Cal Bears Football

This year's USC at Cal football game, which was scheduled for Saturday at 3:30 p.m. ET in Berkeley's California Memorial Stadium, has been postponed because of COVID-19 issues within the Golden Bears program. 

Jon Wilner of the Bay Area News Group first reported the news. 

As noted by ESPN's Kyle Bonagura, who confirmed the news, more than two dozen players tested positive for COVID-19 last week and did not travel with the team to face Arizona on Saturday. That matchup resulted in a 10-3 loss for the Bears, who had just 42 scholarship players on hand.

Cal then had more positive test results on its team, which has a 99 percent vaccination rate among players, per Bonagura. Those additional results led to the postponement.

The game will now be played Dec. 4. 

The USC-Cal game is the first FBS contest this year to be postponed because of COVID-19 concerns, according to Wilner.

Cal quarterback Chase Garbers, who was one of the players who did not attend the Arizona game, expressed his frustrations with the University Health Services on Monday:

Bonagura gave a rundown of what happened last week leading into the Arizona game:

After a couple positive tests early in the week, the city of Berkeley required the entire team to be tested on Wednesday—including asymptomatic vaccinated individuals— which revealed the outbreak, the source said. It's unclear when the players and coaches who tested positive will be allowed to return to the team.

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox offered comments after the Arizona game.

"This is a city of Berkeley [process] and the [UC Berkeley administration are] the ones that relay the information to me," Wilcox said. "I'll be looking forward to sharing more at a later time. I don't think this moment is the time to discuss that."

In addition, as Kylen Mills of KRON4 News reported, "players are upset they're forced to sit 10 days regardless of vax status or subsequent negative tests."

A positive COVID-19 test has led to the cancellation of Saturday's football game between Washington and California.

In a statement from the Pac-12, the game was canceled at Cal's request because the team did not have a "minimum number of scholarship players available" after a positive test.

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox told reporters Wednesday that the game's status was up in the air because a "significant" number of players had to undergo contact tracing after the positive test was returned.

"It's a tricky situation as we all know," he said. "We are glad to report that the one positive is asymptomatic and everybody's healthy. But the result of the contact tracing is significant. We will hopefully learn in the short term where that leads us, but it's a significant hurdle."

Per the official Pac-12 guidelines for this season, teams must have at least 53 scholarship players available to play, including a minimum of seven offensive linemen, four defensive linemen and one quarterback.

Saturday will mark the first day of the Pac-12 football season. Teams will play a seven-game conference-only schedule in the regular season, and the Pac-12 Championship Game takes place either Dec. 18 or 19.

The California Golden Bears announced former NFL running back C.J. Anderson is coming back to the program as a volunteer quality control coach.

Anderson played collegiately at California and ran for 1,135 yards and 12 touchdowns while adding 350 yards and two scores through the air in 2011 and 2012.

He played in the NFL from 2013 through 2019 for the Denver Broncos, Los Angeles Rams, Carolina Panthers and Detroit Lions. Anderson was a Pro Bowler in 2014 for the Broncos with 849 rushing yards, 324 receiving yards and 10 total touchdowns and was impressive again in 2017 with 1,007 rushing yards, 224 receiving yards and four touchdowns.

Anderson also helped the Broncos win the Super Bowl in 2015.

It is not a surprise to see him pursuing a coaching career.

After all, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported Anderson planned on pursuing a coaching opportunity at a Power Five conference school when he officially retired in September. "Details soon," Anderson said at the time.

Turns out, he is going back to his alma mater.

In light of Under Armour attempting to terminate its contract with UCLA, Cal has launched a preemptive strike saying the company "does not have grounds" to end their deal.

"While we understand that we are in challenging times, we have been and remain committed to our partnership with Under Armour," Cal said in a statement. "We are confident that we are fulfilling the terms of our agreement and that Under Armour does not have grounds for termination. We know that UA has put years into building its college business, and we have done and will continue to do everything in our power to help them succeed.

"Cal Athletics remains steadfast in its commitment to support its student-athletes with the apparel and footwear they need to train, compete and succeed in their chose athletic fields."

Under Armour, which has had several recent quarters of disappointing sales and has been hit hard by the COVID-19 pandemic, recently informed UCLA of plans to back out of their $280 million apparel contract. Michael Smith of the Sports Business Journal reported Under Armour is planning to attempt to back out of its deal with Cal as well.

Cal signed a 10-year, $86 million deal with Under Armour in 2016. While the deal pales in comparison to the UCLA pact, it's safe to say neither deal has provided Under Armour much benefit in national exposure. The schools have combined for three bowl appearances in football (zero Top 25 rankings) and two NCAA tournament berths in men's basketball since the deals were signed.

With Under Armour looking for ways to slash costs, dissolving those deals would be a natural way to find $366 million in savings. It's unclear if the company has any legal grounds to do so. Both UCLA and Cal said they're planning to fight, likely to avoid lost revenue that they would not otherwise be able to recoup—especially in the midst of a pandemic. 

The University of California released a statement Wednesday after former student Paige Cornelius, who worked as a sports medicine intern in the athletic department, announced she had "medically withdrawn" from the school to seek treatment following alleged sexual harassment by players, coaches and staff members of the Golden Bears' football team.

Cornelius told Kyle Bonagura of ESPN.com that she decided to go public with her story after attempts to reach athletic director Jim Knowlton, football coach Justin Wilcox and other staff members went unanswered.

"We are aware of the very disturbing public allegations made on social media," the university's statement read. "Allegations of sexual violence and sexual harassment by campus employees are confidential unless officials determine policy is violated, and disciplinary action has been decided."

