"What is your favorite day of the year?"
 
It's a question I've been asked on many occasions. My answer is often the same, and it's actually one of the first things I said to our football team Wednesday morning.
 
The first day of training camp is my favorite day of the year.
 
That first day provides a feeling that's hard to replicate. Only once since I started playing football as a kid in Junction City, Oregon, have I missed out on it. That was right after my playing days had ended, during my short-lived career as a furniture mover in Eugene.
 
I've always loved this day and this time of year. No matter what's happened in our lives since the final snap last season, on this day and during this time when training camps are starting all over the country, we all have a chance to once again live and breathe football.
 
Wednesday was no different.
 
There have been lots of changes within our football program since the end of the 2022 season. We have new coaches, 50 new players, and Wednesday was the first time that this specific roster of 118 players was able to spend the entire day - from sun-up until sun-down and beyond - with all of our coaches and support staff in the same place at the same time, working together towards our shared goals for the 2023 season.
 
And there was an unbelievable energy in the building. It began the moment Coach Spav showed up several hours before the sun rose - followed shortly after by many others - until the last player, coach and staff member had either left or just laid down somewhere in the facility for a short night's sleep. You could feel it at practice in the afternoon, in the meetings before and after, the walk-throughs, the team meals, the conversations, the interactions. It was everywhere.
 
We have embarked on the 2023 Cal football season. It will be unique and different than any that has come before. The journey will have its own highs and lows, ups and downs, but most importantly, opportunities.
 
We know that there are a lot of eyes on us, but we relish that pressure and everything that comes with it. We expect to be a good football team and we know where we need to make improvements, because we also know how thin the margins are every week. When you battle for four quarters and it comes down to one play, we want to make sure we've put in the body of work to be ready for those moments.
 
The first day of our 2023 training camp was special. Our guys had intensity, competed, and brought the best out of each other. It's great to embrace and recognize that, but much of what fueled the excitement was the anticipation of what's to come in the days, weeks and months ahead. There will be many more opportunities, and it's what we do with those that will tell our story.