Transfer Portal Update: What needs do the Bears still need to address?

28 transfers in (for now), 31 transfers out - where does Cal stand?

January 16th has mercifully passed, and Cal players are no longer able to join the transfer portal. Meanwhile, Cal added another five players to the roster over the weekend, but continues to pursue uncommitted talent for the 2026 season.

In an effort to get a snap-shot picture of how Cal’s portal period is progressing, let’s go position-by-position looking at who has left the roster, and what players Cal has brought in. Some notes before we start:

1. I am listing all departing contributors regardless of the nature of their departure, i.e. graduations, NFL declarations, and portal entries are considered the same.

2. I am solely focusing on players who saw the field. Nothing against a player who maybe spent one season in Berkeley redshirting and then left, but our goal is to understand what kind of production Cal needs to replace, and so the focus is on lost on-field production, not hypothetical production of a developing player.

3. I am going to offer my opinion on whether or not the position group is better or worse so far, but please note that grades are subject to change as Cal is very likely to add more currently uncommitted players.

Offense

Quarterback

IN: Jackson Brousseau, Colorado State
OUT: Devin Brown

Is this position group better, worse, or push? BETTER - If you wanted to argue that this is a push, I wouldn’t quibble much, because this is ultimately an exchange of back-ups. Still, Brousseau had an up-and-down season for Colorado State, but got about half a season’s worth of reps, whereas Devin Brown just hasn’t gotten much field time anywhere to establish a clear level of play.

Running Back

IN: Adam Mohammed, Washington; Carter Vargas, UC Davis; Ashten Emory, UTEP
OUT: Kendrick Raphael; Brandon High Jr.

Is this position group better, worse, or push? BETTER - Nothing against Kendrick Raphael, who carried a very heavy burden for a shallow position group in 2025, but Adam Mohammed was the better RB last year, and that’s before we even get into Vargas and Emory, who appear to be overqualified back-ups based on their production last year.

Wide Receiver

IN: Cooper Perry, Oregon; Ian Strong, Rutgers; Chase Hendricks, Ohio
OUT: Trond Grizzell, Jayden Dixon-Veal, Jaiven Plummer

Is this position group better, worse, or push? BETTER - Presuming that Jacob De Jesus gets another year of eligibility, then Trond Grizzell was the only MAJOR lost contributor. He’s being replaced by one of the best contested-catch specialists in the country who garnered all-Big-10 recognition, probably the best WR in the MAC, and a 4 star prospect who was good enough to see the field as a true freshmen at Oregon. This is the most significantly improved unit on the team.

Tight End

IN: Dorian Thomas, New Mexico
OUT: Landon Morris, Jeffrey Johnson

Is this position group better, worse, or push? BETTER - Johnson was primarily a blocking specialist, and Morris was a decent back-up option, but bringing in the 5th best tight end available in the portal is an obvious upgrade.

Tackle

IN: Kahlee Tafai, Minnesota; Mykeal Rabess, FIU; Jacob Arop, South Dakota; Jimothy Lewis, Miss. St.
OUT: Braden Miller, Nick Morrow, Leon Bell

Is this position group better, worse, or push? PUSH - Cal spent 2025 rotating between four tackles, all of whom had up and down seasons of varying degrees, and three of them entered the portal. To replace them, Cal has brought in four transfers, who are generally raw and as-yet unproven. With proven portal production at offensive tackle nearly non-existent and crazy expensive, Cal appears to be betting on players who are just about to hit physical maturity at the college level, and got four lottery tickets in the hopes that two of them (or somebody already on the roster, like Frederick Williams or Justin Hasen Huetl) will develop into an ACC-level tackle.

Guard/Center

IN: Ashton Rivera, Kent St.
OUT: Jordan Spasojevic-Moko

Is this position group better, worse, or push? PUSH - this is a low-key position, where Cal is replacing one veteran option with another veteran option. Rivera is entering his 4th year of college ball, though he received his first on-field action last year with Kent State.

Defense

Defensive Line

IN: Jericho Johnson, Oregon; Ashun Shepphard, Miss. St., Jayden Williams, North Texas
OUT: Aidan Keanaaina, T.J. Bollers, Stanley Saole-McKenzie

Is this position group better, worse, or push? PUSH - this was one of the hardest groups to judge. Bollers and Keanaaina were both solid, dependable veterans. Guys who rarely got out of position or made bad plays. But they also weren’t super disruptive or big playmakers.

With Johnson, Cal is getting a high 4 star recruit who pushed for snaps as a redshirt freshman despite playing behind really talented players. If he lives up to his promise, he will immediately be Cal’s best interior defensive lineman in years. That alone might be an argument that Cal improved along the defensive line, even if Shepphard and Williams also weren’t established starters last year for their respective schools. I can’t dismiss the steady production Cal got from their departing interior linemen, but I can’t dismiss Johnson’s high end potential, so we’re going with ‘Push’ for now.

