Max Wood, Cal Football
Teddye Buchanan will make his FBS debut for Cal on Saturday against his former UC Davis squad.
FB8/30/2024 5:44 PM | By: By Kyle McRae
Cal’s Senior Inside Linebacker Teddy Buchanan Took The Long Route To Berkeley
Teddye Buchanan always knew he could play college football at the highest level. On Saturday, he will get his first opportunity to do so at California Memorial Stadium, and it will come as a Golden Bears' starting linebacker against his former team UC Davis.
Buchanan took the long route from his high school football days across the Bay at St. Ignatius High School in San Francisco to Berkeley. It's just over 20 miles between the two places but Buchanan didn't take a straight line, spending four years playing FCS football another 60 miles east of Berkeley at UC Davis.
Buchanan started his prep career as a quarterback, and the primary reason he tried his hand on defense was because he broke his thumb in high school but still wanted to find a way to play and taking snaps at linebacker was the solution. Eventually, he would become a two-way player as a prep, and although he had success was lightly recruited by FBS schools.
He ended up starting his collegiate career at UC Davis with the Aggies and his first season scheduled for 2020 was delayed and shortened by COVID-19 to a five-game campaign played in the spring of 2021. He participated in all five games as a reserve linebacker before blossoming in his first full collegiate season that fall when he led the team with 74 tackles and earned the team's Most Outstanding Freshman honors for an Aggies' squad that reached its first FCS playoffs in three seasons.
"One of the cool things about going to UC Davis was that I got to play pretty early on," Buchanan said. "That was a really good experience that I might not have had at a bigger school."
Buchanan was named a team captain as a 2022 sophom*ore but suffered an injury that limited him to seven games as the squad failed to return to the postseason. He did play in the Aggies' season opener at Cal though and led UC Davis with a game-high-tying eight tackles. He also had eight stops in a 2021 win at Tulsa. Those two games gave him a taste of college football at the FBS level and the confidence that he could compete.
Although Buchanan knew he could play at the next level, he wanted to graduate from UC Davis and play a fourth and final season for the Aggies.
"I considered transferring after my third season, but I missed four games the year before and I just felt like I had more to prove. I was a captain in my third season, and I wanted to be a captain again."
Buchanan had a nice season in his final year with UC Davis in 2023, again leading the team with 72 tackles and earning second-team All-Big Sky honors for a squad that missed the playoffs for a second straight year, but he was graduating the following spring and after the 2023 season decided to enter the transfer portal to play his final collegiate season elsewhere.
He knew from the moment he came to Cal on his recruiting visit that it would be in Berkeley.
"I got a sense of the culture, and I knew I could see myself here," said Buchanan, who shut down his recruiting after visiting Cal. "They talk about lots of different things at the FBS level like preparing for the NFL, and I liked that.'
One of the first people he talked with at Cal was 2023 Pac-12 Defensive Player of the Year and Freshman All-American Cade Uluave, who was immediately impressed and found out quickly that Buchanan's experience would help his own game.
"He's always locked in and ready to go, and that influences others," said Uluave, who will start at the other inside linebacker spot alongside Buchanan on Saturday against UC Davis.
Buchanan also quickly bonded with Cal's defensive coordinator and inside linebackers' position coach Peter Sirmon.
"Coach Sirmon just gives us so much attention," Buchanan said. "He puts so much time into us, making sure we're prepared. I guess it really does mean a lot. Obviously, that's what you expect from your coach when you really sit back and think about it. He just speaks the language of football, so being able to learn from him is a super cool experience."
Sirmon was also immediately impressed with his new inside linebacker.
"Teddye's taken tremendous pride in getting himself prepared," Sirmon said. "It's how he takes care of his body, how he is in the meeting room, and so many other things. He's been a great example for our younger players."
On Saturday, Buchanan put all that preparation and pride to good use in his Cal debut.
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