Every year that offensive-minded coach Sonny Dykes has been at Cal, he's had Jared Goff. The No. 1 pick in the 2016 NFL Draft developed along with the offense, peaking in an impressive bowl win in December, the program's first postseason victory since 2008. With Goff off the pros, the Bears were heading into 2016 without a successor set in stone.
Replacing Goff and maintaining offensive production should be easier with Wednesday's news that former Texas Tech quarterback Davis Webb has enrolled and will be eligible for the 2016 season as a graduate transfer. Webb initially committed to Colorado in January but during the course of the spring semester, as he finished his undergraduate degree at Texas Tech, he had a change of heart.
In an official statement from the school, Dykes pointed to Webb's familiarity with the Air Raid principles in the offense at Texas Tech and the one at Cal (which many affectionately call the "Bear Raid"). Additionally, Dykes hired Jake Spavital, a former colleague of Kliff Kingsbury at Texas A&M, as the Bears new offensive coordinator.
"We're thrilled to have Davis enrolled at Cal and part of our football program," Dykes said. "We're excited to have him join what should be a great quarterback competition. He brings a wealth of experience and maturity to our team, as well as an in-depth understanding of our system having played for three seasons in a similar system at Texas Tech. Our offense is very similar to what he played in at Texas Tech. There is a tremendous amount of crossover with what Texas Tech does under Kliff Kingsbury and what we do with our offensive coordinator Jake Spavital having coached in Kliff's system."
As for the competition, Webb will be in a battle with Chase Forrest, Zach Kline and Ross Bowers. Forrest, Goff's backup in 2015, was the presumed No. 1 at the end of spring practice and is likely to be Webb's biggest obstacle in winning the starting job for his final year of eligibility.
