Skirmishes Common at Cal's Football Training Camp

This is the Bears' feistiest preseason since Justin Wilcox arrived, and the question is, 'Is this a good thing?'

Justin Wilcox /

A couple of fights between players at Cal’s Sunday preseason practice prompted annoyed coach Justin Wilcox to have players run sprints as punishment.

But on Monday, a serious verbal exchange between an offensive and defensive player nearly led to another physical confrontation before one party was pulled away.

Skirmishes have been common at Cal preseason practices this year, leading Wilcox to acknowledge that practices have been more chippy than they have in any of his previous six preseason training camps at Berkeley.

“Yeah, I think that’s fair to say,” he said Monday.

The passion and the competitiveness are admirable, says Wilcox, noting that football is a physical game.

“It’s a violent game,” he said. “It’s not for the weary.”

But when does the chippiness suggest a lack of discipline?

“We’ve got to make sure we’re getting better at football and that emotion is directed in the right way, and for the most part it is,” Wilcox said.

Cal has 26 new transfers from four-year schools and junior colleges this season, and these are older, experienced players vying to playing time. They are not going to be intimidated, unlike freshman, who are just wondering how to fit in. 

The competition is intense, because starting jobs are up in the air at several positions.

“The depth chart is,” said Wilcox, before hesitating a good five or six seconds, then shaking his head and adding, “I don’t know what it is.”

Tight end Jack Endries, who is in his third preseason camp at Cal, agrees that this camp is more feisty than the previous two.  However, after Endries spoke to some past Cal players, he sees it as a good thing.

“One of the big things I heard was how chippy it was for them, back when we were winning with [Mike] Pawlawski and all that,” Endries said. “I asked them and they said they were fighting every practice.”

Pawlawski was the Pac-10 player of the year in 1991 when Cal went 10-2 under coach Bruce Snyder and wound up ranked No. 8 in the final AP poll.

“I like the little fights that go on,” Endries said. “I just hope, like, that third person that comes in to intervene doesn’t have to throw a kill shot.

“It’s just been chippy; that’s the way it is. We’re both [offense and defense] super competitive right now, which is going to turn out great for us when the season actually starts.”

As long – as Wilcox noted – the team and players don’t get hurt.

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