Cal Players Open Training Camp With Fresh Looks

QB Fernando Mendoza and LB Cade Uluave among those who underwent hair coloring

Cade Uluave and Fernando Mendoza show off their new looks /

The Cal football team is not only entering into a new conference this fall, it will do so with some of its most prominent players sporting new hairstyles.

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza and linebacker Cade Uluave showed off their new looks they’ll likely take into the Atlantic Coast Conference after Wednesday’s first practice of fall camp.

“We’re starting a movement,” said Uluave, who is sporting a curly blonde look. “Pretty soon we’ll have the whole team.”

“His went well,” Mendoza said. “His is blonde. Mine is like orange."

Mendoza acknowledged he got his dye-job on Tuesday night.

“It’s something fun for fall camp,” he said. “A couple of guys are like, `Screw it, let’s do it.’ We’re not going to see anybody anyways . . . for the next 30 days. It was kind of a last-minute decision.”

Uluave said his aunt back home in Utah did his coloring. Mendoza and a few others on the team had their hair treated by sophomore defensive back Nate Escalada, who reportedly gives haircuts to about 20 teammates each week.

“I came into the team meeting room this morning and coach (Mike) Bloesch walked by me,” Mendoza said. “And he was like, `I didn’t know it was you. I thought it was somebody else.’ 

"Same with coach Wilcox. I saw hi to (him) and he didn’t recognize me for a second.”

Wilcox stopped short of providing a review of the new looks.

“Fernando’s hair? Eye of the beholder, I suppose,” Wilcox said. “If he’s feeling good about it, I’m feeling good about it. I’m all for it.”

Ethan Saunders takes medical retirement

Fourth-year junior defensive lineman Ethan Saunders, limited to two games last season due to injury, has retired from football, Wilcox announced.

“Ethan is not going to be able to play football anymore,” Wilcox said. “He has put so much time and effort into this. He’s been a great teammate, heck of a player for us. 

“He’s undergone some difficult injuries throughout his career and he’s not going to be able to continue anyway, which is really been tough for him. We support him 100 percent. It’s an unfortunate part of this game.”

Liam Johnson on the shelf for now

Liam Johnson, an inside linebacker transfer from Princeton, was wearing a cast on his right lower leg and foot and was maneuvering on the sidelines on a scooter.

Wilcox said Johnson will “be back quickly . . . as far as humanly possible.” 

In time for the Aug. 31 season opener against UC Davis? Wilcox declined to speculate on that.

Johnson, a 6-foot, 225-pound fifth-year player, is expected to have a significant role for the Bears, likely as a reserve. At Princeton, he played 29 games over three seasons and was the Ivy League Defensive Player of the Year as a sophomore in 2021.