After Cal announced the addition of two three-star JUCO additions on Wednesday's National Signing Day in offensive tackle Martin Tine and wide receiver Marquis Montgomery, Golden Bears coach Justin Wilcox talked about the final pieces to this 2023 recruiting class and more.
Watch his full Zoom press conference with reporters here or scroll down for our complete transcript of his comments:
RELATED: More on three-star JUCO WR Marquis Montgomery | More on three-star JUCO OL Martin Tine
What can Martin Tine do for the offensive line?
Wilcox: "Yeah, Martin is a big athletic guy. Came from Houston and then East LA. Young as a football player. Hasn't played a lot of football, but really big frame and can move and so really looking forward to getting here this summer. I would also say we're also going to get a number of guys kind of back off of injury which should help us in spring ball. I know Coach Blush is really eager to get to start to work with those guys and then wouldn't be surprising to add another name or two as we enter into summer. He's got to finish up some classes at the junior college level and then he'll be with us when we get going in June."
How much can he impact your team this first year, especially as a guy maybe who hasn't played a lot?
Wilcox: "Well, to be determined mean when we recruit a transfer player or a junior college player we're always looking at how quickly we think that they could help us on the field and some of that, there's not an exact science to it. You look at the traits you look at the work ethic you look at the football IQ and just because they haven't played a lot doesn't mean they can't do that. There's a lot of guys that have played a long time who struggle to make the transition, so it doesn't rule it out by any means. I think what what's key is what happens between now and June and when he gets here in summer, what happens between June and the first game. And there's going to be a lot of learning going on, but there's a lot of learning going on for a lot of people. And so we do feel good about him and his athletic ability and the traits that he's shown and now it's about putting in the work."
More on Martin Time, what role does footwork play in a guy who plays hoops, especially a big long tackle like he is?
Wilcox: "Yeah, it's hard to play a good offensive line if you don't have good feet. It's just very rare. So the athleticism is key. Some guys have better feet than others, but again, I don't think you see a lot of good offensive line with bad feet. And so that's one of the things that jumped out is the athleticism as we mentioned before. And he's got a really big frame. I mean, he's six foot six and I think he had a 83 inch wing span and he's a tall, long guy. And again, just eager to get him here."
Can you talk a little bit about Marquis Montgomery? He's a guy that didn't see a ton of balls in an offense that seem to be run dominated. How do you assess a guy like that and what his potential impact might be at the next level?
Wilcox: "Well, you look at the opportunities he did get and what he did with those opportunities. I think he's a talented athlete. He's big. I mean, he is a really big receiver and he can high point the ball. He catches the ball with his hands. And so we looked at the chances he did get and what did he do with those. And then again, you look at the traits, the physical traits, and then the intangibles, the toughness, the work ethic and all those things. And we feel strongly about him."
And David Bird is seen by a lot of people as the top long snapper in the country. What kind of impact can a guy behind the scenes like that have on a program?
Wilcox: "Well, I think you all know what kind of impact it has when you don't have somebody that's a good snapper. I mean, it's one of those positions where nobody really talks about it until something goes wrong. So David is a very good snapper. We have in the past, scholarship a snapper who we think is elite, and so expectations for him to come in here and be the snapper. But it's a critical position mean as you all know it's just something that you take for granted or a lot of people do. We don't. And so it's a valuable spot and every four years or so we want to make sure we got a great long snapper on the team and that's what we're looking for from David."
Rosters are more difficult to figure out these days because of everything that's been going on, but do you expect to have more than one or two more newcomers by the summer?
Wilcox: "If I had to guess ,I'd probably put it around five to seven. That's my best guess as of today. But again, these things are so dynamic, but that's what I would anticipate that."
Those might be offensive line?
Wilcox: "Yeah, offensive line. I wouldn't, probably not a position that we wouldn't take anybody but certain positions probably have more of a need right now. But in the end, we always want to make sure we're taking players that can help our team win and not just take a player because, so I think offensive line certainly fits into that category where we could add a player or two in the late spring, early summer. But again, depending on how the roster morphs that those numbers can change."
You have just, I believe, two scholarship quarterbacks on your roster at this time. Is that a position where you'd like to have a little bit more depth?
Wilcox: "Yeah. And I think that's another spot where it wouldn't be surprising to see another scholarship player added this summer. Again, just depends on how everything goes and that the quarterback position in general is always going to be one where there's going to be a lot of movement. That's just, that's how it is in college football.
And can you address, there was a lot of talk out there that Cal may have been one of the schools involved recruiting Jaden Rashada in this most recent recruiting session with him. Were you involved in him and can you just talk about the complications of NIL and what that adds to the equation for you?
Wilcox: "We recruit a lot of players at the start of the recruiting process, even well back into their freshman, sophomore, junior years. We feel really good about the players that we signed today and previously in this class the name, image and likeness has certainly transformed recruiting and player movement throughout college football. And until there's more either legislation or regulation this is how it's going to be. But again, we're really concerned with the guys that are on our team right now.
Can you talk a little bit about the spring roster that came out the other day? Nick Morrow is a gray shirt. Can you talk a little go bit about what he adds?