Cornelius said the harassment included one member of the coaching staff threatening to get her fired if she didn't have sex with him—ESPN reported he was since removed from the staff, though it's unclear if it's related to the case—and another staffer followed her home and asked if she'd go to the pool with him, saying she would "look amazing in a bikini."

"This coach is still employed by Cal Football, just to make that clear," she wrote on Facebook, per Bonagura.

Cornelius added she's "seeking intensive therapy and psychiatry for the post traumatic stress syndrome and anxiety that happened from the time I spent working for the Cal Football team."

In May, longtime Cal assistant director of student services Mohamed Muqtar was fired after sexual assault and harassment allegations were brought forward by seven women.

The school released a statement saying, "The findings described in the report are appalling, wholly unacceptable and have no place in our department, on campus or anywhere."

Bryce Turner, a redshirt sophomore cornerback at the University of California, died this week at the age of 20.

Per a statement from his family (h/t Rusty Simmons of the San Francisco Chronicle), Turner had been hospitalized after suffering a "medical emergency" during a non-team workout last week. His cause of death has not been revealed.

Turner's family said in a statement released on Thursday the medical emergency occurred near their home in Southern California.

After Turner's hospitalization, Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said in a separate statement the school would "do everything we can to support Bryce and his family during this difficult time."

Turner transferred to Cal after spending his freshman season at Long Beach City College. He made his lone appearance for the Golden Bears during a Sept. 15 win over Idaho State and tallied one tackle in the 45-23 victory.

Linebacker Chris Fatilua, a California football commit, required a life-saving surgical procedure after suffering a non-football spinal cord injury in June, and his medical costs began piling up.  

On Thursday, the College Football Assistance Fund announced it was providing Fatilua with a $10,000 grant to assist with those costs, according to John Taylor of NBC Sports.  

"I would like to especially thank the College Football Assistance Fund on donating to assist my son in his recovery from a very tragic injury," Chris Fatilua Sr. said. "As a single father raising four kids, while working, and now caring for Chris as he goes through rehabilitation in another state, it's tough. The kindness shown to our family is very humbling."  

"I'm so thankful that the College Football Assistance Fund has stepped in to help Chris as he recovers from this critical injury," Cal head coach Justin Wilcox added. "We are so thankful that such an organization exists in our sport to support these young men and their families when they need it most."  

Fatilua suffered the injury in an accident in a swimming pool, and he initially had paralysis in his hands and feet, though he's regained feeling in his hands and toes.  

The CFA Fund noted that "those able to assist can make donations at http://www.CFAFund.org, which will be put in a restricted fund for Chris and his family."  

California wide receiver Demetris Robertson announced Thursday he would be transferring from the school:

In two seasons with the school, Robertson accumulated 57 receptions for 837 yards and seven touchdowns.

He appeared in just two games in his sophomore campaign as a lower-body surgery ended his season in early October. He took a medical redshirt for the season.

Bruce Feldman of Fox Sports elaborated on where Robertson could end up and the type of person he is: 

His loss is a huge one for Cal, as he was expected to put together a big performance in his redshirt sophomore season. The Cal speedster and former 5-star prospect "ran a 4.35-second 40-yard dash this spring" and "was timed at 10.77 seconds in the 100 meters," according to Chase Goodbread of NFL.com.

Losing his field-stretching ability and big-play potential is a major blow for a Cal program that went 5-7 last year and was 40th in the nation in passing yards per game (258.9) last year.

The team does have a solid starting pair of receivers in Vic Wharton III (67 receptions for 871 yards and five touchdowns in 2017) and Kanawai Noa (56 catches, 788 yards, four scores), but Robertson would have helped form a truly dynamic trio.

The University of California announced Wednesday that football recruit Chris Fatilua suffered a significant spinal cord injury on Monday.

"Chris has sustained a significant and serious spinal cord injury from an accident that occurred Monday afternoon in San Diego," Fatilua's family said in a statement through the school. "He is receiving treatment for his injury and his long-term prognosis is unknown at this time. Our family is tremendously appreciative of the support we have received from everyone at this difficult time. It is reassuring and inspirational to know that we will have that support as we begin the recovery process and tackle the challenges ahead. At this time we ask that our privacy be respected to help allow our family and those closest to us to focus on Chris' recovery."

According to 247Sports, Fatilua is a 3-star linebacker who committed to Cal on January 28.

"Our hearts and minds are with incoming freshman Chris Fatilua and his family at this difficult time," head coach Justin Wilcox said in a statement. "The most important thing to focus on right now and in the immediate future is Chris' recovery. Our Cal family will be there to support them in every way possible now and when Chris is ready to join us in Berkeley."

Chris Brown, a 3-star running back from El Camino High School in Oceanside, California, committed to California on Monday. He announced his decision on Twitter:

Brown, who stands 6'1" and weighs 218 pounds, is considered the No. 24 running back in the class of 2018, according to 247Sports.

Brown seems likely to translate to a running back on the next level, but he remained open to playing different positions during the recruiting process.

"Some of it is as a running back, some as an athlete," Brown said about which positions schools were recruiting him to play in Jan. 2017, per Brandon Huffman of Scout. "Some even for defense. I'd rather play running back in college but if I played defense, I wouldn't mind it. Schools like me more as a nickel or linebacker type."

According to MaxPreps, Brown made an impact on both sides of the ball during his 2016 junior season, rushing 221 times for 1,442 yards and 15 touchdowns. He also recorded 14 tackles and two interceptions. However, his senior season stats weren't as gaudy, as he rushed for 770 yards and 10 touchdowns on 158 carries.  

Still, his future would appear to be at running back. Brown has excellent agility and balance and easily runs through arm tackles. While he doesn't have elite top-end speed, he's still a threat to break off a long run every time he touches the ball given his ability to avoid would-be tacklers.

Certainly, Cal will be envisioning him shaking off quite a few defenders in the coming years.