With a new coach and QB, Cal Poly football poised to be a ‘very competitive football team’

In the past two seasons, the Mustangs have compiled a total of four wins in 22 games.

With a new coach at the helm in Paul Wulff, one of the highest-rated recruit signings in program history in quarterback Sam Huard and the new John Madden Football Center on the horizon, the team will look to shift the direction of the program this upcoming season.

Last season, the Mustangs at times were forced to lean on younger players, including true freshmen, who weren’t ready to face off against older and more experienced opponents in the Big Sky Conference.

Now, with a more veteran and deeper group in 2023, the Mustangs are in a better position to compete.

As soon as Wulff was announced as head coach last winter, he noticed the team took it upon themselves to improve for next season.

“We provided them more nutrition. We provided them a better weight room. And they took advantage of those things,” Wulff said. “They’ve done a heck of a job through spring practice and summer conditioning and put themselves in a position to be a very competitive football team.”

Cal Poly looks to improve defense

Among the expected improvements, Wulff said he expects the defense to take a step up this season.

In 2022, the Mustangs were one of the worst defenses in the conference. They ranked second to last in opponents’ yards per game and allowed the second-most touchdowns.

“I think for far too long we absorb too many other people’s tempo and their size and strength,” Wulff said. “It’s time for us to deliver that back and let people feel our presence.”

The defensive line should be a strong suit for the Mustangs thanks to multiple returners with starting experience, including junior Antonio Vakameilalo, junior Josh Ngaluafe (who missed the majority of last season with an injury), redshirt junior Robbie Greer and redshirt junior Elijah Ponder, who earned All-Big Sky honorable mention recognition the last two years.

Redshirt junior linebacker David Meyer also returns after leading the team in tackles and earning third-team All-Big Sky honors in 2022.

Joining Meyer in the linebacker group is redshirt sophomore Ethan Calvert, who previously played in the Pac-12 for the University of Utah. He played 11 of Utah’s 13 games last season and is a former four-star recruit.

In the secondary, sophomore safety Brian Dukes played in all 11 games for the Mustangs as a freshman. He was second behind Meyers in tackles and notched two interceptions on the season.

“I believe defensively we’re going to need to be really good,” Wulff said. “Being able to slow down the run and stop the run. We have an excellent defensive pass rush with our front.”

Mustangs also implementing a new offense

While the Mustangs have a lot of continuity in the coaching staff, one key addition the team made was bringing in new offensive coordinator Sheldon Cross.

Cross was the head coach at football powerhouse Kennedy Catholic in Washington where new transfer quarterback Sam Huard attended when Cross was head coach.

Cross is a proponent of the Air Raid offensive scheme, which he instituted during his time at Kennedy Catholic with Huard under center. The Air Raid scheme consists of a heavy dose of passes and a hurry-up style offense to tire out the defense.

The two found success as Huard ended up being the No. 1 quarterback in his high school class and went on to set numerous records in the state of Washington in touchdowns thrown and passes completed.

With the duo reunited and Huard named the starting quarterback, they will look to bring the Air Raid scheme to the Mustangs’ offense and create a stronger passing attack.

Under former head coach Beau Baldwin, the Mustangs were already a pass-heavy team. They averaged 333 passing yards per game, which ranked first in the Big Sky. However, the team wasn’t efficient in the passing game, ranking 10th in completion percentage.

Wulff expects that to change, saying Huard is a high-level talent who can “get the ball all over the field.”

“He has the strength and capability to put (the ball) pretty much anywhere needed to be,” Wulff said. “He’s also a good athlete, so I think all those things will come to play and I feel people will see that.”

The Mustangs also brought in redshirt sophomore tight end Carlton Brown from the University of Nevada. The former Mission Prep standout showed good chemistry with Huard during the 2023 Spring Game with the two connecting on multiple passes.

“Offensively, our expectation is that we have the ability to be a lot more explosive than we’ve been,” Wulff said. “We should have bigger players in the running and passing game.”

A lack of explosive plays was something Baldwin brought up last year as the reason why the Mustangs couldn’t keep up on offense despite putting together some strong drives.

With Huard at quarterback and new offensive weapons, the Mustangs will look to create more of those explosive plays.

Laying a foundation

Under the current regime for the football program, the team has yet to establish an identity.

“We got to develop a style of play,” Wulff said. “We need to lay the foundation of being a physical, tough, hard-nosed football team, and that’s a collective effort. But that’s the foundation we’re building from, and those are the things we expect this fall.”

Creating a baseline level of play is the first step for the program to return to the heights its reached in the past.

“If you look at the history and you look at the passion of the former athletes that have come through here, their belief that Cal Poly can be a great school and a great football program is there,” Wulff said. “We just got to keep building back into those areas and we believe we have the young talent on this team to do that.

“We believe our best days are in front of us.”

The Mustangs will open their season on Saturday at Spanos Stadium against the University of San Diego.