Bears returning to respectability under Wilcox
PASADENA — The 2017 season will go down as Justin Wilcox’s first as the head coach at Cal, but in a lot of ways, it didn’t truly feel like it became his program until deep in the bowels of the Rose Bowl just before Friday night turned into Saturday morning.
Wilcox was hired in January, just a couple of weeks before signing day and a couple of months before the start of spring practice, and was charged with transforming a dilapidated program. Cal has gone 27-46 (.370) during the past six seasons, with more head coaches (three) than bowl appearances (one).
The 41-year-old, first-time coach led the Bears back to respectability, finishing one win shy of bowl eligibility, including a 1-point loss to Arizona and 3-point losses to Stanford and UCLA. Most important, he saturated his team with a belief that simply being competitive no longer will be accepted.
One by one, players trickled into the postgame interview room after Friday’s 30-27, season-ending loss to UCLA. They had hats pulled down to their eyes and wore navy sweats that appeared like funeral-ready black suits.
They all parroted a message that Wilcox has spent the season preaching.
“This just put a whole bunch of motivated guys into a pissedoff mood. Excuse my language,” sophomore quarterback Ross Bowers said. “This is not us. We are not losers. It’s not the teams of old with the mentality of: ‘If we get to a bowl game, that would be great.’
“We’re not settling for a bowl game. We want to win every single game we play.”
The Bears won’t go undefeated next season, but no one is laughing at them anymore, either. They took a team, short on talent and fundamentals, and overachieved this season — despite losing 11 players to season-ending injuries.
The offense will get back tight end Ray Hudson, receiver Demetris Robertson and tailback Tre Watson for a unit that progressed throughout the season and showed an ability to beat opposing defenses with multiple sets.
Third-string running back Patrick Laird, who didn’t get a scholarship until days before the start of the season, ran for 1,000 yards and is already planning leadership and accountability ideas he’ll present at Sunday’s team meeting.
“We have something to build on,” he said. “We have special people in our program. We’re going to build on it and move forward. … We work a little harder, we practice harder and people are enjoying the whole process a little bit more than in the past.”
Cal’s defense, which finished second to last in the nation after giving up 42.6 points per game and 272.9 rushing yards per game in 2016, made monumental leaps in both categories. The Bears allowed 28.4 points per game and jumped about half the nation to get to the middle of the pack at 164.1 rushing yards per game.
After creating 18 takeaways and 18 sacks in 2016, Cal’s new 3-4 defense had 24 takeaways and 28 sacks this season. All of that was accomplished without outside linebacker Cameron Saffle, who might be the unit’s most disruptive player when he returns from injury next season.
“I love what we’re doing now,” outside linebacker Alex Funches said. “I love the direction we’re going, and I believe that next year, we’ll be a contender for the big shebang.”
Wilcox did his best to make sure the seniors knew he appreciated them after Friday’s loss, but he admitted that no words could do it justice. The team won’t meet again until Sunday, but the coach was already back in his office Saturday, because “that’s really the only thing that takes the sting off it,” and he’s trying to figure out the next step of closing out close games.
“To win those games, it’s a lifestyle,” he said. “It’s a play here or a play there, but that’s just about how you’re living. Our guys understand more and more that everything matters. Every little detail of what we do on and off the field matters, because it shows up at the most critical moments.”