When Cal's staff went out and added more running back help after the spring, it was the first signal that Byron Cardwell's injury was likely more serious than initially thought. Justin Wilcox seemed to hold out hope that the Oregon transfer, who has rushed for 493 yards and four touchdowns in his career, that Cardwell could return after injuring his knee late in the spring.

Wednesday, that hope officially came to end.

Wilcox announced after Cal's first training camp practice that Cardwell will miss the entire 2023 season because of his injury leaving the Bears without a key playmaker in the backfield.

Wilcox also announced that defensive back Collin Gamble and linebacker Sam Ross will also not be available for the Bears this season.

"Unfortunately, they suffered injuries, and we'll be working with them in rehab and strength and conditioning to get them back as fast as possible but they'll miss this year," Wilcox said.

Fellow transfer running back Justin Williams-Thomas, who sat out all of spring while recovering from his own lower body injury that forced him to watch from the sidelines, did not participate in practice Wednesday.

Wilcox says at this point he is hopeful the Tennessee transfer will get on the field this month.

"It's really, the trainers are gonna let us know when he's available," Wilcox said. "He's not available today, and we're hoping he becomes available to practice as soon as possible because he's missed a lot of time."

The Bears added experience to the running back group after spring ball came to an end with Montana State's Isaiah Ifanse and Purdue's King Doerue both transferring to Cal this offseason.

Wilcox indicated that the Bears will need their help to aid in taking some of the workload off the shoulders of returning starter Jaydn Ott.

"It takes more than one player to have a great offense," he said Wednesday. "Obviously, Jaydn is a talented player, and he's gonna get his touches. You need more than one running back to be able to throw out there, so we're looking forward to some of those other guys and what they're able to do in camp to sort that depth chart out."

Cardwell, in particular, looked early in spring like he could be the perfect complimentary piece in the backfield bringing a power game to go alongside Ott's speed. That combination will now have to wait until the redshirt sophomore is able to return to full health.

"He's just a baller," Ott said of Cardwell during the spring. "... It's just two Alphas in the room, so it's a lot of competition. It's good competition and healthy."

Gamble made eight starts in 2022 with 32 tackles and six tackles for loss.