Cal’s first week of training camp ends with a flourish

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Brandon McIlwain fielded a low snap and confidently bobbed in a well-protected pocket at about the 15-yard line. When no receivers could wiggle open, he decided to dart to his left.

He started to stumble near the original line of scrimmage. As he went to the ground, McIlwain flung an improbable, impromptu touchdown pass to Patrick Laird.

The offense rejoiced and three loud horns reverberated.

Week 1 of Cal’s training camp ended with a spill-your-coffee moment late Saturday night, a fitting close considering the liveliness that appears to be building around the program in Berkeley.

“Everyone is here to work,” junior fullback Malik McMorris said. “A lot of guys on the team came from winning high school programs, so losing isn’t in their vocabularies.

“I think everyone is eager. The competition and the level of practice is at its highest. That’s at every practice.”

Saturday’s practice under the lights at Memorial Stadium marked the first time the team was in full pads and allowed to tackle, something the Bears have struggled to do while going 22-39 the past five seasons.

The first two days of this year’s camp were devoted to installing the new schemes of offensive coordinator Beau Baldwin and defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter, and the players drilled those playbooks against different formations until they completed the NCAA acclimation period.

“It’s great to get out here in pads, finally,” head coach Justin Wilcox said. “I know the coaches and the players have been itching to get a little more physical, and we got that done. There was a lot of great work on both sides.”

Wilcox likes to say that the team looked like it was playing a different sport from Day 1 to Day 15 of spring ball. Well, it is starting to look like a football team after a week of training camp.

Cal Bears football head coach Justin Wilcox watches the defense work out during Cal football practice at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Monday, July 31, 2017. Cal Bears football head coach Justin Wilcox watches the defense work out during Cal football practice at Memorial Stadium in Berkeley, Calif., on Monday, July 31, 2017. Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Buy photo Photo: Carlos Avila Gonzalez, The Chronicle Image 1 of / 4 Caption Close Cal’s first week of training camp ends with a flourish 1 / 4 Back to Gallery

The players have mostly recalled the complex offense and defense introduced by the new coaching staff in the spring and have started to train the muscle memory it takes to play in those systems during training camp.

All the while, they’re competing for playing time. The four-headed quarterback competition hasn’t produced a starter, one defensive end and one outside-linebacker spot are up for grabs, and the defensive backfield has 25 players listed on the depth chart who are vying for four starting positions.

On the offensive line, which lost four players with starting experience to graduation or transfer, there seem to be five starters — though their exact positions haven’t been determined. Addison Ooms is the center, but Kamryn Bennett, Jake Curhan, Patrick Mekari and Semisi Uluave generally have rotated among the other four positions with the first team.

“Across the board, everybody is kind of in the same boat,” Wilcox said. “We’ve got to become more consistent, we’ve got to refine the techniques, and we’ve got to put it into practice when it becomes 11-on-11 and the coach isn’t standing right there.”

Rusty Simmons is a San Francisco Chronicle staff writer. Email: rsimmons@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Rusty_SFChron