Counting Down Cal's Top-50 Transfer Athletes: No. 35 John McLaughlin

The transfer portal era in college athletics seems like it’s been with us forever. Likewise, most fans can recall less turbulent times when transfers happened, they simply didn’t look like a stampede to the 1849 California Gold Rush.

We thought it was time to rank the best transfers Cal teams have attracted, most of them in recent seasons but also including a few OGs from yesteryear.

We limited our ranking to transfers from four-year colleges.

Here is the next athlete in our countdown:

35. John McLaughlin

Sport: Football

Arrival year at Cal: 1996

Previous school: Notre Dame (1994 & 1995, played primarily on special teams but saw action in the Fiesta Bowl and Orange Bowl)

Contributions at Cal:

— A 6-foot-4 defensive end from Cleveland, McLaughlin arrived at Cal in 1996 and redshirted as a transfer his first season.

— McLaughlin had 26 tackles, including five tackles for loss and two sacks in 1997. He also made significant contributions on the Bears kick coverage teams and earned All-Pac-10 honors for his special teams play.

— As a senior in 1998, he had 38 tackles, including three sacks among 10 tackles for loss, along with five pass breakups. Once again, he made first-team All-Pac-10 as a special teams player.

— McLaughlin was named Cal’s player of the game against Stanford after totaling seven tackles and two tackles for loss in the Bears’ 10-3 loss in the Big Game.

— McLaughlin became a fifth-round draft pick of Tampa Bay in 1999 and went on to earn NFL All-Rookie honors . . . for special teams play.

Standout performance: Cal opened its 1998 season with a 14-10 win over Houston, aided significantly by McLaughlin, who included a sack among three tackles for 14 yards in losses.

Impact on his team: These were the start of some lean years for the Bears, and even McLaughlin’s efforts — especially those on special teams — couldn’t prevent Cal from going 3-8 and 5-6 in coach Tom Holmoe’s first two seasons.

Previously on our list:

No. 36: Ovie Brume

No. 37: Kekoa Crawford

No. 38: Jake Howerton

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