Cal Golden Bears Excited for New Start, Challenge of ACC

Cal Media Day — © Jim Dedmon-USA TODAY Sports

The second day of the Atlantic Coast Conference Kickoff in Charlotte, N.C., began by welcoming in the Cal Golden Bears to the conference. Finishing the 2023 season at 6-7 and seventh in the final season of the Pac-12 Conference, the Golden Bears had some close battles in a competitive season.

With that in the rearview for the school, coach Justin Wilcox and his team remain optimistic and look forward to the new chapter, and are excited for a fresh start in the ACC.

'Couldn't Be More Excited'

"Yeah, well, it's great to be here," Wilcox said during his opening remarks. "We're incredibly excited. I can speak for the coaches and the players. Not only the team, but our students, our alumni. We're going to visit some new venues, new teams coming in. Couldn't be more excited to be a part of the ACC this year."

Being a new team to the conference Wilcox introduced his team and the history of the university.

"It's a proud university. We take a lot of pride in the way the guys pursue their education, what they do after football, but also the product we put on the field," he said. "We've got some great representatives with us here, smart guys, tough guys. They love playing football. We're looking forward to competing at a very high level against the great competition in the ACC. Again, couldn't be more honored to be a part of the conference moving forward."

Wilcox said joining the ACC will make for a challenging season in 2024.

"There's obviously great football in the conference. ACC from top to bottom, you look at the competitiveness. I believe last year it was the smallest margin of victory of any conference in the country," he said. "From top to bottom, the coaching and the players, quality of play, we know it's going to be really, really high. For us, it's really how good can we get from now until we play our first game and throughout the season. We need to be focused on playing better and better football. We have a ton of respect for the teams on our schedule and looking forward to competing against them."

Mendoza's Optimism

Quarterback Fernando Mendoza echoed the sentiment of his coach thanking the ACC for bringing them into the conference.

"There's a ton of optimism with this team," Mendoza said. "Last year, I was third string, didn't have much playing experience. The more I can improve my talents, my chemistry with my teammates, whether it's talking to coach Wilcox, coach [Mike] Bloesch, coach [Sterlin] Gilbert, my teammates, I'm going to do that."

Although Mendoza was with the team last season, Wilcox brought in quarterback Chandler Rogers who transferred from North Texas. Mendoza said he welcomes the competition at the position.

"Chandler is a six-year quarterback, a lot of football under his belt," Mendoza said. "Quarterback competition and competition in general, whether you might be uncomfortable with it, you're comfortable with it, it always makes you be a better player. As an aspiring leader on the team, when you're able to welcome in competition, there's nobody else on the team that can be, Oh, I don't want to compete. No matter who you are, if you're Jaydn [Ott], an All-American running back, in a competition battle at another position, there's going to be competition at Cal. I think that's a great culture that coach Wilcox embraces."

Ott Poised to Break Records

After a season where he ranked second in the FBS averaging 92.2 yards per game and at least a touchdown in the last 13 of 14 games, Ott was asked during his time at the podium how he maximized his opportunities to gain yardage last season.

"Take my linemen out to eat," Ott said. smiling. "During practice, I take care of those boys. We split up our groups during conditioning. We have the bigs, they'll run before the skills. I like to come out there early, make sure I have the water bottle in hand. Whenever they're tired, I make sure I'm there."

While Ott is excited to enter a new conference he is also on the verge of breaking the career rushing yardage mark for Cal.

"That's an awesome feeling," Ott said. "Being able to play some new competition, the ACC has a lot of rich history. These are some teams that I've watched growing up. I also have some buddies and family."

To add to his excitement for the upcoming season, Week 4 of the upcoming season has the Golden Bears traveling to the home of the defending conference champions of Florida State in Tallahassee, Fla.

The excitement level is high for the Golden Bears entering a new chapter in their storied history as they enter and start play in the ACC.