Will the Transfer Portal Rescue Cal After 4 Losing Seasons?

As many as 11 four-year transfers from this recruiting class could start for the Bears on Saturday vs. UC Davis

Justin Wilcox /

When Justin Wilcox took over as coach of Cal’s football team in 2017, the Bears’ roster included just seven players who began their careers at other four-year schools.

The NCAA introduced the transfer portal a year later, giving athletes more autonomy, and the college football world began changing in ways closer to revolution than evolution.

Other factors, including Name, Image and Likeness financial opportunities and NCAA legislation allowing schools to directly pay student-athletes, also significantly impacted the landscape.

All of it has added up to a freedom of movement among players that has changed the recruiting equation, with the transfer portal providing more immediate roster help than high school recruiting typically can.

On the heels of four consecutive losing seasons that featured 14 defeats settled by no more than a touchdown, Wilcox felt urgency to get help quickly.

“The number of one-score games that we were on the wrong end of isn’t acceptable,” he said.

Cal has dived deep into the portal the past two years, and the team that takes the field Saturday afternoon in its season opener against UC Davis shows the profound result of that approach.

Since last season ended, the Bears have added 54 new players, including freshmen and non-scholarship walk-ons. Among the group, 24 were plucked from the portal, by far the program’s heaviest-ever infusion of transfers from four-year schools.

The recruiting website On3 rated Cal’s transfer class the 13th best in FBS.

Fans will see the newcomers everywhere on Saturday afternoon. Nineteen of those 24 appear on Cal’s two-deep chart, and as many as 11 could be starters. That includes at quarterback, where Wilcox has declined to announce whether returning starter Fernando Mendoza or transfer Chander Rogers will ge the call.

Five others on the two-deep transferred to Berkeley a year ago and two more arrived in 2022.

There are 14 four-year transfers on the offensive two-deep chart and 10 more on the defensive side, along with kicker Roy Coe (North Carolina) and punter Lachlan Wilson (Tulsa).

That adds up to 26 players on the two-deep who began their careers at other four-year schools.

To be sure, the Bears continue to make high school recruiting a priority. Their best player, running back Jaydn Ott, has been with Cal from the start. Other key “home-grown” players include quarterback Fernando Mendoza, linebacker Cade Uluave and safety Craig Woodson.

But the transfers are everywhere, and will play significant roles for the Bears as they transition into the Atlantic Coast Conference.

Cal has looked everywhere to find players who can fit and help. 

The Bears landed transfers from schools residing in 20 different states, including 14 players from Power 5 conferences, seven from smaller FBS schools and five from FCS programs.

Wilcox said the process of players coming together and creating chemistry on and off the field, has gone well. Defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon notes in the video above that transfers are older and more mature and benefit from experiences at their previous stops.

Still, only Saturday’s grades matter, so the Bears will get their first real feedback against the Aggies.

“I think the true test is game day. I’m excited for us,” Wilcox said. “We’ve been too close too many times. Now it’s up to us to win those close games.”

Here’s a breakdown of how the transfer portal has impacted the Cal depth chart: 

2024 TRANSFERS

QB Chandler Rogers, North Texas: Competing for No. 1

QB CJ Harris, Ohio U: Third string but has impressed coaches

RB Kadarius Calloway, Old Dominion: Competing for No. 2

WR Kyion Grayes, Ohio State: Projected starter

WR Tobias Merriweather, Notre Dame: Projected starter

WR Mikey Matthews, Utah: Projected starter

WR Jonathan Brady, New Mexico State: Second team

TE Corey Dyches, Maryland: Second team

LG Rush Reimer, Montana State: Projected starter

LG Braden Miller, Michigan State: Second team

C Will McDonald, Coastal Carolina: Projected starter

LT Victor Stoffel, Temple: Second team

DT TJ Bollers, Wisconsin: Listed as co-starter

DT Aidan Keanaaina, Notre Dame: Listed as co-starter

OLB Cheik Fall, Eastern Kentucky: Second team

ILB Teddye Buchanan, UC Davis: Projected starter

CB Marcus Harris, Idaho: Projected starter

Saf Ryan Yaites, LSU: Second team

NB Josiah Wagoner, Oklahoma: Second team

PK Ryan Coe, North Carolina: Projected starter

 

2023 TRANSFERS 

C Matthew Wykoff, Texas A&M: Second team; started 12 games at LG in 2023

RB Byron Cardwell, Oregon: Competing for No. 2

OLB David Reese, Florida: Returning starter

CB Nohl Williams, UNLV: Returning starter

P Lachlan Wilson, Tulsa: Returning starter

2022 TRANSFERS

RT TJ Session, Montana State: Returning starter

OLB Xavier Carlton, Utah: Returning starter