THIS WEEK: VIRGINIA!

Cal veteran defensive back Cam Sidney – a methodical thinker and planner who uses a whiteboard in his Berkeley residence to immerse himself in projects on and off the field – is spending a lot of time and energy this week preparing to face No. 15 Virginia at California Memorial Stadium on Saturday.

This week's opponent has been on that whiteboard all week as a constant reminder of the task at hand.

"Writing things down helps crystallize my thinking," Sidney said. "When it comes to remembering things, I like to see it visually so I use my whiteboard. I apply everything that I think is important and that we need to know going into the game, and I put all of that on the whiteboard. Then, throughout the week I'll either add or take off certain things."

Sidney added the whiteboard to his project management toolbelt on the recommendation of former Cal defensive backs Miles Williams and Craig Woodson.

"The culture of the defensive backs room at Cal is being detail oriented," Williams said about a unit that since 2019 has produced eight players currently on NFL rosters. "All of our coaches and so many great players that are in the NFL now like Daniel Scott and Elijah Hicks, to name a few, pushed us to get on the whiteboard, draw up everyone's position and responsibilities, and explain to the room what we just wrote down. At first, it was a little nerve wracking but over time you began to realize that it was just an opportunity to learn and showcase what you know and how you decipher information."

Sidney looks back fondly on those whiteboard meetings early in his career with many of his former Cal defensive backs now in the NFL.

"Essentially, we had a bunch of very smart football minds in one room just picking apart tape," Sidney said. "If it were completely up to us, we'd probably be on the same two clips for 20 minutes, just breaking down everything. But I didn't mind it because I love football. I was learning so much, and I wanted to learn more."

Sidney discovered early in his Cal career that using his knowledge and having a superior understanding of the game would be his thing.

"It was my leg up," said Sidney, who suffered a serious injury during his first training camp at Cal that gave him even more of a chance to focus on the mental side of the game. "I'm not saying it was a good thing to get hurt, but it allowed me to not just digest but to really learn."

Co-defensive coordinator Terrence Brown joined Cal's program the same season as Sidney in 2022 and has seen his progress.

"Cam has always been very curious and asked lots of questions," said Brown, who spent three years as a defensive backs coach for the Bears before being promoted to his current position following the 2024 campaign. "What Cam's been doing is filling himself with information that he's turned into an information bank. Cam is able to do more now because he has an excellent understanding of what we're doing. He has taken another step every year, and that's a credit to him. Mentally, he's wired the right way. His ego is to the side. He just wants to do what he can to help the team."

Sidney's knowledge of the entire system has indeed allowed him to serve as a teacher and mentor to many of the Bears' younger defensive backs while also thriving individually highlighted by big plays in each of the last two contests. Sidney forced a fumble that he also recovered on the first offensive play of the game that set up the Bears' opening touchdown in a 21-18 home win over North Carolina before adding an interception in Cal's own end zone at Virginia Tech to thwart a Hokies drive in his most recent contest.

And although he can and has played just about everywhere in Cal's defensive backfield, Sidney has solidified himself as the team's starting nickelback in 2025 – a spot both he and Brown feel fits him well because of the many responsibilities it encompasses.

"Nickel is the best position on the field," Sidney said. "It doesn't matter if it's a run play or a pass play, you're involved.  "You're always around the ball in some way, shape or form, and because you are involved in so much you have to be smart to play the position."

Smarts are something Sidney has plenty of in reserve. He is graduating from Cal in just three-and-a-half years in December with a degree in legal studies and when the 2025 season is over he is going to have options, including declaring for the NFL Draft or returning to Cal in 2026 to pick up a master's degree and play another season in Strawberry Canyon.

"Being at Cal has already made such a huge impact on my life," said Sidney, who hopes to be a contract lawyer likely in the entertainment industry one day when his football career ends.

And when the projects come his way, he will be right back on that whiteboard.