Wilcox: "Yeah, so Nick came here, pretty interesting story a couple summers ago in a camp. And he was a defensive end tight end from Flagstaff and he was tall six seven, probably maybe 230, 240. And we put him through a bunch of drills and he ran pretty dang good and caught the ball pretty impressively for a guy that size who was I think 17 at the time. So we signed him or ended up gray shirting him where he sat out last fall and he just showed up here midyear. He came to some games and things like that last year and now he is, oh, he might be 280, 285. He is a big, big kid and really long arms and tall and we're going to play him at offensive line. And one, probably the most impressive thing is for a guy that young who’s that big to be able to jump in these workouts and compete with everybody else. It's been pretty impressive. But yeah, he's a 6 7, 280, 85 pound guy that looks skinny. And so he's young, he's got a lot of growing to do. He is going to grow as a person and as a player, but really he has some things that you can't coach. So we're looking forward to getting to work with him in spring ball."
And you have Stanley McKenzie back?
Wilcox: "Big Stan. Yeah. Yep. Stanley was home in the fall. Stanley has been through a lot in his time here. We love Stan and he's back. He looks great. He's doing really well and he's a nose guard, interior lineman for us and really, really just glad that he's back with us. He's a super, super guy and we love his family and we just we're glad he is here and looking forward to supporting him and watching him grow into the player that he can become."
And some of the guys that were out during the fall, do you expect to have some of them back for spring that you might be able to highlight?
Wilcox: "Yeah, so let's see here. I guess the guys that would be out for spring: [Akili] Calhoun, [Collin] Gamble, [Darius] Long, Brett [Johnson], let's see here, Mason Mangum, Tyson McWilliams, Jaedon Roberts, Mason Starling -- those guys will be out. Back for spring we think in some capacity would be Lu-[Magia Hearns], Kaleb Higgins, TJ Session, Bastian Swinney, which Bastian's a guy hasn't played very much -- he's been dinged up since, he's been here. Be really important for him to get a solid spring ball. Derek Wilkins, who we lost last spring. [Matthew Cindric] will be back in spring. And then a number of other guys that were dinged up last year, but as many guys as we can possibly get in spring ball the better."
You referred to Brett Johnson. Can you just talk about how he's doing and he's been through two years in a row of bad injuries and having to come back from that. Where is he at physically, where is he at mentally, emotionally, in terms of, and it doesn't sound like you'll have him at all in the spring then?
Wilcox: "Yeah Brett, mentally and emotionally. Brett's going to be one of those guys. They just don't, things don't phase Brett, and I know he has been through a lot last couple years too, season ending injuries. And for some folks that might be something that would be tough to overcome or maybe seem insurmountable, but he is just kind of a unique character that way. I, I think after the injury he had last fall, so he was going to miss his second year in a row, which is rough. And I think for about a day he was in the tank. And then after that, I mean he's just like a machine man. He comes in, he works out, he does his rehab and he's got a really impressive mindset. And so I'm not worried about him mentally or emotionally. Physically. He looks really good and he's just it's been a couple years, but I think he's going to come back and play really good football. I wouldn't expect anything else."
But it won't be until the summer?
Wilcox: "Correct. He'll do some things I think in the spring, but we'll hold him out of essentially everything that would be contact. I mean, he'll be moving around on the side, things like that."
And can you talk about what you've seen from Sam Jackson since he's come on campus, and have you learned anything new about him as a young man or as a player or as a competitor since he's been on campus with you?
Wilcox: "Well, all these guys are pretty fresh and finding their way and just the daily routine of how we do things and where to go. But he's done a really good job. I know getting along with his teammates, meeting guys and talked about when everybody got here with all the new faces and the movement in college football, the key is how quickly can you get to know each other? And great teams still have great chemistry that we're not just a bunch of independent contractors. And Sam's been great with that. All these guys are fresh into winter workouts and I can tell you he's a dynamic athlete, that's for sure. And so I think just the more time he spends in the weight room with his teammates getting to know each other, then we get out on the field with them. We get some time with the coaches. I think each day it's just going to get better and better."
You talked about chemistry among your players, but you have three new coaches. Can you just talk about how that dynamic is coming together and how you guys are getting along and working together so far?
Wilcox: "Couldn't be any better, to be honest with you. All those guys are pros. I mean, Jake [Spavital has] been here before, so he knows the lay of the land. You can just offensively different style of play. And it's something that I know the players are very, very excited about. Coach [Mike] Bloesh, who's been a coordinator, been very successful with the offensive line and the run game. I know he's been a joy to be around. And then Tim Plough, who's also been a coordinator, so we got three guys that have coordinator experience and you see 'em all they get in there and we're talking football and it's a lot of fun because there's a lot of ideas and there's a lot of experience in there. And they all got a ton of energy. And so those guys have been great. Really, really pleased that we're here with us. And I think they're, we got to get some things kind of settled and talk through language and semantics and some of those things to make sure that everything's dialed in and then the players will be ready to start meeting and spending time with the coaches here soon."
Has the time they've been on campus so far been devoted to a large degree to recruiting? And are you just starting to do those other things now?
Wilcox: "Well, it's kind of combination of both. I mean, when you're in January, it's heavy recruiting mode. And then when you're not recruiting and you got four hours and then you go in and close the door of the staff room and you start talking through verbiage and formation names and all those things. So it's really all of it and it's kind of balancing your time. And now that the signing day is upon us, we will spend a lot more time just in the football offices talking through those things specifically. Recruiting never really stops, but we're not traveling anymore and we'll be able to just kind of hone in on getting prepared for spring football."