How Cal Players Describe the Distinctive Style of Coach Tosh Lupoi

When asked to describe new Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi, Bears players typically pause for a moment, smile and then try to communicate the essence of the man they call "Tosh" or "Coach Tosh."

It's hard to imagine players calling previous Cal head coach Justin Wilcox "Coach Justin," but Lupoi is a little different, as a number of players and a few assistant coaches indicate in a series of quotes from them describing the Golden Bears' 44-year-old, first-year head coach:

“The guy’s a character, I would say that for sure. He’s a good guy. He’s a great coach. He knows what he’s doing. He wants nothing but the best for us.” – Freshman offensive lineman Daniel McMorris.

“He’s a great guy. He always brings energy. He’s always waking everybody up, 5:30 in the morning, he’s screaming, running around. That drive just makes us want to compete harder. . . . He’s always :30, screaming, jumping around, getting us ready.” – Senior wide receiver Ian Strong, a transfer from Rutgers.

“Tosh? Oh, man, he’s probably the most enthusiastic coach I’ve ever been a part of. That’s truly a blessing, because not every coach in America is like that . . . That’s the way it is with Tosh. You’re going to get the same guy every day and you can’t ask for anything better.” – Junior defensive lineman Jayden Williams, a transfer from North Texas.

“The funniest question I get [from players] is: ‘Is he like this all the time? You’ll see.’ And the next day they’re like, ‘Man, he’s like this every single day.’ There’s not a day that he’s not going to bring the juice. And it’s funny because, like I said, once you see your leader doing that, it breeds everyone one else doing it. . . . It’s making it not so much a have-to as a want-to. It makes the day go extremely fast.” -- Defensive line coach Darrion Daniels.

“That dude doesn’t sleep. Talk about relentless effort, he’s relentless on the field, off the field, and when you see your leader doing that, it breeds that in the whole staff.” -- Daniels.

“When you love something so much, sleep doesn’t -- you got to back off it. He’s different. He’s different in a good way.” – Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jacob Arop, a transfer from South Dakota.

“Lupoi is a very interesting guy, not in a bad way. He’s very funny. He’s like all over the place. He’s a good coach, though, too.” – Redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Jimothy Lewis Jr., a transfer from Mississippi State.

“Very energetic. He loves what he does. Kind of fires me up. It’s not like another coach [that might say], ‘All right, here’s what we got to do today.’ He’s always coming into the meeting room early in the morning and just fired up, ready to go to work, and that fires me up early in the morning no matter what time it is.” – Offensive lineman Arop.

“Tosh? Hmmm. I don’t know a good word to describe him. He’s very energetic. The energy is contagious. He’ll get us all riled up. I love what he’s been doing. I’ve been around a lot of head coaches. I love the fire he’s bringing, and I love the program he’s trying to build.” – Redshirt junior offensive lineman Ashton Rivera, a transfer from Kent State.

“Amazing. He’s energetic, loving person. I feel like I’ve never had a coach like Tosh. He’s always willing to push you every day. He’s a head-banger coach. He’s a great guy to be around.” – Redshirt junior outside linebacker Joshua Pierce, a transfer from North Texas.

“Very energetic. I’m sure you heard it from the other guys – very energetic, very hands on. Just trying to out-compete everybody in every phase of football, life, just everything you can think of, just trying to out-compete everybody.” – Freshman tight end Taimane Purcell.

“Coach Lupoi, that’s my guy. I would definitely describe him as someone’s who’s authentic, one who’s very straightforward, to the point. Someone that’s trying to get the best out of you, and that’s why I came here for sure.” – Redshirt sophomore outside linebacker Solomon Williams, a transfer from Texas A&M.

“Very strict, straightforward, very disciplined. Me, as a person, I’m very disciplined myself. I take pride in being disciplined, so Tosh is one of those. That’s one of the reasons I came here.” – Redshirt sophomore inside linebacker Tristan Jernigan, a transfer from Texas A&M.

“I definitely love Tosh a lot. He’s a great coach, great role model. Tosh checks in on us in every little manner. He can tell if you’re down, if you’re happy. He’s the same guy every day. He brings that juice and he allows me to go out there and be myself.” – Redshirt senior outside linebacker Justin Beadles, a transfer from Louisville.

“Coach Tosh is always going to be Coach Tosh. He’s going to coach us super hard. At the end of the day he knows how to get the job done, how to lead a winning program because he’s been around that type of environment all throughout his career. So everything he’s doing here -- implementing hard practices on Day One. It’s hard to practice like you’re in season on Day One of spring ball, but that’s how we need to do it to get better. Just him trusting in his plan. Buying in to what he wants to do is going to be huge for our team. – Sophomore wide receiver Cooper Perry, a transfer from Oregon.

“When you walk into his office and he gives the recruiting speech he really believes it. And if he believes it, why shouldn’t I?” – Senior long snapper David Bird, a transfer from Alabama.

“He’s a really, really great guy. Everything he stands for I really gravitated toward. He’s a hard-working guy, younger head coach.” – Senior punter Angus Davis, a transfer from Tulsa.

“Biggest thing is attention to detail. He always challenges us [assistant coaches] to break things down in groups of three or less, because it’s easier for the boys to remember. So it’s always a challenge on the coach to always try to simplify things in that capacity.” – Defensive line coach Daniels.

“He’s actually the same dude he was in college, believe it or not: the way he approached the game, how consistent, how diligent, how disciplined he was. He was always locked in, trying to maximize his ability, and you can see that the way he coaches now. Everything is really laid out, really organized. Obviously you’ve got 100-plus players, you got coaches all over the place, you got music playing. It can be very chaotic, but he does everything he can to make sure everyone is in place, they know what they’re doing, so that practice is efficient and effective and that we’re getting what we need to get out of it, that when we step out on the field, everyone is prepared and understands the situation, that we’re prepared for that moment.” – Assistant edge coach Lorenzo Alexander, who was Lupoi’s teammate at Cal.