Edge

IN: Joshua Pierce, North Texas; Justin Beadles, Louisville; Emmanuel Okoye, Tennessee; Solomon Williams, Texas A&M
OUT: Ryan McCulloch, TJ Bush, Curlee Thomas

Is this position group better, worse, or push? PUSH - McCulloch and Bush are significant losses here, though Bush didn’t have a huge ceiling and McCulloch just hasn’t been able to consistently stay on the field. You could argue that Cal’s incomers are unproven enough (all four were rotational players) that you should value Cal’s 2025 starters out of fall camp more. But again, potential has to be factored in. Solomon Williams was a 4 star recruit out of high school who has looked good in limited snaps behind a good group of starters and has a ton of eligibility left, and Justin Beadles was a part of a strong Louisville pass rush group who might do more given a bigger role.

Linebacker

IN: Tristan Jernigan, Texas A&M; Kamar Mothudi, Oregon
OUT: Cade Uluave, Luke Ferrelli, Harrison Taggart

Is this position group better, worse, or push? WORSE . . . but not by as much as you’d think. I can’t argue against the talent drain here. Luke Ferrelli was an immediately solid player as a freshman who could develop into a plus linebacker, and Cade Uluave was a high impact player who was highly sought after by major programs in the portal. That plus losing a capable back-up in Taggart is real.

But I almost argued for a ‘push’ here, for two reasons. The first reason is that I just wasn’t that high on Cal’s linebacker play last year. Ferrelli and Uluave both struggled with tackling and run fits all year long. The second reason is that Jernigan and Mothudi are both very talented players who are potentially poised for break out seasons. Jernigan is a 4 star recruit who basically got offers from the entire SEC out of high school, and Mothudi was even more highly ranked in the same class as Jernigan. Both took redshirt seasons, then received marginal playing time as redshirt freshman. As 3rd year college players, you could do worse than betting that they’re ready for major snaps. I like Cal’s odds of replacing their production at ILB in 2026, even if they don’t add more portal players at this position.

Cornerback

IN: Ricky Fletcher, Ole Miss; Marquis Groves-Killebrew, Arizona; Daniel Harris, Georgia
OUT: Brent Austin, Hezekiah Masses

Is this position group better, worse, or push? WORSE - for me this is the only position group that’s a clear downgrade, mostly because of who Cal is losing. Austin and Masses were probably Cal’s two best defenders who stayed healthy all year, and they’re going to be tough to replace. Daniel Harris and Ricky Fletcher are both high floor veterans who were rotational contributors on playoff teams last year, so I’m not panicking or anything about this position group - this is a nod of respect to what Cal had at this position in 2025.

Safety

IN: Kingston Lopa, Oregon; Michael Hurst, NAU
OUT: Dru Polidore

Is this position group better, worse, or push? BETTER - Polidore was a solid rotational safety thrust into major snaps due to injuries, but Lopa was good enough to get 169 snaps this past year on Oregon’s defense and wasn’t out of place, and Michael Hurst was a very solid FCS safety. Even if Hurst isn’t ready to make the FCS-to-ACC jump, Lopa by himself represents a positional upgrade. Also, retaining Isaiah Crosby, who looked like maybe Cal’s best defender before a season ending injury, was huge.

Special Teams

In: Kicker Towns McGough, Auburn
Out: Kicker Abram Murray, Punter Brook Honore, Punter Michael Kern

Is this position group better, worse, or push? TBD - One of Cal’s two kickers left, and has been replaced by a kickoff specialist/reclamation project in McGough. Punter is basically TBD, because Cal will surely bring in a punter or two but we can’t judge until that actually happens.

Summary

There is a reason that Cal’s portal class is ranked (as of Sunday night, with some commitments not yet accounted for) 14th by 247 (1st in the ACC) and 30th by On3 (6th in the ACC)*. Tosh Lupoi and his new coaching staff have brought in a deep class with a solid balance of proven production where it’s needed and talented potential across the board.

Cal could still stand to add players at a few spots. Beyond the obvious need for a punter, Cal could use one more player at every level on the defense. If Cal could add another potential contributor at offensive tackle to throw into what will likely be a massive camp battle, all the better.

But there are no gaping holes in the roster, and more position groups have gotten better than have gotten worse.

We’ll wait until the entire portal cycle ends before we start trying to assess how this group could stack up in the ACC in 2026, but Cal’s showing is an early statement of intent that they have the coaches and the resources to attempt to seriously compete in the ACC.

*How to explain the gap between 247 and On3? On3 attempts to factor in the value of talent that a team has lost in the portal against the value of talent that they have gained, and Cal has lost a large number of players. Cal will likely rise in the On3 rankings as they continue to add players.