Cal Coach Justin Wilcox Addresses Transfer Portal Window Proposal

Cal coach Justin Wilcox said he supports a proposed change to the transfer portal calendar, with the NCAA expecting to implement a single 10-day transfer window beginning in January of 2026, pending final approval.

“I think one window is better than two for college football,” Wilcox said.

The NCAA’s FBS Oversight Committee voted last Thursday to move to a January transfer window and eliminate the spring window. The proposal would be a 10-day period beginning on Jay. 2.

The Division I Administrative Committee must approve the change before it can go into effect. A vote is anticipated later this month.

The 2024-25 model included two transfer portal windows, first from Dec. 9-28, then from April 16-25.

Cal’s roster was devastated by the spring portal, with a couple dozen players departing, including virtually all the team’s running backs, shortly after the conclusion of spring practice.

That required Wilcox and his staff to quickly rebuild, and its fall roster includes 55 players who were not part of the program a year ago.

Wilcox joked that he had no input into the process. “They didn’t necessarily come to me and ask, what do you want?”

When pressed about a timetable for the portal window, he said, “Earlier is better . . . this is probably better for the masses. Some schools, it’s perfect for them. Some it’s not great. Some it’s somewhere in the middle.”

Texas coach Steve Sarkisian and LSU’s Brian Kelly both have expressed support for the change. Ohio State’s Ryan Day is opposed to it because the window opens during the week between the national playoff quarterfinals and semifinals, creating a conflict.

Sarkisian, noting to the Austin Statesman-American that only four schools would be impacted by those changes, labeled them “champagne problems.”

Wilcox said each school’s winter term admissions calendar is also a factor and that those dates very from school to school.

If the NCAA went to a later date for the portal window, spring practice would have to be moved later as to not render it virtually useless. Either that, Wilcox said, he schools could abandon spring ball and change to a OTA model in May and June, similar to the practices NFL teams conduct in the offseason.

Home week for Swinney

Perhaps no Cal player has waited longer for Saturday’s game against Minnesota than Bastian Swinney. The junior offensive lineman grew up in Edina, just 11 miles from Minneapolis.

“I’m really excited. We announced (the game) in 2023, so there’s been a lot of anticipation,” Swinney said. “Fired up to get out there and play against some guys I played in high school, some of my buddies. Yeah, it’s going to be a blast.”

Swinney — whose younger brother Meyer Swinney, is a freshman wide receiver with the Bears — said Minnesota was among his finalists when choosing a college.

“I wanted to make a 40-year decision. It’s hard to pass up on Cal,” he said. “I love my family, it would have been nice (to stay home). But I’m really happy that I’m here.”

Swinney’s parents, a grandfather and friends all plan to make the trip to the Bay Area this weekend to take in the game.

When he was in the fifth grade, Swinney spent about six months living with his family in Puerto Rico. He doesn’t really know why the family made the move, but recalls traffic much worse than the Bay Area and struggling with the language barrier.

“But it was a lot of fun. It was beautiful,” he said.

Wilkins may be ready to play

Redshirt junior defensive tackle Derek Wilkins, who has missed the first two games due to injury, may be cleared to play Saturday, Wilcox said.

Wilkins played in all 13 games last season, all off the bench, and recorded 12 tackles and blocked a field goal. Wilcox said if Wilkins get the medical OK, he would definitely see action against the Golden Gophers.

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