Cal Sports Report

Cal Defensive Lineman Tyson Ford Enters Transfer Portal

Ford transferred to Cal from Notre Dame, but played in just seven games for the Bears in 2025
Jake Curtis|
Tyson Ford
Tyson Ford | MATTIE NERETIN / USA TODAY NETWORK

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California Golden Bears

Cal defensive lineman Tyson Ford, who played in seven games in an injury-plagued season for the Bears in 2025, has entered the transfer portal, according to On3 Sports.

The 6-foot-5, 300-pound Ford was a four-star recruit coming out of John Burroughs High School in St. Louis, Missouri, and he spent his first two college seasons at Notre Dame, although he did not see any action in 2024.

He transferred to Cal following the 2024 season, and was expected to get significant playing time this past season as a redshirt sophomore. However, Aidan Keanaaina and TJ Bollers were the regular starters at Cal's two down defensive lineman positions. Keanaaina and Bollers were both redshirt seniors this past season.

Ford missed the first five games of the 2025 season with injuries before playing in the sixth game against Duke.

Ford did not make any starts for the Golden Bears, and he finished the season with just three tackles in the seven games in which he played.

Cal defensive lineman Nate Burrell missed the entire 2025 season with an injury and he entered the transfer portal after the season. However, he withdrew from the portal and announced he will stay at Cal.

Players can enter the transfer portal until January 15. But once they are in the portal, they can commit to another school at any time.

New Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi is serving as Oregon's defensive coordinator until the Ducks are eliminated from the College Football Playoff.

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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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