Cal Coach Tosh Lupoi Celebrates Two Super Bowl Golden Bears

New Cal coach Tosh Lupoi is all about excitement and intensity and he bubbled with enthusiasm when asked about Golden Bear alums Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson, who will be the New England Patriots’ starting safeties against the Seattle Seahawks in Sunday’s Super Bowl LX.

Because the game is being played at the 49ers’ Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara — less than 49 miles from the Berkeley campus — Hawkins and Woodson were able to pay a visit to Bears’ football offices.

“So cool, one just to see how much pride they have in this place and the level of excitement for them and for us as a program as we’re getting established here as a new crew, a new chapter,” Lupoi said Wednesday during a news conference formalizing the signing of their transfer portal recruiting class.

Lupoi said he enjoyed the chance to visit with both players, but also used the opportunity to pick their brains about the Patriots’ defensive strategy for Sunday.

“I just absolutely grilled them in my office — made sure all the content and cameras were off — about their game plan organized toward the Seahawks,” Lupoi said. “We actually got into game-plan talks, trying to steal something possible for us implement in our program, make us better.”

Lupoi said the two — both fourth-round draft picks and anything but sure things to make it in the league — impress him with their approach to the game.

“The level of commitment, what’s required there. Two guys, as I’ve done a little research on them, they’re elite when it comes to the mental aspect and the preparation,” Lupoi said. “For our program, when a guy wants to go attack that dream from a preparation standpoint and what’s required mentally, those guys are obviously both extremely sharp.

“Me grilling them, asking questions and them answering, having the confidence in how they approach the game.”

Hawkins and Woodson, whose paths crossed at Cal for one season in 2019, weren’t the only NFL players — current or retired — with connections to Cal who wandered through the coaching offices this week.

Between Monday and Wednesday, he said, the visitors included quarterback Jared Goff, the former No. 1 overall draft pick, along with Cameron Jordan, Marshawn Lynch, DeSean Jackson and Tully Banta-Cain.

“Really the subject this week, I think it’s hidden a bit,” he said, “(is) the academic prestige of this university, which we celebrate — myself, first and foremost — promoting that and how rich the NFL tradition is here. The combination of it.”

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