WATCH: Justin Wilcox talks after Day 1 of Cal training camp
Justin Wilcox opened up training camp Wednesday as the Cal head coach goes into his ninth season. The Bears have gone through plenty of change since last December both on the field and on the personnel side. The Bears hope that translates to a winning season.
Wilcox has not been able to guide Cal to a winning record since 2019. There are over 30 new players who have joined the team since the end of spring ball. All the new faces means more players to integrate into the system, and that is what the first part of training camp will be about.
The Cal head coach took close to 15 minutes following Day 1 back on the field to speak with reporters. Wilcox broke down the new style of practice for the Bears in the opening days. He also discussed the outlook for the quarterbacks and named some of the competitions he’s eager to see develop this month.
Wilcox told his team that the start of camp is the second best day of the year when speaking to the group Tuesday. He is eager to see how this group develop after making several changes after last season’s 6-7 finish.
“It’s always good day one,” Wilcox said. “That’s to be expected. We wanna enjoy ourselves out here and have great energy. That’s gotta be a prerequisite for coming to practice. What we’re really concerning ourselves with is maintaining and increasing that level of energy and attention. That’s what’s more difficult, because it’s not new every day. You get into Day 7, 11, 14. Week 1, 3, 5, 7. You gotta be able to sustain it, and it’s mental endurance. Physical and mental endurance is critical in football. Everybody can come out on day one and be excited to play.”
