Cal loses DL Tiumalu Afalava to the transfer portal
A tough loss for the Bears upfront in the trenches.
The Bears have lost a member of their 2023 recruiting class to the transfer portal as defensive tackle Tiumalu Afalava has looked elsewhere to try and find an opportunity to play sooner.
Afalava was looking like a nice rotation player for Cal down the road, but immediate playing chances were not looking likely in 2024. Cal is returning a core group of veterans in Ethan Saunders, Nate Burrell, Ricky Correia, Stanley Saole McKenzie, Akili Calhoun, Derek Wilkins and Aidan Keanaaina, and maybe transfer T.J. Bollers coming upfront. None of these Bears were likely to be displaced from the rotation this year. So it’s likely he’ll look for a spot where he can make a more immediate contribution.
Cal has now lost Afalava, Martin Tine and Marquis Montgomery from their 2023 class, as well as a few others from their transfer portal class. Such is life in the portal era.
Best of luck to Tiumalu in his next home for playing college football!
Might see him again in a couple years since there isn't a transfer limit. Good recruitment relationships can apply to HS or transfer players. I fully expect the door to be left open.
The nice thing is that the blue bloods can't hoard talent like they used to (which helped drive Saban out). It starts getting really expensive to pay guys to ride the pine, especially since guys can start elsewhere and potentially drive their value upward by performing well.
I have no idea who is even on this team anymore.