Cal Football: Kai Millner Reportedly Will Transfer; Who Is the Bears' Next QB?
Suddenly, Cal’s quarterback situation is dire.
On the heels of starter Jack Plummer announcing Wednesday that he would enter the transfer portal, backup Kai Millner reportedly is doing the same thing.
Adam Rittenberg of ESPN reported the news this morning, and the Bears now are without a quarterback who has taken a snap in a college football game.
The only two scholarship quarterbacks still on the Cal roster are freshman Fernando Mendoza and redshirt sophomore Zach Johnson.
Cal announced a 14-player recruiting class on Wednesday and there wasn’t a quarterback in the group.
During his Zoom news conference to announce the recruiting class, coach Justin Wilcox danced around questions related to Plummer and the quarterback situation.
“Both Jack and Kai, who’ve been great for us, those guys have individual decisions to make,” he said before either player had revealed plans. I’ll tell you we’re going to be very active recruiting the quarterback position — high school and transfer quarterback.
“Those guys have done a great job for us. It’s not my place to announce their intentions. I really appreciate both of them.”
New offensive coordinator Jake Spavital will be the lead recruiter in Cal’s efforts to find another quarterback option. Wilcox talks in the video above about how Spavital’s resume shows he can adapt to his personnel, but he’ll need a QB with some experience to operate any offensive system.
Millner figured to be the front-runner to replace Plummer, who won the starting job last spring after transferring from Purdue. A native of Gilbert, Arizona, Millner saw action in three games last season, including vs. Oregon, when he was 8 for 11 for 114 yards and two touchdowns.
Millner apparently decided he didn’t like his future at Cal or under a new coordinator, and he will look for a new football home.
Neither of the two remaining scholarship quarterbacks on the team have seen game action.
Fernando Mendoza
Photo by Al Sermeno, KLC fotos
But Mendoza created some buzz back in August fall camp with strong showings in practice and scrimmage action. He appeared to move into the No. 3 slot on the depth chart by the time camp broke.
A 6-foot-5, 215-pounder from Miami, Mendoza completed 63 percent of his passes for 1,109 yards with 12 touchdowns and four interceptions for a Columbus High School team that won eight in a row before finishing 9-4 after a loss the semifinals of the 8A Florida state playoffs.
The recruiting website 247Sports gave him a composite two-star rating, although ESPN made him a three-star prospect.
Johnson, 6-1, 190, has been in the program for three seasons but is waiting for his first chance on game day.
At Hart High in Valencia, he passed for 5,680 yards with 57 touchdowns and 26 interceptions his junior and senior seasons of 2018 and ’19. He was the offensive player of the year in his high school league and a consensus three-star prospect.
Cover photo of Kai Millner, left, and Zach Johnson by Darren Yamashita, USA Today
Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
