding what's going on, making calls and scrapping in there. De'Jon showed a lot of good stuff with what we're doing and Willet gives us a lot of ability at both the guard or tackle positions."

Other top candidates to fill the spots vacated by the departed Paul Trujillo-Langdon, Tyler Whisenhunt, David Chellsen, Junior Gaitan and Apefai Taifane include junior Garrett Weichman (a redshirt last year) at right tackle, redshirt freshman Charles Lincoln at left tackle and Hunter Jones, also a redshirt freshman and a transfer from Rice, as a center.

"Garrett has a lot of position flexibility and some serious ability there. Lincoln has a really good shot at making the transition from defense to offense. I think it's a better-suited position for him, probably one of the best spots it could be for him," Baldwin said of the San Luis Obispo High School graduate who was recruited as a defensive lineman.

"The young bucks all showed some stuff too. Between the solid freshman group that came in a year ago and Jones as well, we've got a number of guys to work with. Some of these guys emerged into first string reps in Fall Camp."

Other top candidates include sophomores Eli Otero and Vatulele Finau along with redshirt freshman Payson Campisano.

Defensive Line