Cal Football: Wide Receiver Jeremiah Hunter Enters the Transfer Portal

The redshirt junior from Fresno caught 123 passes the past two seasons.

Wide receiver Jeremiah Hunter, who caught 123 passes for Cal the past two seasons, entered the transfer portal, he announced on his Instagram page.

Instagram

The 6-foot-2, 200-pound fourth-year junior from Fresno had hinted before the Independence Bowl that he might be considering a move.

“Right now I’m just trying to focus on the bowl game and see what happens after that,” he told reporters when asked if he was committed to returning to Cal in 2024.

Hunter made a team-leading 63 receptions for 750 yards and seven touchdowns this season. He hauled in at least five passes in nine of the Bears’ 13 games this fall, including eight for a season-best 101 yards and two TDs in the regular-season finale win at UCLA.

He had 60 catches for a team-best 965 yards and five scores a year ago, again saving his best for the Bruins, against whom he had eight receptions for 153 yards and two scores.

Hunter has three-year career totals of 144 catches for 2,056 yards and 13 TDs. He was on the cusp of cracking the top-10 all-time at Cal in all three categories, just 12 receptions, 140 yards and two TDs from joining the lists.

His departure means that redshirt sophomore Trond Grizzell, who came to Cal as a walk-on, is the team’s top returning receiver. Grizzell, who is expected to be placed on scholarship this offseason, had a breakout year with 39 receptions for 593 yards and five touchdowns.

Three other wide receivers on the 2023 team also are departing. Monroe Young has completed his eligibility and Taj Davis entered the transfer portal and Brian Hightower has opted to prepare for NFL draft.

Redshirt sophomore Mavin Anderson, who caught eight passes for 87 yards this season, is scheduled to return. He had 37 receptions for 372 yards and three TDs in 2022.

Other young wideouts in the program who have yet to make their mark include redshirt freshmen Jaividen Plummer, Jordan King and Marquez Dortch, and freshman Nyziah Hunter (no relation to Jeremiah), a former four-star prospect in the recruiting class of ’23 from Salinas.

The Bears signed two high school receiver prospects on Wednesday, inking Josiah Martin of Denton, Texas, and Trevor Rogers of Acalanes High in the East Bay.

Jaden Richardson, a San Mateo native who caught 13 touchdown passes this season for Division III Tufts, announced Wednesday he has committed to Cal.

And reports indicate that Notre Dame freshman Tobias Merriweather, who averaged 20.4 yards on 14 receptions last fall, is close to signing with Cal. A 6-foot-4, 205-pounder from Camas, Washington, Merriweather caught two TD passes this season, one of them a 41-yarder vs. Stanford.

Cover photo of Jeremiah Hunter by Robert Edwards, USA Today

Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo