Golden Nuggets: Recapping Media Day

Cal Football

• Here is Justin Wilcox’s entire Q&A from yesterday as Rivals is giving it to us without a subscription.

Q. How are you looking at the quarterback position heading into camp?

WILCOX: Obviously, the quarterback position, you always get that question this time of year. We have a returner in Ross Bowers, who did some good things last year and has grown a lot in the last year and half. Ross has done a nice job since the season ended working on his body, did a really nice job in spring. He’s a much better player than he was a year ago right now, which is encouraging. So, it’s going to be competitive though for him. We got a couple other guys, Brandon McIlwain a transfer who brings a little different element, and Chase Forrest, Chase Garbers,

So we’re not ready to name a starter yet. Ross obviously has an advantage because he’s got so many game reps, and he has improved, so I don’t discount that at all, but it will be a competitive camp.

Q. You mentioned Ross’s improvements, did you see a bump in all four of them during the spring?

WILCOX: Yeah, absolutely. I thought all those guys did a nice job working together, and Marques Tuiasosopo and Beau Baldwin created an environment for them where they’re working on themselves. They don’t need to be concerned about the other guy right now. They just keep working on themselves.

But I thought Ross, his grasp of the offense and how he functioned within the offense was, I mean, noticeable. I mean, which it needed to be as expected.

• Cal released their updated roster and unfortunately, as some have pointed out in the comments in the Media Day thread, Taariq Johnson is gone and this fact was confirmed by Wilcox.
• The Daily Cal recapped Media Day very well.
• The Daily Cal previewed the Cal Football season with a breakdown of the 2018 schedule.
• Find out how alum C.J. Anderson is teaming up with Google to give 40 high school students from Vallejo a tour of the Mountain View facilities.

Pac-12 Football

• Here are some questions Larry Scott answered courtesy of Jon Wilner. I’m including my favorites below.

On moving the football championship, and possibly football media day, to Las Vegas:

“Given that we already have a foothold in basketball and football, I’m sure you’ll see us do more there.”

On international initiatives:

The conference is considering more football games in Asia and Australia, with a particular interest in countries that have established support for the NFL.

On staying competitive with Power Five peers despite an expected gap in conference revenues for years going forward:

“We’re incredibly competitive. We had more than twice the NCAA championships of any other conference (in 2017-18). We’ve had teams in the College Football Playoff and the Final Four …

“Obviously, money is not the only contributor to success. Our conference has never had as much money going back the past 20 or 30 years. Our conference has other advantages that allow us to achieve success well beyond money. I’m confident our schools have the resources they need to win championships.

“Our schools have invested $1.5 billion in the last decade in capital improvements. Every school has upgraded its football facilities. There’s no example I can point to in football or basketball that our schools have not been able to invest how they want to.”

• Various quotes from the other 5 Pac-12 North coaches (plus Wilcox and Scott) can be found here.

Misc.

• A few Bears will be in the Under-23 World Rowing Championships in Poland. Sydney Payne, Maddison Brown, Samantha Lamos, and Nadia Negm (all current Bears on the champion Women’s Crew squad) will also be coached by former Bear great Megan Cooke Carcagno.
• Penina Davidson will be playing pro ball in Australia, having signed with the MAC Adelaide Lightning. She recently played in the Williams Jones Cup with team New Zealand (aka the Tall Ferns). Congrats!

go bears