After a Brief and `Overwhelming' Venture Into The Transfer Portal, Marcus Harris Is Happy To Be At Cal

The former Idaho cornerback chose Berkeley over other suitors barely 24 hours after declaring he was available.

Former Idaho cornerback Marcus Harris (2) breaks up a pass intended for Cal's Taj Davis last season. / Photo by Kyle Terada, USA Today

Cal cornerback Marcus Harris says his college football recruitment out of Grant High School in Portland, Oregon, lasted for about a year before he accepted a preferred walk-on offer from Oregon State.

He traveled his road to Berkeley quicker than that. Much quicker.

Harris transferred to Idaho after one year, started for three seasons, earned All-Big Sky honors and an undergraduate degree in psychology.

By the time the Vandals’ 2023 season ended with a 30-22 loss to Albany on Saturday, Dec. 9 in the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs, Harris knew he was ready to challenge himself by playing his final season at the upper end of FBS.

So on that Monday at 10 a.m. — two days after the season ended — Harris put his name into the transfer portal.

“By 10:30, I probably had like 30 schools who had contacted me,” he said. “It was definitely a humbling experience to go through with my family to see the schools that showed interest.

“All of them wanted me to get on a flight that Monday for an official visit.”

Harris had anticipated a positive response because of how well he played for the Vandals. No longer the 160-pound high school wide receiver who began his career at OSU, the 23-year-old is now a 5-foot-11, 190-pound cornerback with good speed and an impressive statistical resume.

In three seasons at Idaho, he compiled 154 tackles (nine for loss) and six interceptions among his program-record 36 passes defended.

“You kind of have a little bit of feeling based on the buzz of your name,” he said. “I didn’t know which schools, of course. But I knew they would, just because of the success I’d had.”

Instead of interest, he was greeted by an avalanche of phone calls and text messages. 

“It was a lot, people calling me every 5 minutes, me missing calls,” he said. “I had to direct people to my Dad, my Mom. My Mom doesn’t know much about the recruiting process.”

His Dad, Diallo Lewis, who was a high school football coach, helped him navigate the traffic jam of suitors. “It was overwhelming,” Harris said.

Among those 30 schools, Harris said he took note of Cal, Penn State, Wisconsin, Cincinnati, Louisville, Vanderbilt and Memphis. Cal had an immediate edge because of weather and geography.

Harris and his folks were on a plane to the Bay Area early that same afternoon. He toured the campus and the stadium and watched the team practice for its Independence Bowl game five days later. After dinner and visits with Cal’s coaches, Harris had made up his mind.

“I loved it. It was big,” he said of the campus. “I got a heart-warming feeling walking in here. My parents loved it, too.”

Before flying home to Portland on Tuesday afternoon — barely 24 hours after entering the transfer portal — Harris told the coaches he was coming.

Cal defensive coordinator Peter Sirmon said the emergence of the transfer portal the past couple years has forced programs to adjust their approach to recruiting.

He explained that to limit transfer prospects from falling through the cracks, programs initially reach out to dozens of players they believe may fill their needs. Then the winnowing process begins.

“If anybody tells you they’ve got it wired, they’re probably a little ambitious,” Sirmon said. "The first thing we’re looking for is the film. We’re looking for traits that are not equal to, but traits we think will make us better. We’re not trying to fill in the bottom of our roster, we’re looking for guys that can come in and make an impact.”

What the Bears saw on film was encouraging — an experienced player who was always around the ball. “And he can flippin’ run,” Sirmon said.

Even so, Sirmon explained, “The transfer portal is buyer beware. You have to be very conscientious on what you’re doing and making sure you’re digging into everybody’s story. Because everybody has a story. 

“We’re not judging that you’re in the portal but we just need to make sure there’s some recommendations. We realize there’s going to be maybe conflict with, `I wanted to play more, I thought I was better.’ 

“We’re looking for guys that have been contributing members of their team and not distractions. We found a guy that wants to compete at a high level and looking to do it against more consistent opponents week to week.”

Harris almost immediately showed the coaching staff their instincts were good and he has spent much of spring ball working with the starting defense.

“I’m feeling good about my role,” Harris said.