Bears' Season Opener Still in Limbo

After a tumultous week for the program, with the season opener vs. Washington cancelled and a whole position group and more being quarantined and forced to miss practice for the last week, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox and the program and university still await news of possible clearance to play their next scheduled game this weekend in Tempe, Arizona against ASU.

“We have not, so we don’t know,” said Wilcox when asked if the team has clarity on the matter yet. “I was told by the university and our athletic administration that we’d know something by Wednesday. That came from the Public Health office and representatives on campus to Public Health. 

“We’re operating like we’re going to play. We had a really good practice yesterday and we’re looking forward to having a good practice today.”

While the program and Wilcox aren’t in position to divulge who’s impacted by the quarantine, sources confirm that it’s the defensive line, along with some other position players who are currently being held out of practice and team activities.

“We are without the players in quartantine,” said Wilcox. “It’s a position group and more that’s missing. It does impact us but we’re doing the best we can and the players did a great job yesterday.

Does Wilcox have much of a feel for how things look moving forward?

“I’m not in those meetings,” said Wilcox. “They told me there was a chance that we can play. I don’t know why they made the decisions they made. We’re trying to get clarity on that. 

“They told us there was a chance we’re going to play so we’re going to practice and continue to work at it. The only way to look at it is to be optimistic so until they tell us otherwise, that’s what we’re doing.”

Is moving the team off campus to live, play and practice a possibility?

“You’d have to ask the administration,” said Wilcox. “That’s not a decision I’d make. Here’s what I’ll tell you: The football program will do anything, whether it’s practice protocol, meeting protocol -whatever we need to do in order to play. But the decision will remain with the athletic administration and the university. 

“We recognize the significance of the virus. This is not minimizing the virus. What we want to know is how we can be better so these kinds of things don’t happen. Obviously we don’t want to spread it to the community. We want to be good neighbors and members of the community. We’re just looking for some feedback on how to do it better.

“There are some guys in quarantine who are not sure why they’re in quarantine and we’re trying to get them some answers on that. But as far as the football program is concerned, whatever we can do to help mitigate the spread of the virus and give us a chance to play, we’re all for it.”

The quarantined players are very limited in what they can do right now to be prepared to play - challenge they and the team are addressing as best as possible under the circumstances.

“They’re inside,” said Wilcox. “They have an opportunity once a day to do some conditioning work in a supervised manner with nobody (else) around, but it’s limited.”

Will they be ready to play after missing much of two weeks leading up to the game if they’re allowed to take the field?

“The first thing would be for them to be cleared by our medical team to play,” noted Wilcox. “Their conditioning would be taken into account. The more practices, the better. All those guys want to practice right now. They’d like to be with us. They’re just not able to be. They’re trying to do their best to keep up their conditioning the best they can if we can get information that leads to them being back with us.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we get to it but I think all those guys will want to play given that option.”

Wilcox was asked if he’s confident that his players have been vigilent about taking the precautions they need to take when not under direct supervision away from the field.

“The guys have been given guidelines,” said Wilcox. “At the facility, there’s a process that they follow -where they sit in meetings, how they get their ankles taped, the way we walk out to practice, where their pads are. So they follow those guidelines and they’re constantly being reminded -stay six feet apart, wash your hands- things that we all hear all the time.

“We’re not in a bubble. I think, based on the data so far, they’ve done a really good job off the field. They still have to eat. I think everybody knows, unless you’re living in a bubble, there’s risk when you walk outside or when you go to a grocery store. Guys gotta get something to eat sometimes and they’ve got to make good decisions off the field to mitigate that risk.

“I don’t know if there’s a way to eliminate risk. I don’t know how we do that in this climate right now, if anybody can. So we’ll do the best to make make good decisions to mitigate that risk. There’s guys in practice, especially the veteran guys -not only coaches but players- pleading with the other players to do things right off the field so they have a chance to play.

“I think they’re doing the best they can. Would I say that nobody’s gotten within six feet of someone else outside the building? I don’t know if anybody in our society can say that right now.”

Turning to their upcoming opponent, Wilcox and staff have a healthy respect for the Sun Devils and what they bring to the field.

“Coming into the season, you looked at their roster and the guys they had coming back -really impressive group, starting with the quarterback, who we know well,” said Wilcox, referring to former Cal QB recruit Jayden Daniels. “He’s a threat throwing the ball. He’s a threat running the ball. They have a good offensive line. They ran it really well last week. The receivers block down the field, which is something you see on tape.

“They’ve got some more variations in their offense. Shifts and motions and personnel groupings, different formations. They’re hard to defend in that way.

“Defensively, really well-coached unit. They’ve got some good players who give you some different looks and different pressures. 

“I think just on paper, seeing who they’ve got coming back, they’re every bit as good, if not better, than people would’ve thought.”

Back to the question of how the team is navigating the logistical challenges of missing a whole position group and more and working around it, Wilcox is satisfied that the team is doing the best it can move forward productively.

“I think they’ve done a great job,” said Wilcox. “When you go to meetings and practice, it doesn’t feel different other than there’s a bunch of guys missing. They’re a resilient bunch of guys. They really want to play and if there’s a chance we can play, they’ve brought that energy to meetings and to practice. I’m proud of them for that and we’d expect that to continue.

“There’s certain drills that we don’t do. We work around it the best we can. When you’re missing a position group, it’s obvious.”

Wilcox was asked about feedback from player families and noted that there are multiple levels of concerned for all involved.

“They have a lot of questions,” said Wilcox. “They see the news and I think they’ve got concerns for their sons and loved ones, which is obvious. 

“The players are disapointed that they can’t play. There is some frustration, wanting to know how do we give ourselves the best chance? I would say we’re all looking for similar answers -coaches, the entire program is looking for an answer on how do we move forward? We’re hoping to get those. We expect that answer tomorrow. We don’t make the decision and obviously, we shouldn’t. I’m relying on information that’s given to me by our athletic department which is given by the University Public Health representatives and the City of Berkeley Public Health.

“We really just look forward to information, not only about the game but about contract tracing moving forward so we can be better about it.”

What’s their reaction to the strict restrictions after noting that several other teams in the league were able to play with a higher level of positive covid tests impacting those programs.

“Probably what you’d imagine,” said Wilcox. “The question: Why can’t we play when other teams are playing, given our specific circumstance in terms of the postive test. I think we all know there’s a high number of positive tests (in the country) and a risk for a spread to our community. Everyone’s on board with that. What we’re having a hard time understanding is the process that led us to this point. So when you look at those other teams, you can’t help but be frustrated and a bit angry and try to figure out why. Honestly, still trying to figure that out.

“We hope that everybody gets a chance to play. First, we want everybody to be safe. I know it’s a challenge throughout the country, people dealing with this. The inconsistencies with contract tracing -why that’s happening and how we can do it better to give us a chance to play. I can’t tell you that I sat there and it felt great and none of our players could either and I don’t blame them one bit (after the verdict went down about quarantine and the game cancellation last week).

“We’re really looking forward to hearing how we can do it better, what we need to do differently. We’re looking forward to telling our quarantined players why they’re in quarantine.”

If the game proceeds as scheduled, the Bears will take on ASU at 7:30 pm in Tempe on Saturday. Stay tuned for more details this week.

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