Cal football targets RB Star Thomas, OL Will McDonald, DT Gavin Mayer in portal
There are a few major players the California Golden Bears would love to land.
The California Golden Bears still have several open scholarships left on their roster. Here are some players worth watching out for in the transfer portal who can fill important spots of need.
Along the defensive line, Gavin Meyer appears to have gained some notice. He is a graduate transfer who can provide any program an injection of pass rushing ability. Via Pete Nakos:
Former Wyoming defensive tackle Gavin Meyer has visits scheduled to USC and Cal for next week, his agent Miles Jordan tells On3sports. Wisconsin and Illinois round out his top four schools.
Meyer had 26 tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and 18 pressures with a 78.4 PFF grade. In 2022, Meyer had 40 tackles, 5.0 TFLs, 4.0 sacks and 31 pressures with a 62.5 PFF grade.
This type of pass rush from the interior is something the Bears have wanted since young BRETT JOHNSON was folding guards into the backfield in his early days. Meyer would be a welcome addition to a Cal squad that needs to upgrade in the rush game.
Cal is always looking to add to their running back depth, and it appears they have found another target from Conference USA in Star Thomas. Tweet from Pete Nakos:
New Mexico State running back Star Thomas is down to four schools, On3 has learned. The second-team All-C-USA selection is down to Ole Miss, Cal, Duke and Toledo. He's rushed for 1,171 career yards and 9 TDs with 351 receiving yards and 5 scores.
There is buzz that Thomas favors Cal, so the Bears could have even more depth to provide Jaydn Ott relief. A capable pass-catching back would provide even more diversity in the offensive schemes the Bears want to run.
Cal could use more competition and depth on the offensive line for sure, and one prominent target is Will McDonald. Tweet from Pete Nakos:
Coastal Carolina offensive lineman Will McDonald tells On3 he's visiting Cal this week. The All-Sun Belt selection has started 26 career games. The left guard has also been in contact with Arkansas, Georgia Tech and UCF.
McDonald would be an intriguing fit and would likely immediately challenge for the starting offensive lineman spot, with Bastian Swinney, Sioape Vatikani, Victor Stoffel and Matthew Wykoff all players he will have to battle. McDonald was an excellent pass blocker in the Sun Belt, allowing only 9 pass rushes on around 400 pass blocking plays in 2023 (according to PFF+).
Work is needed to be done to close here.
Gotta say it's really refreshing to be in a position where most of these late portal acquisitions are for depth and competition instead of a position of need
I will say though that we probably need a DT who can cause disruption most of all, last year our pass rush was really non-existent until the last 3 games of the season
Some kid has an agent for deciding where to go to college? That should be an automatic "Good luck to you" and cross this guy off the Cal recruiting list. Exactly how is the agent going to be paid? This is trouble waiting to happen.