Injury Bug Already Major Factor

The news that came out of the weekly press conference Tuesday wasn't great.

According to Sonny Dykes, middle linebacker Nick Forbes is out for Saturday's game due to a disc issue and defensive end Brennan Scarlett is also likely out due to a slower-than-expected recovery from hand surgery.

Although the news wasn't surprising, especially given the fact that neither Forbes nor Scarlett has really practiced yet, it is still a huge blow to a Cal defense already steeped in several question marks. I believe that the defensive line will be just fine in the long run, but given the pace that Northwestern plays at, having Scarlett opposite Chris McCain would've been a huge bonus.

With Forbes out, freshman Hardy Nickerson Jr. steps right to the forefront. (thebaymode.com)

The greater issue, however, is the health of Forbes's back. As many people will attest to (athlete or not), disc issues don't exactly just go away by themselves. Not having Forbes in the lineup for one game isn't that big of a deal but the concern is that Forbes might very well be out for a much longer period of time - which will hurt the Bears.

It does make sense now why Hardy Nickerson Jr. was listed as the starter coming out of Fall Camp. Although I think Junior will eventually be a pretty good player for Cal (he exhibits a lot of positive attributes that his Pops did), I just don't know if Nickerson is ready for be an on-field leader for Andy Buh's scheme. And even if Nickerson is ready, which I'm sure the coaches certainly feel he is, the depth behind him is scary bad.

Jalen Jefferson proved to be a functional contributor as a freshman last year and he has made tremendous strides so far this year. I have no doubt Jefferson is going to be a really good player for the Bears. Besides him, however, there are question marks all over the place for the Cal linebacking crew:

• Nick Forbes: Who knows when he will be 100 percent.
• Khairi Fortt: Hasn't played in two years. Injury concerns.
• Johnny Ragin III: This kid has gotten a lot of pub from coaches but he's a true freshman.
• Chad Whitener: Same as Ragin III.
• Michael Barton: Decent player but nothing special.
• Jason Gibson: Definitely intriguing but I think even coaches would agree it's going to take a while for Gibson to adjust.

Given how much the Cal defense will be on the field this season (in theory) depth is going to be a major issue to watch throughout the season. The Bears are going to need as many capable bodies as they can find and having your veteran middle linebacker out of the lineup isn't exactly a great start.

On another note, it does sound like Avery Sebastian (concussion) will play.

Go Bears!