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Like the Big Ten and Big 12, the Pacific 12 will have a different look this year with two teams Colorado and Utah joining the conference. Stanford is most likely the favorite as they have the best QB in the country in Andrew Luck (going back for his final year doesn't look so dumb after all) coming back for his final year. The most intriguing team in the conference is Utah because I want to see how they stack up against slightly better competition.
The Bears have a total of 9 former Pac-12 players currently on the team. In this conference series, we catch-up on all 9 of the Pac-12 Bears.
Arizona Wildcats
Lance Briggs OLB
What more can you say about Lance Briggs who is one of if not the best 4-3 OLB in the NFL. Briggs is going into his 9th year in the league and has 6 Pro Bowls, 3 All-Pro selections, and months back was named to NFL Network's top 100 players of 2011. Briggs has stepped out of Brian Urlacher shadow and has become a stalwart at the weak side linebacker in Lovie's Tampa-2 scheme.
Travis Cobb WR
Cobb is a former WR and KR for the Wildcats who have pretty decent speed (4.37 at his pro day). His best shot to make the roster or less the practice squad is to impress Special Teams Coach Dave Toub on kick return.
California
Chris Conte FS
The 3rd round draft pick that most fans including myself moaned about, Conte has been quite impressive so far in camp at the FS position. Conte has tremendous athleticism and is instinctively smart for a guy who only has played the FS position for only 1 year. Both of those characteristics has been on displayed in camp as he has been in the right spots and making plays on the ball. The Bears might finally have a pure FS in the making.
Will Ta'ufo'ou FB
He has been a fan favorite for Bears fans for a couple years now because of his throwback style of play at the FB position. Right now he is behind Eddie Williams on the depth chart.
Oregon State
Stephen Paea DT/NT
The Bears 2011 2nd round pick has been getting work at both the Nose and 3 Technique Tackle position. Paea has been sideline at practice with swelling in his knee but came back this week. Paea strength and quickness has been on notice by coaches so far in camp, but he stills needs re-fining on his technique and developing pass rush moves.
Alex Linnenkohl C
The former Oregon State Beaver center was one of the highlight signings of all the Bears Undrafted FA signings. Not quite the athlete at the Center position, but is a very strong run blocker that fits OL coach Mike Tice scheme. The Bears will most likely try to stash him on the practice squad.
Matt Toeaina (Oregon) DT
Like Paea, Toeiana has been practicing at both the Nose and 3 tech tackle positions in camp. Toeiana figures to play a major role in the Bears DT rotation this year as he has received very positive reports from media in attendance in Bourbonnais.
Kahlil Bell (UCLA) RB
Bell most memorable moment so far in his career is the 72 yard run against the Eagles a couple years back. Bell is more of a one cut physical runner who could be hard to bring down once he gets to his top his speed. It's that type of skill set that has Special Teams coach Toub trying him out as a back-up KR in camp this year.
Brian Iwuh (Colorado) LB
Iwuh was brought back for depth behind Lance Briggs and special teams. He filled in nicely for Briggs for a couple game last season.