Cal Spring Football Notebook: Reducing Turnovers Continues to be a Priority

`The ball is the only sacred thing in the program. There’s no sacred coach or player or drill. But the ball is sacred.” - Coach Justin Wilcox

After Cal’s seventh practice of the spring — basically the halfway point of its calendar — coach Justin Wilcox once more stressed one of the Bears’ primary objectives: Clean up the turnovers.

“The ball is the only sacred thing in the program. There’s no sacred coach or player or drill,” Wilcox said Saturday. “But the ball is sacred.”

A year ago, the Cal offense treated the football more like a hot potato than a sacred treasure. The Bears coughed up 28 turnovers — 16 interceptions and 12 lost fumbles — to rank 127th nationally.

“Unfortunately, the statistics last year . . . I’ve never been a part of that where they were what they were,” Wilcox said, alluding also to the fact that Cal shared the national lead with 28 turnovers gained. “We’re on a new year — we have new players and a new team. So we’ve got to be ball aware in everything we do.”

Those numbers — 28 to 28 — add up to a zero plus-minus takeaway margin. Just a year before, in 2022, Cal was at plus-6 after securing 18 takeaways against just 12 turnovers, including only three lost fumbles.

Wilcox said the Bears are tracking ball security in every drill they do this spring. “It’s the most important part of the game, who possesses the ball.”

He doesn’t expect perfection or even believes that it’s possible.

“We’ve got to minimize (turnovers) with great habits. We’re not going to play to not make a mistake. We’re going to play aggressive, but we’re going to be playing not careless,” Wilcox said.

“You’ve got to be really good with the football — your handoffs, quarter-center exchange, decisions with the ball at quarterback, receivers . . . everybody’s involved in this. The O-line’s involved, protecting the quarterback. It’s a team issue we’ve got to solve in terms of protecting the football.”

Wilcox points to loss of focus

Saturday’s practice was high energy, but that didn’t translate to being effective, Wilcox said.

“The energy at practice was good. There were certain individuals and position groups that maybe need to focus, need to have productive practices,” he said.

“Does it happen from time to time? Probably. You’ve got to play yourself out of that. There’s got to be ownership to the place that mentally you can come out here and have productive practices. 

Because if not, if we’re just out here bringing energy but not focus, you might as well just go out and run the fire trail or go in the weight room and get a workout.”

Wilcox noted the critical different between working up a sweat and completing a practice with intentions of making progress.

“You can get on the bike and it’s mindless. Football is not mindless,” he said. “You have to have a purpose to come out here and get better at something. You’ve got to focus when you’re tired. And we didn’t have that across the board today.”

“You’ve got 100 guys on the team and it’s probably not ever going to be perfect. But the expectation, if you’re going to be on the team and be a productive member of the team, you’re getting better at something and not going through the motions. 

“Overwhelmingly, it’s been very good. Today there were a few people and position groups that lacked the focus you need to get better. There’s more to football than trying hard.”

Nick Morrow emerging at OT

Nick Morrow, a redshirt freshman from Flagstaff, Ariz., continues to make progress in pursuit of a significant role on the Bears’ offensive line. Cal is so far without Victor Stoffel, a 6-foot-7, 295-pound senior transfer from Sweden by way of Temple University.

While Stoffel gets healthy, Morrow is making the best of his opportunity to get reps, including with the first team at left tackle.

“He’s come a long way,” said Wilcox of Morrow, a 6-8, 305-pounder, who played tight end and defensive end in high school. Morrow attended camp at Cal, where the coaching staff envisioned him as an O-lineman.

“He has a lot of tools that nobody can teach or coach. His size, his frame, his body comp and mass. He’s got very, very good feet for a guy his size,” Wilcox said. 

“He’s picked (things) up rather quickly, but there’s nothing like playing the game. He needs every practice, every drill, every workout, every meeting, walkthrough. 

“If he can stay focused — which he’s done, to his credit — he’s got a very, very bright future.”