Cal Football: Cade Uluave Impresses at Linebacker . . . Briefly at Running Back

Listed as 6-foot-1, 230 pounds, Uluave was also identified on the Bears’ game-day flip-card roster as . . .a running back.

Running back?

Turns out Uluave played both ways at Mountain Ridge High School, totaling 1,638 yards with 26 touchdowns at running back over his varsity career.

Still, he was recruited to Cal as a linebacker and that’s exactly where defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon envisions him.

But when a series of injuries cut into Cal’s running back depth in mid-September, Uluave was drafted to practice with the offense for two weeks.

“I played running back in high school so I had a little bit of experience,” he said. “They brought me in and I thought it was great. Anywhere I can help the team is where I wanted to be.”

The move was never intended to be permanent. Sirmon called it a loan to the offense. But Uluave impressed him.

“Really, the first thing that kind of jumps out is how he moves and some of those things any coach can observe,” Sirmon said.

On the high school track team, Uluave was fast enough to run the 100 meters and strong enough to throw the shot put. “There’s not many people that have that combination,” Sirmon said.

Although the detour to running back was fun, Uluave said his heart is at linebacker.

“My Dad played linebacker in college and I’ve always wanted to be like my Dad,” he said of his father, Kalisi Uluave, who played at Southern Utah. “As much as I do love running the ball, I had to choose to be on defense. It’s worked out for me.”

Uluave expected to spend his time on special teams as a freshman this fall but worked hard and watched his opportunity increase. When All-Pac-12 linebacker Jackson Sirmon suffered a season-ending torn biceps muscle, Uluave came off the bench and had nine tackles at Utah while playing in front of friends and family.

After the bye week, he was in the starting lineup vs. USC and showed his potential with an encouraging performance.

“I think I’m doing a decent job,” Uluave said. “Can always get better, though.”

Uluave is nowhere near a finished product, but is able to contribute two months into his rookie season.

“He has the necessary skills to go out there and not necessarily be perfect,” Sirmon said, “but he has nice instincts, good strength and you’ve probably seen the burst and explosiveness to the ball.”

Cal offensive coordinator Jake Spavital said it’s not far-fetched to envision Uluave as a running back.

“Cade’s a stud. Selfishly, I’m trying to get him over to the offensive side of the ball because I think he’s that talented of a player,” Spavital said. “From another perspective, just watching him make plays against USC, I thought that was pretty impressive for a true freshman.”

It’s not likely to happen, according to Sirmon. He said running backs coach Aristotle Thompson would welcome Uluave “in a heartbeat.”

“So it’s really between me and AT,” Sirmon said. “I’m a little bit bigger than AT so I think I’ll have a little advantage if it becomes a tug of war.”