San Ramon Valley athlete Tristan Sinclair is no stranger to the Bears, having been to campus multiple times, including this week to take in practice as the Bears opened spring ball this week at Memorial Stadium.
This week also featured Cal's Pro Day on Tuesday, with linebacker Ray Davison racking up solid all-around numbers. That caught Sinclair's attention, as both players worked out at San Ramon's Cal Strength as Davison prepared for the combine.
"I got to talk to him about Cal and the coaches and players," said Sinclair. "He had good things to say about them and about what he likes about his experiences there. He was really positive about the changes the coaching staff made after taking over last season."
Besides being local, the 6-2/205 Sinclair, who plays running back and linebacker for the Wolves, has deep family ties to the program, as well.
"My mom went to Cal, my uncle went to Cal and my sister went to Cal so I always grew up watching Cal football,' said Sinclair. "And my grandparents have season tickets, too.
"Cal as definitely a big one for me because I've always been watching them and following them over the years and have gone to a bunch of their games."
Sinclair got his offer from Cal late last month and is high on the Bears' radar.
The feeling is mutual.
"It was awesome being back at Cal," said Sinclair. "It was great to see the way they practice and how the coaches are when they're on the field coaching. It was really exciting for me to be there."
Sinclair's offer was extended by inside linebackers coach Peter Sirmon and it was also a chance to see Sirmon's coaching style in his first week of practice since being hired in January.
"It was really cool to see because there are only five inside linebackers in camp right now so he was just really engaged with them, teaching them all these technical details," said Sinclair. "I can just tell that those players were learning so much more in their first practice with him, never having been on the field with him before.
"I can just tell the way he coaches them and talks to them, he cares a lot about the program and his guys and he's really just trying to make them the best players possible."
Even though Sirmon's only been with the program a short time, he and Sinclair have formed a solid bond during that time.
"We chat a lot," said Sinclair "Talking to him, he's almost like a dad figure because I just feel like he cares about you as a player and as a person, as well. He just connects with you."
Sinclair also has high praise for Cal's 2nd year head coach Justin Wilcox and the changes he's brought to the program in his 15 month tenure in Berkeley.
"Oh, I can just tell all the players love Coach Wilcox," said Sinclair. "I was talking to all these players and how the changed the culture and environment with the players and coaching staff is huge.
"Everyone's really excited about him and everyone really loves him.
"Talking with him and watching how he interacts with everyone, I can see just as a bystander how he's changing what Cal's about and the direction the program is heading.
"I think he's awesome for the program. I've only had great experiences with him. He's just a genuine guy. He doesn't act like he's some big shot coach. He acts like he's just like everyone else and that's just really cool."
With his 4.0 gpa, tenacious playing style and proximity to Cal, the big hitting Sinclair is high on the Bears's list of priorities. But well before he makes a decision, he'll have a busy spring break, which is anything but a break after all the miles he'll be putting in on his days off school the first week of April.
"My spring break is really packed," said Sinclair. "I've got a bunch of visits all week.
"I'm flying out to the East Coast to see Harvard. Then after Harvard, I'm going to Notre Dame, then back for Stanford's Junior Day. Then after that, I'll be going down to LA for the weekend with my 7-on-7 team and I think we'll visit UCLA and USC. So I'm all over the place.
"I wanted to catch up on my rest on spring break and get myself together but there's always time for rest later, I guess."
