Cal Football Recruiting: 3 Things Missing from the Bears' 2012 Class

After a disappointing 7-6 season in 2011, the Cal Golden Bears have rebounded nicely with the No. 1 ranked recruiting class in the Pac-12 according to Rivals. However, if they want to make the jump from mediocre to top-notch, they'll need to fill a few empty spots in that class.

In passing yards, rushing yards, points scored and points scored against, Cal was ranked between 45th and 65th in the nation. Is that bad? No. Is that good? No.

This program is mired in mediocrity. Here are five position they should fill to fix that problem.

Running Back

Isi Sofele was a junior this season and played pretty well as the starter at running back for Cal. He ran for 1,322 yards and 10 touchdowns. The yardage total is great but the touchdown total isn't.

He's a decent player, but this team needs a game-changer at running back. Sofele ran for zero touchdowns against Stanford, USC, Oregon and Washington, the four best teams Cal played all year long.

Cal has just one running back commitment in the 2012 class so far in Maximo Espitia, Jr. He looks like a pretty good back, especially as a bruiser. But he isn't the game-changer Cal needs at the position.

Pass Rusher

As of right now, the Bears do not have a single defensive lineman committed for 2012. They need one, badly.

This team has got to improve its defense. They had Ellis McCarthy committed, a five-star defensive tackle, who would have come in and been a playmaker immediately. However, he has now decommitted since assistant coach Tosh Lupoi left for Washington.

The Bears need to replace McCarthy with a similar guy.

A New Recruiter

I know this isn't a recruit, but it is equally important to this 2012 Cal recruiting class.

Jeff Tedford has got to find someone to replace Tosh Lupoi. Lupoi was the best recruiter on the staff and his departure is already affecting the Bears' 2012 class as I mentioned in the previous slide.

The Bears' class right now is very, very good, but just about all of the higher-caliber recruits had established strong relationships with Lupoi.

Tedford needs to get someone else in there quick to mend the situation. It could cost him his job down the road.