UNC vs. Cal projected starting lineup and depth chart for Week 8 | 2025 college football season

The North Carolina Tar Heels (2-3) will square off against the California Golden Bears (4-2) in Week 8 of the 2025 college football season on Friday. The game will kick off at 10:30 p.m. ET from California Memorial Stadium in Berkeley.

Ahead of the UNC vs. Cal game, here's a look at the projected lineups for both teams.

UNC vs. Cal projected starting lineup for Week 8

UNC projected starting lineup

Here's a look at UNC's projected starters on offense vs. Cal:

Position	Starter
WR-X	Chris Culliver (JR)
WR-Z	Javarius Green (RS FR)
WR-SL	Jordan Shipp (SO)
LT	Austin Blaske (GR/TR)
LG	Aidan Banfield (SO)
C	Christo Kelly (RS SR/TR)
RG	Daniel King (SR/TR)
RT	Jakai Moore (RS SR/TR)
TE	Jake Johnson (JR/TR)
QB	Gio Lopez (RS SO/TR)
RB	Demon June (FR)

Here's a look at UNC's projected starters on defense vs. Cal:

Position	Starter
LDE	Smith Vilbert (RS SR/TR)
NT	D’Antre Robinson (SO/TR)
DT	Leroy Jackson (RS FR)
RDE	Melkart Abou-Jaoude (RS JR/TR)
WLB	Khmori House (SO/TR)
MLB	Andrew Simpson (RS SR/TR)
LCB	Thaddeus Dixon (SR/TR)
SS	Will Hardy (JR)
FS	Gavin Gibson (SR/TR)
RCB	Marcus Allen (SR)
NB	Kaleb Cost (JR)

Here's a look at UNC's projected starters on special teams vs. Cal:

Position	Starter
Punter (PT)	Tom Maginness (SR/TR)
Placekicker (PK)	Rece Verhoff (SR/TR)
Kickoff Specialist (KO)	Rece Verhoff (SR/TR)
Long Snapper (LS)	Spencer Triplett (RS SR)
Holder (H)	Tom Maginness (SR/TR)
Punt Returner (PR)	Will Hardy (JR)
Kick Returner (KR)	Chris Culliver (JR)

Ca projected starting lineup

Here's a look at Cal's projected starters on offense vs. UNC:

Position	Starter
WR-X	Jacob De Jesus (RS SR/TR)
WR-Z	Trond Grizzell (RS SR)
WR-SL	Jordan King (RS JR)
LT	Frederick Williams III (RS SO)
LG	Jordan Spasojevic-Moko (RS SR/TR)
C	Tyson Ruffins (JR/TR)
RG	Sioape Vatikani (RS JR)
RT	Leon Bell (RS JR/TR)
TE	Mason Mini (RS SO/TR)
QB	Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele (FR)
RB	Kendrick Raphael (JR/TR)

Here's a look at Cal's projected starters on defense vs. UNC:

Position	Starter
LOLB	Jayden Wayne (JR/TR)
NT	Aidan Keanaaina (RS SR/TR)
DT	T.J. Bollers (RS SR/TR)
ROLB	TJ Bush Jr. (JR/TR)
WLB	Luke Ferrelli (RS FR)
MLB	Cade Uluave (JR)
LCB	Hezekiah Masses (SR/TR)
SS	Aiden Manutai (FR)
FS	Dru Polidore Jr. (SR/TR)
RCB	Brent Austin (SR/TR)
NB	Cam Sidney (RS JR)

Here's a look at Cal's projected starters on special teams vs. UNC:

Position	Starter
Punter (PT)	Michael Kern (SO/TR)
Placekicker (PK)	Chase Meyer (RS JR/TR)
Kickoff Specialist (KO)	Chase Meyer (RS JR/TR)
Long Snapper (LS)	Rino Monteforte (RS JR/TR)
Holder (H)	Brook Honoré Jr. (RS JR/TR)
Punt Returner (PR)	Jacob De Jesus (RS SR/TR)
Kick Returner (KR)	Jacob De Jesus (RS SR/TR)

UNC vs. Cal depth chart for Week 8

UNC depth chart

Here's a look at UNC's depth chart for its offense:

Pos	No.	Player 1	Class/Status	No.	Player 2	Class/Status	No.	Player 3	Class/Status
WR-X	3	Chris Culliver	JR	8	Kobe Paysour	RS SR	—	—	—
WR-Z	9	Javarius Green	RS FR	0	Alex Taylor	RS FR	—	—	—
WR-SL	1	Jordan Shipp	SO	15	Nathan Leacock	RS SO/TR	—	—	—
LT	58	Austin Blaske	GR/TR	72	Eidan Buchanan	FR	—	—	—
LG	68	Aidan Banfield	SO	73	Will O’Steen	RS SR/TR	—	—	—
C	53	Christo Kelly	RS SR/TR	69	Chad Lindberg	RS SR/TR	—	—	—
RG	52	Daniel King	SR/TR	73	Will O’Steen	RS SR/TR	—	—	—
RT	55	Jakai Moore	RS SR/TR	54	Miles McVay	RS SO/TR	—	—	—
TE	19	Jake Johnson	JR/TR	80	Jordan Owens	RS SR/TR	18	Connor Cox	JR/TR
QB	7	Gio Lopez	RS SO/TR	14	Max Johnson	GR/TR	—	—	—
RB	12	Demon June	FR	4	Caleb Hood	RS SR	21	Davion Gause	SO

Here's a look at UNC's depth chart for its defense:

