Cal Football: Input from Health Officials Will Dictate Spring Practice Dates

Coach Justin Wilcox says the Bears want to know when they can all practice together

Cal coach Justin Wilcox said this week he still doesn’t know when the Bears will schedule their annual spring football practice.

And he basically confirmed it’s not up to him.

As has been the case for most of a year, COVID-19 will have the final say on Cal’s spring practice dates.

“We have a couple scenarios and we’re waiting for clarity from the state,” Wilcox said on a Zoom call with reporters Thursday. He said he was on a call earlier in the day with Cal’s administration, which awaits more information from health officials.

The key, he said, will be finding dates when the entire team can practice at one time. Last fall, before and during the Bears’ abbreviated four-game schedule, they were required to break up the squad into two groups for practice, not to exceed 75 players in any group.

That restriction forced the Bears to split up their full roster and have the numbers exceeding 75 practice separately on an adjacent field. Typically that meant freshmen or walk-ons would not get the chance to work out with the rest of the squad.

Wilcox wants spring ball to involve everyone in the same location.

“That’s what we’re waiting on,” he said.

In the meantime, the Bears are “deep into winter workouts, which we really need,” Wilcox said. This past week the team was allowed back in its indoor weight facility in the Simpson High Performance Center at Memorial Stadium for the first time in nearly 11 months.

The two scheduling scenarios the Bears are considering are to complete their 15 spring practices before the start of spring break on March 22, or to wait and begin workouts after the week-long spring recess.

“It’s all dependent on the allowance made so we can practice with the whole team at one time,” he said. “What we don’t want to do is split ‘em up like we needed to do in fall.”

Wilcox noted the Bears have held spring ball before and after spring break in the past. He sounded like he’d be comfortable with either arrangement. “It’s six of one, half a dozen of the other,” he said. “I don’t think there’s a cookie-cutter way to do it.”

In the meantime, Wilcox will continue to expect the unexpected. “We know we have to be agile,” he said.

The Bears’ 2021 roster will include 10 “super seniors,” players who are taking advantage of a one-time NCAA ruling that allows them to replay this past season because of the pandemic disruptions.

Cal’s 2021 schedule currently kicks off on Sept. 4 at home against Nevada. The Bears will play at TCU on Sept. 11, then home vs. Sacramento State, coached by former Cal star quarterback Troy Taylor, on Sept. 18.

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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo