Cal Sports Report

Cal Adds Late Commitment for 2026 -- OL Roger Vanderhoef

Vanderhoef has originally committed to Sacramento State, but changed his mind
Jake Curtis|
Roger Vanderhoef
Roger Vanderhoef | Roger Vanderhoef twitter

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California Golden Bears

The signing period for the class of 2026 ended some time ago, but Cal added a late commitment for the class of 2026 when three-star offensive lineman Roger Vanderhoef announced on social media on Saturday that he has committed to Cal.

Vanderhoef is the second commitment Cal received from Sacramento’s Grant Union High School in the past 24 hours, although the other – defensive lineman Giovanni Hodge – is a member of the class of 2027.

The 6-foot-7, 340-pound Vanderhoef could help the Golden Bears next season.

Vanderhoef also had offers from Texas A&M, UNLV and San Diego State, and had committed to Sacramento State, an FCS school, before changing his mind and committing to Cal. He reportedly signed with Sacramento State on December 3, then de-committed on January 13.

It’s unclear what position he would play at Cal. Some recruiting sites list him as an offensive tackle, and others list him as an interior offensive lineman (center or guard).

The Bears 2026 recruiting class includes a four other offensive linemen, including Kamo’I Huihui-White, Esaiah Wong, Daniel McMorris and Elisha Faamatuainu.  The Bears also recently brought in five offensive linemen through the transfer portal, including Ashton Rivera (from Kent State), Mykeal Rabess (from Florida International), Jimothy Lewis (from Mississippi State), Kahli Tafai (from Minnesota) and Jacob Arop (from South Dakota).

The offensive line has been a major concern for Cal over the past several seasons. Cal ranked 133rd of 134 FBS teams in rushing offense in 2025, and the Bears averaged just 2.76 yards per carry, fourth-worst in the country.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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