Pos	No.	Player 1	Class/Status	No.	Player 2	Class/Status
LDE	8	Smith Vilbert	RS SR/TR	25	Joseph Mupoyi	RS SO/TR
NT	6	D’Antre Robinson	SO/TR	94	Isaiah Johnson	RS JR/TR
DT	91	Leroy Jackson	RS FR	92	CJ Mims	RS JR/TR
RDE	9	Melkart Abou-Jaoude	RS JR/TR	40	Tyler Thompson	RS SO
WLB	7	Khmori House	SO/TR	41	Jonathan Agumadu	RS FR/TR
MLB	2	Andrew Simpson	RS SR/TR	4	Mikai Gbayor	GR/TR
LCB	1	Thaddeus Dixon	SR/TR	20	Jalon Thompson	SO
SS	31	Will Hardy	JR	18	Jaiden Patterson	RS FR
FS	5	Gavin Gibson	SR/TR	17	Peyton Waters	SO/TR
RCB	29	Marcus Allen	SR	26	Khalil Conley	RS FR
NB	21	Kaleb Cost	JR	15	Tre Miller	RS SO

Here's a look at UNC's depth chart for its special teams:

Pos	No.	Player 1	Class/Status	No.	Player 2	Class/Status
PT	96	Tom Maginness	SR/TR	93	Jacob Horvath	JR/TR
PK	90	Rece Verhoff	SR/TR	97	Guytano Bartolomeo	FR
KO	90	Rece Verhoff	SR/TR	97	Guytano Bartolomeo	FR
LS	42	Spencer Triplett	RS SR	48	Gannon Burt	RS SO/TR
H	96	Tom Maginness	SR/TR	93	Jacob Horvath	JR/TR
PR	31	Will Hardy	SR	9	Javarius Green	RS FR
KR	3	Chris Culliver	JR	28	Benjamin Hall	RS SO/TR

Cal depth chart

Here's a look at Cal's depth chart for its offense:

Pos	No.	Player 1	Class/Status	No.	Player 2	Class/Status	No.	Player 3	Class/Status
WR-X	21	Jacob De Jesus	RS SR/TR	15	Mark Hamper	RS SO/TR	9	Kyion Grayes	RS JR/TR
WR-Z	7	Trond Grizzell	RS SR	84	Jaiven Plummer	RS JR	10	Jayden Dixon-Veal	RS SR/TR
WR-SL	4	Jordan King	RS JR	18	QuaRon Adams	RS JR/TR	—	—	—
LT	54	Frederick Williams III	RS SO	52	Nick Morrow	RS SO	—	—	—
LG	66	Jordan Spasojevic-Moko	RS SR/TR	50	LaJuan Owens	RS SO/TR	—	—	—
C	56	Tyson Ruffins	JR/TR	78	Lamar Robinson	SR/TR	57	Daveion Harley	JR/TR
RG	71	Sioape Vatikani	RS JR	76	Bastian Swinney	RS SR	—	—	—
RT	55	Leon Bell	RS JR/TR	77	Braden Miller	RS JR/TR	—	—	—
TE	85	Mason Mini	RS SO/TR	86	Jeffrey Johnson	RS SR	81	Landon Morris	RS SR/TR
QB	3	Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele	FR	13	Devin Brown	RS JR/TR	2	EJ Caminong	RS FR
RB	6	Kendrick Raphael	JR/TR	11	LJ Johnson Jr.	RS SR/TR	5	Brandon High Jr.	RS SO/TR

Here's a look at Cal's depth chart for its defense:

Pos	No.	Player 1	Class/Status	No.	Player 2	Class/Status	No.	Player 3	Class/Status
LOLB	10	Jayden Wayne	JR/TR	16	Chris Victor	GR/TR	19	Odera Okaka	JR/TR
NT	47	Aidan Keanaaina	RS SR/TR	94	Stanley Saole-McKenzie	RS SR	97	Michael-Anthony Okwura	RS FR
DT	88	T.J. Bollers	RS SR/TR	99	Zae Smith	RS SR/TR	56	Legend Journey	RS FR
ROLB	3	TJ Bush Jr.	JR/TR	51	Curlee Thomas IV	RS JR	44	John Tofi Jr.	FR
WLB	41	Luke Ferrelli	RS FR	7	Harrison Taggart	RS JR/TR	—	—	—
MLB	0	Cade Uluave	JR	46	Aaron Hampton	SO	—	—	—
LCB	5	Hezekiah Masses	SR/TR	6	Ja'ir Smith	RS SR/TR	—	—	—
SS	14	Aiden Manutai	FR	24	Quimari Shemwell	SO/TR	—	—	—
FS	2	Dru Polidore Jr.	SR/TR	17	Jordan Sanford	JR/TR	11	Dayday Aupiu	RS FR
RCB	4	Brent Austin	SR/TR	21	Jae'on Young	FR	25	Khamani Hudson	RS FR
NB	20	Cam Sidney	RS JR	8	Jasiah Wagoner	RS SO/TR	22	Tristan Dunn	RS JR

Here's a look at Cal's depth chart for its special teams:

Pos	No.	Player 1	Class/Status	No.	Player 2	Class/Status
PT	9	Michael Kern	SO/TR	40	Brook Honoré Jr.	RS JR/TR
PK	91	Chase Meyer	RS JR/TR	27	Abram Murray	RS FR/TR
KO	91	Chase Meyer	RS JR/TR	27	Abram Murray	RS FR/TR
LS	39	Rino Monteforte	RS JR/TR	—	—	—
H	40	Brook Honoré Jr.	RS JR/TR	9	Michael Kern	SO/TR
PR	21	Jacob De Jesus	RS SR/TR	18	QuaRon Adams	RS JR/TR
KR	21	Jacob De Jesus	RS SR/TR	18	QuaRon Adams	RS JR/TR

How to watch the UNC vs. Cal game? TV channel and live stream details for Week 8 contest

The UNC vs. Cal game will be broadcast live on ESPN. Fans can also live stream the Week 8 clash on Fubo.