Cal Football: Justin Wilcox Talks About the Bears' 3 Latest Signees
Cal coach Justin Wilcox welcomed three new players on national signing day and said he expects the Bears to add anywhere from five to seven more between now and the start of fall camp.
Offensive tackle Martin Tine and wide receiver Marquis Montgomery will join the Bears in the summer after completing courses at their junior colleges. Also headed to Berkeley at that time is long snapper David Bird, a high school senior in Phoenix.
Because player movement is so dynamic these days, Wilcox was reluctant to specify precisely how many more players could be added to the roster. But Cal has just two quarterbacks on scholarship so that would be a targeted position, and he said he expects one or two more O-linemen to come on board.
Wilcox talks about Tine, a 6-foot-6, 310-pound junior from Houston by way of East Los Angeles Junior College in the video at the top of this story.
He breaks down Montgomery, a 6-4, 215-pounder from Tacoma, Wash., in the video above. Montgomery, who is at Snow Junior College in Utah, picked Cal over Oregon, Texas A&M, LSU and BYU.
Bird, a 6-1, 200-pound senior at Sandra Day O’Connor High School, was rated by one service as the top long snapper in the 2023 recruiting class. He also has experience working out with former Cal snapper Nick Sundberg, who played 11 seasons in the NFL.
Wilcox shares his thoughts on the value of using a scholarship on a long snapper in the video below.
Cal previously announced it will begin spring workouts on March 11. Wilcox provided a breakdown on which players coming off health issues in the fall will sit out spring ball and which will be available to participate.
Sitting out the spring: DL Akili Calhoun, DB Collin Gamble, DL Darius Long Jr., DL Brett Johnson, WR Mason Mangum, DB Tyson McWilliams, DL Jaedon Roberts, WR Mason Starling.
Available for spring workouts: CB Lu-Magia Hearns III, DB Kaleb Higgins, OL T.J. Sessions, OL Bastian Swinney, DL Derek Wilkins, OL Matthew Cindric.
The Bears also welcome back defensive lineman Stanley McKenzie, a redshirt sophomore from Hawaii, who left the team last fall after the death of his father.
Wilcox talks about McKenzie in the video above.
Another addition to the active roster is Nick Morrow, who signed with Cal then sat out last season as a “gray shirt.” Morrow is a 6-8, 280-pound offensive lineman from Flagstaff, Ariz., who is young and raw but has good potential, as Wilcox says in the video below.
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Here is Cal’s latest spring roster, broken down by position:
CAL 2023 SPRING ROSTER
QB: Sam Jackson V, Fernando Mendoza, Noah Mitcheom, Tyler Jensen,
RB: Jaydn Ott, Justin Williams-Thomas, Byron Cardwell, Ashton Stredick,
FB: Beaux Tagaloa
WR: Jeremiah Hunter, Mavin Anderson, Brian Hightower, Monroe Young, Mason Starling, Justin Richard Baker, Aidan Lee, Grant Daley, Kenden Robinson Jr., Trond Griezel, Jordan King, Mason Mangum, Chris Rogers, Jaiven Plummer, Tommy Christakos
TE: Andy Alfieri, Jake Muller, Elijah Mojarro, Asher Alberding, Jeffrey Johnson, Jack Endries, J.T. Byrne
OL: Brian Driscoll, Brayden Rohme, Sioape Vatikani, Ender Aguilar, Matthew Cindric, T.J. Session, Nick Morrow, Joshua Stovall, Dylan Jemtegaard, Colin Hamilton, Trent Ramsey, Dashaun Harris, Jaedon Roberts, Bastian Swinney, Everett Johnson, Jackson Brown
DL: Nate Burrell, Ethan Saunders, Ricky Correia, Brett Johnson, Curlee Thomas IV, Darius Long Jr., Ieremia Ieremia, Stanley McKenzie, Elijah Diaz, Akili Calhoun, Derek Wilkins
OLB: Myles Jernigan, Xavier Carlton, David Reese, Sam Ross, Moso’oipala Tuitele, Myles Williams
ILB: Jackson Sirmon, Sergio Allen, Hunter Barth, Nate Rutchena, McKyle So’oto, Blake Antzoulatos, Kaleb Elarms-Orr, Muelu Iosefa
DB: Craig Woodson, Jeremiah Earby, Isaiah Young, Miles Williams, Nohl Williams, Kaylin Moore, Raymond Woodie III, Tyson McWilliams, Lu-Magio Hearns III, Cam Sydney, Collin Gamble, Dejuan Butler, Fatu Iosefa, Matthew Littlejohn, Kalen Higgins, Mayze Bryant, Julian Womack
PK: Michael Luckhurst
P: Ethan Baxter, Lachlan Wilson
LS: Jake Arugello, Wesley Brown
- Returning starter (based on 2022 season finale)
- Member of 2023 recruiting class
Cover photo of Cal coach Justin Wilcox
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
