Damn! Cal will have their best collection of offensive skill position talent since Jared Goff’s final season, and potentially since the height of the Tedford era.
Beautiful, and I’m now convinced if this much offensive talent is being signed through the portal it means there’s a defense plan from Tosh and Co. that will follow in turn.
FWIW, our ranking average for portal players is up there with the likes of SEC blue chips such as Alabama, Texas, and Georgia. This is a quality haul for Tosh. He is not messing around!
Can you imagine, if we hired Tosh but Jim Knowlton was still our AD? Last year our donors were holding back the money even after Ron Rivera became GM because JK was still managing football program. We knew Tosh can recruit, but we didn't know how much the institutional support can change the program so drastically.
Nice get. Now we really need to get a focus on the OL. That is more challenging void to fill, as the cost is similar or higher than a top WR/RB. All top programs are looking for OL. And we have many spots to fill.
OT is the real money position and we've ALREADY had some success. IOL market isn't as competitive, though we need to be so, SO much better than we were under Wilcox. I expect we'll be more patient and fill in IOL later in the process. There are very few 4-stars left so might not be worth overspending for them even if our offers are somehow competitive, so I expect us to get 3-stars we vibe with.
Pretty much the same stuff as the CBS article from the 247 guys. The transfers we've got have been at priority positions so we've spent what's necessary on them. And we'll still be aggressive until the portal closes, especially when new players enter. After that, the bidding market should cool down since the bubble pops and supply and demand become more certain.
I have no clue what our budget is but it feels like big donors have opened up their pocketbooks for the Lyons/Rivera/Lupoi era in ways that they wouldn't for Knowlton/Wilcox.
Not sure if the money is coming from donors or just the increased payout to athletes under the NCAA settlement. Cal has about $14-15 million for FB. There can be NIL add ons, but there are conditions to those extra payments (supposedly). Penn State has already signed 27 players fro the portal!
NCAA settlement is heavily supported by donors. The old completely unregulated NIL collectives weren't actually tax exempt to my knowledge, so the donors heavily prefer donating directly to the school for the revenue sharing agreements.
That keeps a baseline of what gets paid out, and then NIL is supposed to be more regulated and pay-for-sponsorship like for normal professional athletes. That's not really happening though, as you can see with Texas Tech.
Our FB share is in line with what other P4 programs are allocating. But there's still plenty of NIL money being "facilitated" by schools that doesn't count toward the cap. Seems like $25-30M is more likely at the top. The $30M quoted for Penn State may be realistic based on how much signing they're doing.
Certainly. We don't have the money for FB that Penn State/LSU are committing. That is another challenge for Cal, building depth to make it through a season. Some of that comes from building up HS recruiting pipeline. That should play well to Tosh's strength, but takes time.
We're at 8 now, but we are tied for the most 4-star transfers with 5. Only 2 5-stars total are on the list that I can see. So, yeah, tremendous recruiting work so far.
In case people are wondering, Ululave is visiting the Longhorns today. BOTH BYU and Texas fans are looking at Liona Lifau transferring from Texas to Colorado as evidence that they're getting Cade lol.
A DNC tag usually means he has a specific program in mind, but feels like no? And all the LBs entering while we are without a specific LB coach? Is Tosh going to do it himself like he did at Oregon? Is there a really good chance Cade returns to Cal? Who knows?!
Cade can land anywhere. Most schools would open up a spot for him no matter how late. I think he should wait to check out our new LB coach before deciding. And Tosh should jump in too.
It's just a weird situation. Feels like there's information being specifically withheld from public knowledge, especially odd since plenty of hires were leaked. Are we getting our 2003-05 LB coach back? Lol
"Maybe Tosh will steal the LB coach from Oregon?"
*checks coaching roster*
"Oh."
Brian Michalowski is a ILB coach, but I believe Tosh oversees the entire room. Plus his DC responsibilities.
It's all a black box. For all we know they don't want him back. The defense was not particularly strong last year. Not saying that's all Cade's fault but he was the captain and everything's on the table now.
Damn! Cal will have their best collection of offensive skill position talent since Jared Goff’s final season, and potentially since the height of the Tedford era.
It's looking really good! Portal is still open and we haven't reached National Signing Day on Feb 4 yet!
Beautiful, and I’m now convinced if this much offensive talent is being signed through the portal it means there’s a defense plan from Tosh and Co. that will follow in turn.
FWIW, our ranking average for portal players is up there with the likes of SEC blue chips such as Alabama, Texas, and Georgia. This is a quality haul for Tosh. He is not messing around!
Can you imagine, if we hired Tosh but Jim Knowlton was still our AD? Last year our donors were holding back the money even after Ron Rivera became GM because JK was still managing football program. We knew Tosh can recruit, but we didn't know how much the institutional support can change the program so drastically.
