Tosh Lupoi Addresses Cal Football Spring Practice Developments
The Cal head coach addressed the media after a live scrimmage, offering his mid-spring assessment ahead of the final week of practice.
Tosh Lupoi opened with a straightforward take on where his team stands after several weeks of spring ball.
“Never pleased but excited about the way the guys are really attacking with hunger. We’ve challenged them a lot, situational ball, trying to throw everything at them, implementing our installs and keeping fundamentals and technique at the forefront. It’s been impressive to see their hunger and their approach. We just got to keep climbing and take advantage of each opportunity we get.”
On the scrimmage itself, he was characteristically measured before watching the film.
“I haven’t watched the film yet, so I never really feel comfortable making assessments until doing that. There’s some relentless effort out there. Our defense did a nice job of attacking the ball today. Offense did a great job with some tempo and causing the defense to play on their heels at times. It was a good back-and-forth competitive battle.”
The daily mindset he’s trying to install has been the through line of spring.
“Wake up and try to throw the best practice that’s ever been thrown. That’s the mindset. They’ve done a nice job attacking the situational approaches we’ve been throwing at them and just getting through their mind that every day is game day. Overall the guys have done a nice job adapting when we come in every single day and put a good amount of volume on them, trying to get them to play fast and violent, attack the ball, secure the ball, create explosive plays on offense and try to prevent them on defense.”
Asked about recruiting, Lupoi didn’t need many words.
“We’re on fire, so we’re going to try to continue that.”
Several of his portal additions are high-end recruits who didn’t get the opportunity they expected at their previous schools, and Lupoi has liked what he’s seen from that group.
“It’s really important that the way our system is designed is finding out who our best players are. It’s been great to see a lot of these guys coming from high school do a really good job taking on this challenge from an academic approach, from a cultural approach and from a practice standpoint. It’s been really cool to see some guys flash, some of these newcomers, Niles Davis and JD McKinley as far as the youngsters, and plenty of other guys that have flashed.”
His coaching staff has come together faster than he might have expected, given how new the group is.
“I think we have an excellent coaching staff. Really excited about the way they’ve embraced our culture and what I’m asking of them. It’s a close-knit group. It’s been cool to see all of us grow together and get to know each other at a higher level and connect. That’s contagious to the players. When they see an aligned coaching staff, that’s going to strengthen our culture. We’ve done a lot of staff group approaches thus far, probably more than normal, where we’re all in there watching film together, debriefing it and all learning. It’s an awesome environment if you love ball.”
On the defensive line, Lupoi pointed to two players he’s counting on while keeping his evaluation open.
“Jericho [Johnson] came here for a reason and I’m definitely thankful that we retained Nate [Burrell]. As they continue to improve, I look forward to those guys being contributors in our defense.”
The offensive line, a known area of need coming into the spring, showed some progress in the scrimmage.
“At least not watching the film yet, it looked like we protected the quarterback at a higher level today. I’ve been excited about the open-mindedness of coach Famika [Anae], Vani [Talamaivao] and Bho [Keith Bhonapha I believe], doing some different things, seeing those guys embrace the ball and demanding a high standard. There’s been no day yet that we haven’t done some form of crossover pods and strikes, working with thumbs up, elbows in, eyes under eyes and trying to get some movement. These guys have done a nice job attacking that challenge.”
He was careful not to single out surprises, but did highlight one group that has stood out under difficult circumstances.
“I’ve been impressed with the way the running back crew has attacked. They’ve been taxed a lot, we have an extreme lack of depth there, and those guys have done a great job. We’ve actually done some position change-ups and tryouts on both sides of the ball, put some receivers in the backfield as well, and they’ve done some impressive things back there. Trying to train as many guys as we can and get the best eleven out on the field.”
On Jaron Keawe-Sagapolutele, Lupoi pointed to the work the offensive staff has done to put him in a position to operate efficiently.
“Coach [Jordan] Somerville, Coach [Nick] Rolovich and Coach Jeff [McDaniels] have done a really good job digesting more of an NFL approach and putting us in position to be selective with matchups, changing protections when need be and really trying to be the dictator within the tempo. He’s done a nice job commanding the offense in those categories. Still got some things to improve and he’ll be the first one to acknowledge that. That’s what you love about Jaron, attacking every day with a growth mindset. Seeing some really great leadership skills rise out of him has been impressive.”