Cal Football: WR Makai Polk Enters Transfer Portal
Big loss for Cal if he finds a new home.
The California Golden Bears are losing a key wide receiver for their 2021 plans. Makai Polk is entering the portal.
After showing promise in his first season with 19 catches, 295 yards and two touchdowns, Polk became Chase Garbers’s second favorite target in Cal’s abbreviated 2020 campaign, grabbing 17 catches, 183 yards and a touchdown.
With Trevon Clark’s status still in limbo (he is currently on leave from the program), Cal is now down to three wide receiver contributors from their 2020 campaign for the 2021 season: Kekoa Crawford (who still has to announce whether he’s returning or not), Nikko Remigio, and Monroe Young.
Expect true freshman J. Michael Sturdivant (who did play last season in Texas, unlike most 2020 commits due to COVID) to make noise for an opening spot, as well as redshirt freshmen Jeremiah Hunter, Justin Baker, Aiden Lee, Mason Magnum and Tommy Christakos.
This is not a deep group at the moment. Lots of opportunities for playing time though!
Polk is by far the biggest talent that Cal has had in their offense in the Wilcox era in my opinion. For those people who say this shortened season had no impact on anything, I beg to differ. I think Polk looked at the play calling in each game - particularly the way that Wilcox and Musgrave curled up in a ball in Q3 of the Oregon State - and concluded his resume was strong enough take his talents to a program that understands how to stretch the field. All you have to do is look at what Mack Brown has done in a short time at North Carolina to see how these young kinds want to be in those kinds of programs. This is a true loss for the program.
Dagger. This kid has legit NFL size & is local...losing him is not surprising tho, unfortunately. Musgrave was a bad hire, and Wilcox wants to play 2nd-tier, Big10-style football. Makai sees that a QB with better arm talent can maybe take better advantage of his tools...steady, unspectacular Garbers is not that. Polk will have plenty of elite programs interested, tho the chances of a Demetrius Robertson flame out is real for him at a school with a talented WR room.
Tough loss, but won't be the last we lose, given how easy the NCAA will make it to change schools in COVID.