Today’s weekly press conference featured Cal head coach Justin Wilcox, WR Jacob De Jesus, OLB TJ Bush and Minnesota native OL Bastian Swinney addressing bay area media.
The Bears will be facing off against a Minnesota team that figures to be one of their biggest challenges of the season and Wilcox was asked if the game will be a measuring stick of sorts to see what kind of progress his team with so many new starters this season.
“They’re all a measuring stick somehow, some way,” Wilcox said. “This is going to be a very challenging game. We know that. Really, really good football team. They won a lot. They’re really good in all three phases. The size of their lines, their big skill players, is gonna be different than what we’ve seen. And I know our guys are excited. We will need to play our best game thus far and that’s what we’re working on and confident we can do that. That’s what it’s gonna take. I’ve got a ton of respect for them and really excited about this week of practice.”
Saturday’s game will most certainly be the most challenging of the Bears’ game in this young season.
“There’s been adversity in the previous games as well,” Wilcox said. “Just a matter of what kind and how much. Adversity is a part of every single game. I think you’ve probably heard me say this before. You go into the game with a plan, but the plan is it never goes according to plan. So, how do you respond to that adversity? That’s what’s key.
“Maybe it’s a given player, maybe it’s one side of the ball, maybe it’s the entire team, but you’ve gotta attack that adversity when it shows up. And, play to gain momentum. There will be swings in the game, that’s part of football. There’s momentum swings, there’s adversity. So, playing through that and attacking that is key to anything.
“I think they’ve done a good job. We haven’t played as well as we could have thus far. That’s not unique. There’s always going to be more we can do. I thought last week, for example, especially on offense in the first half, we just were out of rhythm for a number of different reasons but played into rhythm. Guys managed the locker room really well at halftime, some of the small adjustments that we had. And some guys maybe calmed themselves down at little bit so we could go out and play better football.”
Though the Bears rallied in the 2nd half to put together a solid final score in the end of Saturday’s victory, there’s much to be learned from the film review process to fine tune the types of improvements the players and staff need to take going forward to have a successful season.
“There’s always what you see on game day,” Wilcox noted. “Then you really go dig into the video, you watch it multiple times, you watch every player and every play.
“I would say, defensively, the biggest thing was just our rush integrity. We had really good pass rushes individually. However, we weren’t coordinated in our pass rush enough, and that’s what led to their quarterback making plays with his feet. And, that was really the extent of what they did. That is something we have to be much better at.
“We had three penalties, two on defense and one on special teams. 15-yard variety penalties was poor. That’s emotional control. We have to do a better job there.
“Offensively, I think we were just probably trying to do a little bit too much as opposed to just going there and playing the plays one at a time. Not trying to score 21 points on one play. Just go out and win the next play. We kind of calmed down and slowed down a little bit. We did that much better. So it wasn’t a want-to issue. It was just a matter of knowing yourself, what you need to do to perform well and getting that under control.”
The Bears came into the season down several defensive lineman and there’s hope that veteran DL Derrick Wilkins will soon be able to return, possibly as early as this weekend if medically cleared.
“We’re hopeful,” Wilcox said. “I mean, he’s getting back out there, so we’re hopeful that he can get in the mix this week. If he’s available, he would play.”
Wilcox was asked his preferences with regard to upcoming changes in the portal window and he’s clearly a fan of one window that’s early enough for transfer players to be integrated into the program and particpate in spring practice.
“I think one window is better than two for college football,” Wilcox noted. “They didn’t necessarily come to me and say, ‘Hey, what do you want here? We’re gonna do what you want.’
“Earlier is probably better. You can make an argument based on your admissions timelines, when you could admit people. That’s a big factor and it probably doesn’t get talked about enough because not all the schools are the same and when they can admit players in the winter.
“If it was late, then I think you would be able to move spring ball or turn it into OTA model in May and June. But again, the academic calendar has to be considered, and there’s not a uniform academic calendar so that matters for people.
“Earlier is better. I think this is probably better for the masses. Some schools it’s perfect for them. Some it’s not great. Some it’s somewhere in the middle. So, I think one is good and earlier is probably better.”
Minnesota starting QB Drake Lindsey has a bit of a leg up on Cal frosh starting QB Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele with an extra year in his program and a bit of game time as a true frosh last season, completing 4-of-5 passes in limited duty. This season so far, Lindsey has completed 27-of-44 passes (61.4) for 429 yards and 9.8 ypa, with 3 TDs and 1 interception compared to Sagapolutele’s line of 47-of-68 (69.1%) for 493 yards and 7.3 ypa along with 3 TDs and 1 interception on the season.
