Football may be synonymous with physicality, but the ability to hone one's physical attributes is not the only important trait necessary to find success on the field. A player's mental makeup – from his willingness to prepare to his general passion for the game – is arguably just as important.

For California linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr, a strong balance between these two approaches are to thank for what is turning into a breakout redshirt sophomore season.

"Sometimes people think every college football player loves football, and they do. But they don't all love it the same," Travers Family Head Coach Justin Wilcox said. "Kaleb loves football. He studies it. He wants to be good. He goes above and beyond, and that's one of the reasons why he's made such a big jump in such a short time. Because of his physical and mental tools, he's got a chance to be a really good player."

Elarms-Orr – a Bay area native – joined the Golden Bears in 2021 following a stellar four-year stint as an outside linebacker at Moreau Catholic High School in Hayward. However, a lower body injury sustained during the spring prior to his first year at Cal caused him to redshirt, and after sitting out the 2021 season, Elarms-Orr appeared in nine games for the Golden Bears' special teams unit in 2022.

In his first year as an active player on the roster, he didn't see a single snap on defense.

"Coming off the last two years, I didn't play much at all. I was just very hungry to help the team win," Elarms-Orr said. "This offseason, I just kept working and working, and now I'm blessed to be starting and fortunate to be in this position to keep making plays."

Now five contests into this season, things have changed in a big way for the 6-foot-2, 230-pound former edge rusher, who since making his debut at inside linebacker in early September has turned into one of Cal's leaders in defensive production.

Elarms-Orr began the year by recording the first tackle and interception of his career in the Bears' season-opening win at North Texas. In the four games since, he has made more tackles than any other Pac-12 player, averaging 11.5 per game over that span. For the year, he leads the conference with 23 solo tackles and paces the Bears in pass breakups (3), quarterback hurries (2) and forced fumbles (1).

"Kaleb is a very talented athlete. He's fast, he's strong, and he's explosive," Wilcox said. "He's made a huge jump in the past year. It's a credit to him and [Defensive Coordinator and Inside Linebackers Coach] Peter Sirmon for teaching him how to play linebacker, because a year ago, he was a long way away. In his offseason, we saw how he approached workouts and meetings, and you can tell that he put a ton of time into this. He has a really high ceiling and it's great to have that much production while you're still learning."

Teaching a player to operate in a new position is never easy, but making the move to inside linebacker – arguably the most important position on defense – comes not only with difficulty, but an immense amount of responsibility. Elarms-Orr credits much of his development to his relationship with Sirmon.

"Inside linebacker was a position that was foreign to me in a sense. We have to communicate a lot and we're pretty much the captains of the defense; we have to run the show a lot of times," Elarms-Orr said. "Coach Sirmon has been a big reason for my development and teaching me how to allow the game to slow down. Now, I'm just learning to play fast, play physical and use my athleticism while also making the right reads and making plays."

Both Sirmon and Wilcox are quick to acknowledge the relatively minimal experience Elarms-Orr has at his position, as well as how that makes his rapid rise all the more impressive. Like other recent Bear linebackers who have found success, Elarms-Orr has been fortunate to be a part of a carefully refined teaching environment at Cal.

"I take a lot of passion and pride in instructing inside linebackers, and at that position, I think the most important thing you can do is instruct a young man where to stand and what to look at. That's half the battle," Sirmon said. "I believe we've put together a really solid foundation of instructing linebackers, and when you find a player that has a real desire and a real burning passion for learning it, as well as the skills to be able to do it, I think we can instruct anybody. Kaleb has put in a tremendous amount of work, focus and determination on getting more comfortable and understanding the playbook and I'm actually not that surprised with his production. The thing he can't rush is just getting more experience, and as he does that, he'll only continue to get better."

As he continues to embrace the mental aspects of the game, approaching every day not only with discipline, but with passion, Elarms-Orr figures to keep making progress toward reaching his high ceiling.

"I love the game. I'm always somebody who wants to improve. I'm very competitive, self-driven, and always looking to just put in extra work and be the best that I possibly can," Elarms-Orr said. "I love football and I love doing everything it takes to get one percent better every day. There's really no other way to put it."