Justin Wilcox ACC Kickoff audio: Cal travelling on the biggest Delta available
The Cal head coach answered multiple questions about being in a new conference.
Above is the full audio of Justin Wilcox’s press conference from the ACC Kickoff. Below are some of the more interesting questions and answers.
On travel and logistics to the East Coast
We spent a lot of time on the logistics. Our administration has been incredibly supportive. Looking from 10,000 feet, we leave a day earlier. We make sure we got a big plane, the biggest one that Delta makes. The big lie-down suites. There's going to be a good number of players who are really, really comfortable. You know us, the coaches and administrators, we'll sit in the back. We'll make sure the guys are well-fed, Gatorade and water. In terms of our week, we have it all planned out.
On ending last year on a three-game win streak
We had come off a really bad loss. For them to come together and finish the regular season like we did was really impressive. We got a lot of those guys back, most of 'em. Really proud of them. I think it shows the character they're made of. This is a new year, a new team. We got a lot of new faces. I think those things are important because you can learn from your past experiences.
On evaluating the ACC
You look at the competitiveness. I believe last year it was the smallest margin of victory of any conference in the country. From top to bottom, the coaching and the players, quality of play, we know it's going to be really, really high.
On new technologies being utilized by the coaching staff
We actually used the headset communication in our bowl game last year. We'll work on it all throughout fall camp. We're going to work the tablets in fall camp.
I’m for it being open up to more players. For right now you have one on each side of the ball. Being as efficient as possible … that's something we're going to be emphasizing and work on as coaches to make sure when we're talking to our quarterbacks or inside linebacker, safety, we're not coaching them on what happened last play. You give them a nugget and the play call, then we're moving forward.
On Mike Bloesch named offensive coordinator
Mike has a history of calling plays. He had a lot to do with our transformation last year in terms of the success running, and at offensive line position. From year to year, you're always going to have wrinkles and changes because your roster changes. We got a great offensive staff. Really excited about Mike.
On the ground game being the unit that’ll move the team forward
If you want to have a great offense, it's really hard to do it being one-dimensional. To be able to run the football, obviously we have an exceptionally talented back in Jaydn. That offensive line has come a long way. Being able to incorporate that passing game, the RPO game is everything. You got to score, put up points, be able to run the football. We're excited about taking another step.
“I’ll open it to more players being able to hear” is incorrect; that’s not what Wilcox said. He said he is for it being opened up to more and more players on the field. In other words, he would be happy to see the college football establishment change the rules further in this direction, i.e. to allow multiple players on each side of the ball access to the audio. He can’t make that decision himself.
If someone is going to ask a question about a specific coach or player in a press conference setting, please know how to pronounce their name. 🤦♂️