Justin Wilcox 'Disappointed' Mendoza Is Leaving; Cal QB for LA Bowl Uncertain

Bears head coach says Cal did everything it could to keep Mendoza. LB Cade Uluave, RB Jaivian Thomas expected to play in the LA Bowl, but Cal still deciding on a quarterback for that game

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said he was “disappointed” in Fernando Mendoza’s decision to enter the transfer portal and said Cal did everything it could to keep him. Wilcox’s comments on the issue will be noted later in this report. But now Wilcox must turn his attention to determining who will be the Bears’ starting quarterback in the December 18 LA Bowl against UNLV.

The quarterback decision is complicated by the fact that not only is Mendoza out of the picture, but his backup, Chandler Rogers, has not completely recovered from an injury sustained in the final regular-season game against SMU and is questionable for the LA Bowl.

At the moment it appears either redshirt sophomore CJ Harris, who played briefly against SMU, and true freshman EJ Caminong are vying to be the starters against the Rebels.  Caminong has not thrown a pass as a collegiate player, while Harris’ only passes were thrown in the game against SMU.  He was 6-for-11 for 75 yards,  no touchdowns and one interception in that game after replacing Rogers when Rogers was injured.

“Right now CJ and EJ are taking the majority of the reps,” Wilcox said Tuesday. “Chandler is day-to-day so we’ll see how he’s doing tomorrow. He did a little more today [Tuesday] and threw the ball.”

The other question is who will be calling the offensive plays for whoever is Cal’s quarterback.  It won’t be Bryan Harsin, who this week was named the Bears’ new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach, and apparently it won’t be Mike Bloesch, who was Cal’s offensive coordinator this past season before being replaced at that position by Harsin.

Wilcox said play-calling with be a “collaborative effort,” and that is probably not the most efficient way to manage a game plan.

Cal will be in a similar to UNLV, which lost head coach Barry Odom, who left to take the Purdue head coaching job. Rebels offensive coordinator Brennan Marion is still on the UNLV staff and is being considered for the head coaching job there.  He also might follow Odom to Purdue to become the Boilermakers offensive coordinator. UNLV’s interim head coach for the LA Bowl is Del Alexander.

Questions about Cal’s coaching staff remain, specifically whether Bloesch will stay as the Bears’ offensive line coach and what will happen to quarterbacks coach Sterlin Gilbert now that Harsin has been named the quarterbacks coach.  Wilcox refused to divulge what other changes will be made to the coaching staff.

Aside from Rogers, Cal seems to be remarkably healthy.  Inside linebacker Cade Uluave and Bears leading rusher running back Jaivian Thomas, both of whom missed the SMU game with injuries, are expected to play in the LA Bowl.  The offensive line also seems relatively healthy with guard Sioape Vatikani expected to return as well.

However, the absence of Mendoza will be difficult to overcome. Wilcox refused to comment on the discussion he had with Mendoza before the redshirt sophomore quarterback made his decision, but the head coach had this response when asked whether he was surprised by Mendoza’s decision to leave.

“Surprised? Disappointed for sure,” Wilcox said in the video atop this report. “I don’t think anything surprises me anymore in college football.

“We did our best to support and promote Fernando. We did everything we could to keep him, and as I mentioned these guys have tough decisions to make. I empathize with players in this era because there’s a lot going on. It’s very, very complicated."

With revenue sharing and direct payment to players from the college expected to come into play next season, Wilcox was asked how confident he feels that Cal will be able to obtain and retain top talent given the deep pockets of the eltie college football programs.

"Very," Wilcox said. "Very confident."

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