Oh yeah! Amazing talent at the offensive skilled position. Now we need an offensive line. GO BEARS! So exciting.
If JDJ comes back, he's going to be absolutely explosive from the backfield.
Does he still have a year of eligibility? I thought he was a senior this year?
If he doesn't come back, we have Q Adams to take over that role.
He's a plaintiff the Pavia suit trying to get another year.
Let's goooooooo! JKS loaded and ready now!
Go Bears! Next year, we will be playing in the CFB!?!
No, this year.
Having someone that can catch a football who is taller than 5”6 should help the offense next year
He is rated higher than Ian Strong on 247. Wow
Nice get. Now we really need to get a focus on the OL. That is more challenging void to fill, as the cost is similar or higher than a top WR/RB. All top programs are looking for OL. And we have many spots to fill.
OT is the real money position and we've ALREADY had some success. IOL market isn't as competitive, though we need to be so, SO much better than we were under Wilcox. I expect we'll be more patient and fill in IOL later in the process. There are very few 4-stars left so might not be worth overspending for them even if our offers are somehow competitive, so I expect us to get 3-stars we vibe with.
https://www.cbssports.com/college-football/news/what-the-transfer-portal-costs-now-position-by-position-price-ranges-amid-a-market-surge/
https://www.nytimes.com/athletic/6939168/2026/01/05/transfer-portal-nil-revenue-sharing-pay/
Pretty much the same stuff as the CBS article from the 247 guys. The transfers we've got have been at priority positions so we've spent what's necessary on them. And we'll still be aggressive until the portal closes, especially when new players enter. After that, the bidding market should cool down since the bubble pops and supply and demand become more certain.
I have no clue what our budget is but it feels like big donors have opened up their pocketbooks for the Lyons/Rivera/Lupoi era in ways that they wouldn't for Knowlton/Wilcox.
Not sure if the money is coming from donors or just the increased payout to athletes under the NCAA settlement. Cal has about $14-15 million for FB. There can be NIL add ons, but there are conditions to those extra payments (supposedly). Penn State has already signed 27 players fro the portal!
NCAA settlement is heavily supported by donors. The old completely unregulated NIL collectives weren't actually tax exempt to my knowledge, so the donors heavily prefer donating directly to the school for the revenue sharing agreements.
That keeps a baseline of what gets paid out, and then NIL is supposed to be more regulated and pay-for-sponsorship like for normal professional athletes. That's not really happening though, as you can see with Texas Tech.
Our FB share is in line with what other P4 programs are allocating. But there's still plenty of NIL money being "facilitated" by schools that doesn't count toward the cap. Seems like $25-30M is more likely at the top. The $30M quoted for Penn State may be realistic based on how much signing they're doing.
https://frontofficesports.com/schools-skirting-salary-cap-college-sports/
https://bleacherreport.com/articles/25339990-cfb-teams-workarounds-salary-cap-reported-ahead-2026-transfer-portal-window
Certainly. We don't have the money for FB that Penn State/LSU are committing. That is another challenge for Cal, building depth to make it through a season. Some of that comes from building up HS recruiting pipeline. That should play well to Tosh's strength, but takes time.
24/7 has us ranked #7 with this fantastic addition...wow, and Tosh has not yet started on the defense.
We're at 8 now, but we are tied for the most 4-star transfers with 5. Only 2 5-stars total are on the list that I can see. So, yeah, tremendous recruiting work so far.
Yeah, it's in constant flux as commitments are made...loving it!
Hendricks TD highlight clip vs Ohio St: https://x.com/Graham_SFN/status/2009415730346004545
In case people are wondering, Ululave is visiting the Longhorns today. BOTH BYU and Texas fans are looking at Liona Lifau transferring from Texas to Colorado as evidence that they're getting Cade lol.
A DNC tag usually means he has a specific program in mind, but feels like no? And all the LBs entering while we are without a specific LB coach? Is Tosh going to do it himself like he did at Oregon? Is there a really good chance Cade returns to Cal? Who knows?!
Cade can land anywhere. Most schools would open up a spot for him no matter how late. I think he should wait to check out our new LB coach before deciding. And Tosh should jump in too.
It's just a weird situation. Feels like there's information being specifically withheld from public knowledge, especially odd since plenty of hires were leaked. Are we getting our 2003-05 LB coach back? Lol
"Maybe Tosh will steal the LB coach from Oregon?"
*checks coaching roster*
"Oh."
Brian Michalowski is a ILB coach, but I believe Tosh oversees the entire room. Plus his DC responsibilities.
I want our 2003-2005 LB coach back.
Wilcox?
It's all a black box. For all we know they don't want him back. The defense was not particularly strong last year. Not saying that's all Cade's fault but he was the captain and everything's on the table now.
Are you sure Tosh & Co. don't want Uluave back?
Not at all, nor am I saying I wouldn't want him back, just that we have zero information and so everything is possible.