The California Golden Bears participated in the ACC Kickoff (their Media Day) today with Cal QB Fernando Mendoza, RB Jayden Ott, QB Chandler Rodgers and DB Craig Woodson. A full media report will be released shortly, but here is what arrived via the ACC Digital Network.
Justin Wilcox talks about ACC trip
I’m excited to go and I’m excited to be in the ACC, it’s a little bit different schedule-wise.
It’s a long journey, but it will be comfortable. We’ll leave early. We’ll be on a big plane. We’ll have Gatorade and water. Flying is amazing. It will be much more comfortable than sitting right now.
The schedule is on track and we’re looking forward to playing these teams, the most important thing is to prepare as best we can to play good football, but the road trip is not an excuse not to play well.
Fernando Mendoza’s optimism
I have high expectations for this team. Like you said, last year we were third-stringers and didn’t have a lot of playing experience, but this year we’ve played seven games. But our goal through fall camp is the same: to become better football players.
“I’m going to talk to Coach Wilcox, my teammates, Coach Brosh, Coach Gilbert, and try to develop my talent and develop my chemistry with my teammates. If I can do that, I’m going to do that. All of my teammates, and myself, are going to be as prepared as we can be for Week 1 against UC Davis.”
We have a lot more experience this offseason and especially because of the transfer portal era, we know everyone on the team, offensively and defensively, so our chemistry is great.
Locker room culture is a big thing, especially at Cal, and I think that’s what’s fueled the optimism from last season and using those final three games as a springboard going into this season in a new conference.
Craig Woodson talks about team camaraderie
We’re a group of guys that just love to compete and love to push each other every day. Offseason training, conditioning in the weight room, everything we do is just to compete and push each other to be better.
“When we’re on the field, we’re all really close, we all hang out together outside of football. We all get on really well, so we know what to expect from each other and we know we have each other’s backs, and I think that really shows when we get on the field and play.”
We were first in the nation in turnovers, but we need to do more this year. We’re going to be more aggressive defensively this year, apply pressure and have guys in the back who can handle opposing receivers.
I am ready for the challenge
