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Cal is fully moving ahead into game week, and the Bears are getting back to work. Tuesday marking the first media availability of game week, and we had an opportunity to speak with head coach Justin Wilcox, defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon and offensive coordinator Jake Spavital.
Here's a quick overview of what was discussed, and we will have a full writeup with top takeaways posted a bit later on.
Justin Wilcox
- The team had been looking to practice in heat, and its original plans were nixed when the weather didn't cooperate. Instead, the Bears decided to make the trek up to UC Davis over the weekend, and the team was able to get in a two-hour practice in 95-degree weather to help get Cal acclimated to what it will feel in Texas. Wilcox is not downplaying the impact the heat could have this weekend, but he says the plan is simply have more players available to play and there will be no excuses about the heat come Saturday.
- Wilcox and Sirmon both said there's not much to pull from, either past experiences or film study, with North Texas just because of how many new pieces are in place. Even having someone like Mike Bloesch, who coached at UNT, doesn't give as much insight into Mean Green as outsiders might think just because of the roster turnover.
- Asked about the continuing conference realignment discussions, Wilcox went back to his usual line of remaining focused on what the team can control. He remains clear that he sees the value and importance in what is taking place, but he wants his team locked in on what it can control and that is the game this weekend.
- Wilcox was asked about NIL and the impact of the post-graduate certificate program for the Bears in being able to build the roster they have this year. The Cal head coach noted the significance of both, and he went on to say that the conversation about NIL is at the top of the list when it comes to recruiting. It is most important, and he continues to step in wherever he can to help build the NIL component at Cal. He believes there is still work to be done in that area based on numbers he has seen from other schools.
- When asked about where he feels comfortable and where he still hesitant with this year's team, Wilcox pointed to the improved roster but also said that chemistry will also be key and something that won't be seen until the games arrive. He added that the team will have to show "significant growth" from game to game to have a successful year.
Peter Sirmon
- New UNT head coach Eric Morris will bring his high-powered offense to Denton, and Sirmon alluded to the issues that scheme gave the Bears while Morris was briefly at Washington State last season. He expects to see a well-coached offense on the other side of the field this week.
- Asked about the regression of the defense last year, the Cal defensive coordinator said the increased points and yards allowed stemmed mostly from the explosive pass plays down the field. The primary focus for the defense this offseason has been working to limit those types of plays leading his staff to focus on the yards per play heading into the season. Adding talent in the secondary has been a big part of working toward reversing the trend that came up last year.
- Stone Earle was named UNT's starting QB a week ago, and although there is not much to go off of recently with him — he played in four games last season as a backup — Sirmon says the "tools" are what he is looking at when evaluating Earle this week. Sirmon noted that he sees a "more than capable runner" with Earle while also mentioned the Chandler Rogers (Louisiana-Monroe transfer) is also expected to see time against the Bears as well.
- Regardless of the weather, Sirmon says there will be a lot of players rotating through on the defensive side of the ball. That will be particularly true among the defensive front, Sirmon says. The staff has prepared a number of defensive linemen and outside linebackers to play Saturday, and that is the plan taking into account how the game could also determine who and how many players see the field.
- Brett Johnson's use Saturday will depend on some different factors. Among the most important will be how he feels. Johnson has missed a significant amount of time, and the coaches have been taking it easy on him at times leading up to the North Texas matchup. Sirmon says the staff will gather input from the medical staff, see how Johnson feels himself and take into account the tempo at which the game is being played as factors about how much Johnson will remain on the field.
Jake Spavital
- Spavital opened up with an anecdote about when he was at Texas State and his director of operations had her sandal melt into the field because of the heat. That was part of his answer when asked about the rotation on offense this Saturday. As of now, he says the plan is to have a heavy rotation at several positions including potentially playing as many as 10 offensive linemen this weekend. He added that there could be some mid-drive substitutions up front if a drive is taking a long time.
- There have certainly been some thoughts that Cal could use the opener to get some in-game evaluations on players, especially the quarterbacks. However, Spavital put that to rest Tuesday saying that Sam Jackson V will be "the guy" at quarterback this weekend meaning the plan right now is to play only the TCU transfer against UNT. Spavital was pretty matter of fact in that thought, which is really the first time he has been that definitive about the situation since the competition began in the spring. He says Ben Finley and Fernando Mendoza will all travel to North Texas but who would play should something happen to Jackson is yet to be determined. Spavital says that will be discussed in the coming days but could ultimately be a "game-time decision" by the time Saturday arrives.
- Spavital expressed some intrigue about the unknowns with his group, namely Jackson's reaction to making his first start. To ease his starting quarterback into the game plan, Spavital says he has been working in some passes in practice that will help build Jackson's confidence and there are some plays he can go to that will get him comfortable if the situations arises.
- Asked to name some of the players on offense who could surprise people this season, Spavital listed Trond Grizzell, Brian Hightower, Taj Davis and Marquis Montgomery as the ones who he believes will have a chance to make a big impact but have not received the type of attention others on the team have. He also added that tight end Jack Endries is at the top of the list with Grizzell and Hightower. On Endries, Spavital noted that it will be the first start for the second-year pass catcher, so there will be plenty of intrigue about what he will be able to show with that opportunity. Spavital says Endries is a player who "can do it all" and there is plenty of value in having success at the tight end position for the offense as a whole. Running back Ashton Stredick is another player Spavital feels has put together a strong body of work this offseason.
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