How Justin Wilcox Describes the Tone of Cal Practice This Week

The first word that Cal coach Justin Wilcox spoke Tuesday when asked about the tone of practice this week?

“Urgent,” he said. “Edge. There needs to be an edge in practice. There needs to be urgency in practice. That’s what it felt like the last few days.”

In the wake of a stunning 34-0 loss at 14-point underdog San Diego State after three victories by double-digit margins, senior defensive lineman TJ Bollers echoed his coach’s remarks.

“Exactly what he said, man. It’s urgent,” Bollers said. “Got a lot of things we need to focus on. We came out determined Monday, came out determined today, ready to put in work, ready to go out and do what everybody knows we can do.”

Wilcox said he understands there will be speculation about how the Bears will respond in their ACC opener at Boston College on Saturday. He said as much in his postgame remarks, when he suggested Monday’s practice would be the most important day of the season.

“There’s going to be a lot of talk — and there was already — about how we respond,” he said. “And Monday was a good response. But why did it have to get to that point?

"So there’s a lot of individuals, starting with myself, that have to reach back and identify anything that we could have done better and/or different to change what happened. Because it can’t happen again.”

Bollers said the Bears are plenty motivated to flip the script.

“Getting hit in the mouth . . . that’s the taste of blood. You never want to taste that taste of blood,” Bollers said. “Football is a game you have to move on every single week. When you lose, when you win, it doesn’t matter because you have another opponent you have to prepare for.”

Wilcox said most positions continue to be open competitions, specifically mentioning the offensive line and wide receiver, but also noting spots in defensive rotations.

The exception is at quarterback. “Jaron is our quarterback,” he said of freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who exceled in the first three games but struggled along with the entire offense in Cal’s first shutout loss since 2019.

The Bears turned the ball over three times and committed ill-timed penalties during one of three unsuccessful ventures into the red zone.

For first-year offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin, the outcome was a unique experience. In 217 previous games as a head coach or offensive coordinator over 18 seasons at Boise State, Texas, Arkansas State and now Cal, Harsin’s offense had never suffered a shutout.

Wilcox suggested the Bears primarily faltered because one or two of 11 players on the field failed to complete his assignment.

“The difference between good football and average football is not that much,” he said, holding his thumb and index finger just an inch apart. “Same can be said for average to bad football. . . . The difference between good and bad is relatively small.

“There’s not a lot of room in this game for almost or close enough or 10 out of 11. There’s not enough room, unless you’re so unbelievably talented that you make up for it over the course of the game.

“Maybe there’s a few teams like that. We have talented players but we’re not good enough to do that.”

INJURY UPDATE ON THURSDAY: Wilcox provided no update on the status of safety Isaiah Crosby, who appeared to suffer a leg injury early in the third quarter Saturday, and placekicker Abram Murray, who was not available to play in the game.

News on that front will be delivered through the ACC each Thursday as teams are required for the first time to release injury reports, just as NFL teams do.

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