Super Bowl Day in the Bay: Berkeley

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Credit: Cal Athletics

As the Super Bowl festivities rage on throughout the Bay Area, day three brought Write For California back to a familiar place, California Memorial Stadium. Cal HC Tosh Lupoi sat down with the media for a whopping 55 minutes to discuss what its like having alums around the program and what it means to have Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson representing on the big stage.

Amidst a wide-ranging talk about said alums, the college football calendar and a lens inside the early workouts, Lupoi was generally pleased with the efforts that the staff put in during this portal cycle.

“Our goal is to be the most connected college football team in the country” - Tosh Lupoi

Lupoi gave explicit praise to Adam Mohammed, Cooper Perry, Ian Strong, Jericho Johnson and Nate Burrell for their efforts in this immediate stretch of practice while also noting that others are working hard and equally deserving of shine.

In taking a step back, the Cal Head Coach mentioned he’s viewing early success through his past NFL lens and that those future prospects become tantalizing.

But before those Bears can get to the league, its imperative to understand the impact that the guys before them left. Lupoi raved about the level of connection that the Patriots safeties have with one another and that this week has been a banner one for alumni and others to visit. Jared Goff, Marshawn Lynch, Cameron Jordan and DeSean Jackson were names that were dropped among those having in depth discussions with the new Cal HC in his office.

“This week, it’s so cool to see, our rich NFL tradition here. Jared Goff, Cameron Jordan, Marshawn Lynch, DeSean Jackson have been in my office. Kayvon Thibodeaux is coming tomorrow.” - Tosh Lupoi

Turning the tide towards Super Bowl 60, Lupoi even got himself into the weeds of the Patriots gameplan while meeting with Jaylinn Hawkins and Craig Woodson.

“It was awesome. You see how much pride they have in this place, the level of excitement for them and us as a program. I absolutely grilled them in my office about their gameplan towards the Seahawks. Maybe something for us to implement in our program and make us better.” - Tosh Lupoi

As Cal signed 34 players through the transfer portal window, the Bears certainly have a chance to blend what they’ve seen from other areas with the new staff. With the early National Signing Day chapter in the rear view mirror, Lupoi mentioned that he and the staff will be taking a few days off, a rare sight after going full steam ahead for the last couple of months. He shares the sentiment that Cal brought in high level players based on internal metrics, confirming what we’ve seen from evaluation services across the country.