“Depends on the person,” Wilcox noted in reference to if the extra redshirt year makes a big difference in a young QBs adjustment to starting. “I think it’s such a unique transition, high school to college. Some guys, where they come from, what their capacity is to learn and how they’ve come up. And, you really never know until they’re here.
“He’s a really good player. He can throw the ball down the field. He’s big, and he’s tough to get down. So, he does a really good job.
“More experience always helps. How different is it? That’s just hard. I don’t know if I can give you a calculation on that, but some guys it translates really quickly. Jaron, the college game has translated very quickly. How do you know that in recruiting? I don’t know that you do. People will probably tell you they have this test. They have this way that they can find out if a guy’s going to translate or not and how quick. I don’t buy that. I think that until they’re on the team, until they’re experiencing a new offense, playing against different speed, college, they’ve got a lot on their plate, you never really know.”
Redshirt frosh Luke Ferrelli had a standout game in his second game as a starter, leading the Bears with 11 tackles in their 35-3 win over Texas Southern Saturday.
“I think he’s doing a really good job,” Wilcox said. “I’m really proud of Luke. Where he was a year ago to where he is now, he’s made a big, big jump. Not just on the field, just everywhere. Being a college football player. He’s started strong. I think he’s got a really bright future and excited to see what he can do next.”
Wilcox was asked his thoughts on former Cal TE Jake Tonges’ game-saving touchdown catch in the 49ers win over Seattle in their season-opener on Sunday.
“It doesn’t surprise me,” Wilcox said. “It’s funny that you bring that up, because in our team meeting this morning we showed part of his interview after the game. And what he talked about in his interview was he's been bouncing around, scratching and clawing, and he prepares every week to play, and he hasn't played a lot. So he mentioned that he takes service team reps or scout team reps at that level and he's always working on his craft. And we showed our team that today.
“He's been doing that for years. He did that here for his first couple of years. I mean, he walked on from Los Gatos, made his way here, put on weight, and just over time, made himself a very good football player. He's a great guy. He works really hard. He's a great teammate. So it was really exciting to see him make that play. We were all high-fiving in the office, and then we showed his post-game interview about what his process has been, just to get to that point, to have an opportunity. And when that opportunity to came up, he made the most of it. It's awesome.”
Rookies Craig Woodson and Teddye Buchanan are also making a big spash as rookies with their respective teams early this season.
“I’m not overly surprised,” Wilcox said. “I'm super excited for them. I mean, Craig was here for a long time. He knows football. All the reports we've gotten was he picked everything up really quickly. He's a total professional and the same for Teddye.
“Teddye was here a short time. He got here in June, and his ability to process information, how he conducted himself, meetings and practice, he was a pro. And so when guys act like that when they're in college, that usually translates really quickly. None of the guys here have been guys that you’ve got to figure out, are they going to show up to meetings? Are they going to be ready to play? Or where are they at mentally? Those guys were always locked in. And I could go down the list and talk about Elijah (Hicks) and Cam (Bynum) and all these other guys. It's just how they are. So I'm really excited for them. It's a big deal to start as a rookie in the NFL, and we're also really proud of them. But honestly, not overly surprised.”
The program also hopes to reap the dividends of having former Bears have an impact with the NFL with both recruits and their families, not to mention providing further motivation to current Cal players to become the next Bears in the NFL.
“Well, it certainly helps,” Wilcox said. “We want to celebrate all those guys, and some of those guys have been here just as recent as last year. Other guys were here a few years ago. In our offices, we’ve got this screen. I don't know it's one of the biggest screens I've ever seen, and you can fit how many of our games on there. So on Sundays as we're working and kind of walking through the hall, you're kind of stopping at the highlights and watching Jaylinn get a pick and watching Aaron do his thing.
“It's just incredible to watch him play. That guy, that right arm that he's got, it's unbelievable. And we're all excited for him. And then Teddye playing in the night game. And Craig in our staff text - ‘Craig just had a tackle for a loss.’ It's just really cool. So it's exciting for us, and then it's great for the program. I mean, it's really good for the program. So we're wishing those guys nothing but success year, and we got a bunch of other guys playing too and I'm sure they're going to do great things.”
