Wilcox, Bears embrace the challenges for 2017
LOS ANGELES — Justin Wilcox strode onto the Dolby Ballroom stage Wednesday, twirling a microphone in one hand. He paused, as if to wait for the cameras to capture his movie-star looks, and then started to address the audience with a speech that surely was going to be captivating.
The only problem: His microphone didn’t work.
In his first trip to Pac-12 media days, Wilcox still has a few obstacles to overcome — some especially daunting in his debut season as Cal’s head coach — but he’s embracing the challenges.
“There’s a lot of excitement and energy in our building right now. I think everybody is just eager,” Wilcox said. “We
know we have a lot of work to do. We made a lot of strides during the offseason, but we’ve got to continue that during fall camp.”
Cal opens training camp Monday with its athletic department in a dire financial situation. On the field, the Bears are coming off a historically bad defensive year. Sonny Dykes was fired as head coach, and the Bears go into this season without an established quarterback.
Sporting an Under Armour polo shirt from a deal — along with multimedia and licensing agreements with Learfield — that are supposed to fetch $8 million more annually than the school’s previous contracts, Wilcox seemed undeterred by the mounting debt.
“There are a lot of universities that have financial concerns. It’s not unique to Cal,” he said. “We’ve got to be mindful of how we go about our business, but from our standpoint as a football program, we feel fully supported by our administration.”
That seems to be the way Wilcox approaches just about everything. He called the school’s strict academic standards “an opportunity.” He said the quarterback competition will settle “when it does,” and he has a history of transforming defenses.
Cal’s defense allowed an average of 42.6 points per game (127th of 128 teams nationally) and 518.3 yards of total offense (125th) last season. Wilcox said he didn’t spend much time watching video of the permeable unit.
Instead, he spent the 15 spring practices installing an entirely new system — focusing on a 3-4 front, with unique secondary coverages. Though he said there’s “no magic dust,” in 16 seasons as a collegiate coach — including 11 as a defensive coordinator — Wilcox has helped teams to 14 bowl games and a 150-58 record.
“I want our players to be known as a smart team, a resilient and tough team and a team that sticks together,” Wilcox said. “It’s (the coaches’) job to put the systems in place, which we will do, but at the core, we need to be a smart, resilient team that plays together. That will give us our best chance.”
It’ll also help if the team finds a quarterback.
Junior Chase Forrest and sophomore Ross Bowers emerged from the pack as the top two candidates in the spring, and Wilcox said freshman Chase Garbers will be added to the competition during training camp.
“All three of those guys will have a chance to earn the job,” Wilcox said. “It’s very competitive right now. We haven’t named a starter. I don’t know when that time will be. It will present itself when it does.”
What’s certain: Wilcox won’t be under center. In a lighthearted moment Wednesday, the young-looking coach was asked by Arizona defensive lineman Luca Bruno what position he played.
Without missing a beat, Wilcox said, “Quarterback.”