BERKELEY – Cal head coach Justin Wilcox knows just how important this time of the year is for a college football program, especially one with a coaching staff in its first season.

"There's a lot to learn," Wilcox said. "The time we have together on the field is extremely valuable. It's so important that we take full advantage of every opportunity we have, every rep we take. How we practice now will have an impact on how we will play this fall."

Cal's first five spring practices last month featured heavy doses of teaching the basic fundamentals and techniques of the game.

"We want to implement the systems and learn the language," Wilcox said after the Golden Bears' first workout. "We want to learn the techniques and the fundamentals to play those systems. The teaching part of it is going to be huge. We want to grow our football intelligence and learn the game within the game."

Sometimes that meant drills that seemed very simple but are critical to the team's development and performance. One example was a basic tackling drill that the Bears engaged in near the beginning of each practice that broke the process down to its purest form.
 
"If you don't understand the basics of tackling and leverage points you become a poor defense very quickly," defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter said. "The first two days in particular coach Wilcox had a great plan for having extremely fundamental practices. We had the chance to really drill things down to the studs level, where guys learned the absolute basics of tackling."

"It is crucial that our players are sound in the basic fundamentals of football and that those are deeply ingrained," Wilcox said. "Once we have a solid foundation in place that makes it so much easier for our guys to learn concepts and schemes, and still be able to play fast."

The basic tackling drill got the attention of the players.

"We're breaking tackling down from the beginning, starting on our knees and working our way up," senior linebacker Devante Downs said.

On the first day, no one was exempt.

"It was good to learn how to tackle instead of just closing my eyes and hoping for the best," junior punter Dylan Klumph joked. "In all seriousness, it is very helpful to work on our tackling because the few times we are in a position to make a tackle it could be the difference between winning and losing a game."

In a similar vein, Wilcox has been spotted in a few places that are rare for head coaches and is not exempt from any of the fundamental drills.

"We have a tremendous coaching staff and I have faith in all of them," Wilcox said. "I'm here to do my job and provide support where needed whether it is scout team quarterback or standing at the L2 on punt return. That's part of it. We all have a piece of that."

Another feature of the team's early workouts has been a strong emphasis on competition, both during individual drills and full team 11-on-11 work. Wilcox often puts something tangible on the line like a recent third-down due-or-die situation at the end of practice that resulted in a gasser for the losing offense and bragging rights for the winning defensive unit.

"That's what the game is, 11 one-on-one battles on every snap," Wilcox said. "It's important that we stress that. It needs to be competitive at practice because it's going to be competitive on Saturday. We're trying to simulate that as much as we can and put guys in those situations."

Although the Bears' early spring practice sessions have placed a heavy emphasis on fundamentals and competition, and will continue to do so when they resume, Wilcox and his staff have also gradually begun to install the team's schemes. In the final workout before spring break, Wilcox decided to take the gloves off and give the team its first significant test.

"We wanted to get off the field and let the guys function and play the game a little bit," Wilcox said. "It's one thing when the coaches are kind of standing behind you and can fix the formation or the call on defense, but when everybody gets off the field it becomes more of a game situation to see how we are functioning and communicating in terms of alignment and mechanics, and then ultimately the execution of the play."

All in all, Wilcox likes what he has seen in his players so far.

"Their attitude has been awesome in the way they've approached everything from meetings to workouts to walk-thrus – all of the things that are all so critical," Wilcox said. "I really couldn't ask for anything more. I was really pleased with the first five practices. The guys have been very hard working. Their attention to detail is there. They're eager and soaking up all the coaching. They've got a long way to go and they still need a lot of work, but they've come a long way in five practices."

They've got 10 more to go this spring beginning Wednesday, and Wilcox and his staff will be sure to take full advantage of each one.