As Cal finishes spring football, coach says he’s ‘very confident’ about team’s direction

BERKELEY — Cal closed a chapter on its busiest football offseason in years Saturday, with a two-hour scrimmage in its Spring Showcase in front of perhaps 500 fans at sunny Memorial Stadium.

With college football in the throes of dramatic change, ninth-year coach Justin Wilcox is under some pressure to take the Bears to another level heading into their second season in the Atlantic Coast Conference.

“I think we came together really well,” Wilcox said of progress made over 16 spring practices. “I feel really good about where the team can be. We’ve got a lot of areas where we’ve got to continue to improve. I’m very confident.”

Cal played in a bowl game last fall for the second straight season but hasn’t completed a winning season since 2019 nor a winning conference record since 2009.

The offseason has featured an overhaul of Wilcox’s coaching staff, with six new assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Bryan Harsin, the former head coach at Boise State and Auburn.

Defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon exited to the New Orleans Saints, so outside linebackers coach Vic So’oto and defensive backs assistant Terrence Brown were elevated this week as co-coordinators.

One-time Washington State coach Nick Rolovich was hired as a senior offensive assistant and Bob Gregory, who served as DC for eight seasons under Jeff Tedford, is on board as a senior defensive assistant.

Overseeing the entire operation is former NFL head coach and legendary Cal linebacker Ron Rivera, who was brought on as general manager and will report directly to Chancellor Rich Lyons. Expectations have ratcheted up.

“Another six-win regular season will be disappointing given how much we are investing,” Lyons told this news organization’s Jon Wilner in a February interview.

All three quarterbacks competing for the No. 1 job got significant reps during the scrimmage. Junior Devin Brown, a transfer from national champion Ohio State, boasts the most experience. Freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is a left-hander with a big arm. And redshirt freshman EJ Caminong, the only returnee, has kept himself in the mix with consistent play.

Wilcox, who isn’t expected to name a starter until sometime in the weeks prior to the Aug. 30 season opener at Oregon State, has been encouraged by all three.

“They’ve all shown some impressive things on the football field and in the meeting room,” he said. “All of them have another step they can take and will take before we get to the first game. Very, very pleased with that quarterback room and what Coach Harsin has done with those guys.

“We’ve put a lot of stuff on them. We’re going to push the envelope there and by the time we get to the season there’s going to be things we can pick and choose from for those guys and for our offense that we feel really good about.”

Senior running back Jaydn Ott, who rushed for more than 1,300 yards in 2023 but was injured most of last season, looks like his old self, quick and decisive. He scored a pair of touchdowns during Saturday’s action.

The Bears brought in five transfers to help retool an offensive line that has been subpar, and the defense must replace four starters in the secondary, including All-America cornerback Nohl Williams and two others who may be selected in the NFL draft.

Every program from a Power Four conference will deal with expected changes this fall that include a roster limit if 105 players and direct payments to athletes. And the transfer portal opens Wednesday, so player movement — in both directions — is about to resume.