Cal Transfer Portal News: Cade Uluave Visits Michigan, Texas; Two Ducks Joining Tosh Lupoi?
A lot of moving pieces but the California Golden Bears are moving quickly to close on their class.
Here is the important Cal transfer portal news trickling through today.
The biggest transfer priority is linebacker Cade Uluave, who has been exploring his options. Uluave visited Texas last Thursday and Friday to see what his place would be in the Longhorn rotation.
However, Texas then did secure a commitment from top linebacker transfer Rasheem Biles. It’s unclear if it would impact Uluave’s decision.
Uluave then took a visit to Michigan to check out what Kyle Whittingham was up to in Ann Arbor. The visit apparently went well enough that the recruiting service On3 believes Uluave will become a Wolverine.
At the moment though, Uluave remains uncommitted. As mentioned from the beginning, a return to Cal was never ruled out, and you’d have to imagine Tosh Lupoi will be doing his best to bring him back. Cal lost a host of linebackers to the portal, and have only landed Tristan Jernigan as an incoming portal entry from that group. If Cal could land the return of Uluave, it’d be one of the biggest wins of the cycle.
Looking at the rest of the portal…
Fresh off their loss to Indiana, the Oregon Ducks saw a host of transfer portal entries this weekend. Two players of interest have jumped to the top of the list of potential prospects for the Bears.
Jericho Johnson is a 6-4, 342-pound redshirt freshman defensive lineman, coming from up the I-80 in Suisun City. He saw limited action in Oregon the last two years as he has continued to develop into his body, registering five tackles. Johnson was a four-star prospect who was a consensus top-15 California recruit/top-25 defensive lineman coming out of college.
Johnson could provide the prototypical nose tackle profiles that the Bears so desperately need to uplevel this version of the Cal defense. With Cal defensive line coach Darrion Daniels also coming from Oregon, there is familiarity between student and mentor as well.
Cooper Perry played as a true freshman in 2025. Hailing from Notre Dame Prep in Scottsdale, he was a consensus top-20 wide receiver and the 2nd best prospect in the state of Arizona in 2025. Perry saw significant action as a true freshman, grabbing 10 catches for 25 yards, so it’s clear he is trusted enough to be involved in offensive sets already. This could potentially fill out a very solid wide receiver room.
With most of the Ducks starting defense returning, a lot of Oregon front-seven players have also been exploring to see what’s out there. Here are the other recent Oregon transfers to watch out for:
Sophomore outside linebacker Blake Purchase (352 snaps, 32 tackles, 9 quarterback hurries, 2 sacks): Purchase is one of the best prospects available at edge now, and you have to imagine Lupoi (who directly worked with outside linebackers) will want to convince his former pupil to join him in Berkeley. No word yet from him on his plans.
Sophomore outside linebacker Ashton Porter (244 snaps, 20 tackles, 2.5 TFL, 2 quarterback hurries, 1 sack) is another edge talent that will be exploring his options. It wouldn’t be surprising if Lupoi tries to land both.
True freshman outside linebacker Tobi Haastrup saw three games of special teams action this year and will still retain all four years of eligibility.
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Tionne Gray played in 13 games and logged 13 tackles, two for loss.
Redshirt freshman defensive lineman Xadavien Sims played in 2 games, notching one tackle.
Freshman tight end Vander Ploog redshirted. He was a consensus top 12 tight end and top 20 California prospect in 2025.
Redshirt sophomore walk-on tight end Zach Grace found his way into the rotation as an H-back and could provide a nice blocking element that the Bears have needed to intensify.
I mean based on the nick article it's not about the best player you can get it's about the best player for the price. So if Cade is demanding too much money then so be it we settle for the bargain market cade and just build a stronger overall team
They must be able to keep Ulave for his entire career at Cal. . He is the most important piece for the CAL Defense. He is a big emotional and physical leader on the team. Please find away in keeping him here ..