Cal defensive end Chris McCain was removed from the football team for “conduct detrimental to the team,” Cal Athletics announced Sunday evening.
Head coach Sonny Dykes made the initial announcement in a Sunday press release on calbears.com. Dykes discussed the situation in a post-practice press conference. When asked if the dismissal of the junior from Greensboro, N.C., was related to a specific event that occurred over the weekend, Dykes confirmed that it was.
“I told him I wouldn’t discuss it, so I’m not going to,” Dykes said. “It wasn’t just one thing, though — it was a series of things.”
Dykes confirmed McCain would remain at the university as a student under scholarship.
“It was a very difficult decision,” Dykes said. “It impacts a young person’s life, so you have to make the decision judiciously. But it was something we felt that we had to do.”
McCain committed to the Bears in 2010, an integral part of one of the most lauded recruiting classes in Cal history. He flashed game-changing potential in his role as a backup during his 2011 freshman campaign. The 6-foot-6 defensive end possessed a unique combination of size and speed, allowing McCain to compile seven tackles for loss in limited action.
He broke out as one of the stars of the defense in the Bears’ dismal 2012 season, piling up 8.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks and was Cal’s most consistent pass-rushing presence. Entering the 2013 season, McCain was expected to be one of the Bears’ biggest difference-makers on the defensive side of the ball.
Michael Rosen covers football. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow him on Twitter @michaelrosen3.