Cal Finds Out Soon If WR Jacob De Jesus Can Play Another Year for Bears

February 10 is an important date for Cal football in general and Jacob De Jesus in particular.

Imagine if Cal would have De Jesus, who led the nation in receptions in 2025, along with the Bears’ top two incoming transfers – both of whom are wide receivers – and what that would mean for Cal’s wide receiver group.

It certainly would give quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele some elite passing targets.

Cal will have transfer wide receivers Chase Hendricks (from Ohio) and Ian Strong (from Rutgers) for next season, and they were the highest rated transfers brought in by new Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi. But there is an outside chance that Cal will also have De Jesus, who set the school record for receptions in a season with 108 in 2025 and was named a first-team all-ACC special teams player and second-team all-conference wide receiver.

Lupoi mentioned on Wednesday that a ruling is scheduled to be made on February 10 on whether De Jesus will be granted another year of college eligibility. Cal has appealed for another year eligibility based on De Jesus’ two years of junior college football, and whether an additional year of Division I eligibility can be granted for those players. A new rule has allowed several players to have one or two years of extra Division I eligibility based on having their years of junior college football not count against their eligibility.

(-----To view all of Cal's incoming transfers and the Bears' 2026 recruiting class, click here.-----)

"My understanding on February 10 there will be a ruling there,” Lupoi said of De Jesus' situation. “So just doing everything we can to support, and ultimately there is a ruling that will occur there. That would be an awesome thing for all of us [if De Jesus could return for 2026], and that’s not under our control.”

De Jesus spent two years at Modesto Junior College before playing the 2023 and 2024 seasons at UNLV and the 2025 season at Cal. That adds up to five seasons, which in the past would mean his eligibility is exhausted. But a recent rule questions whether a players’ years at junior college should count against eligibility at a four-year school. So far it had been applied or denied on individual cases.

The most visible precedent was set by Vanderbilt quarterback Diego Pavia. He had played two seasons at a junior college (New Mexico Military Institute) and two years at New Mexico State, before transferring to Vanderbilt and playing the 2024 season for the Commodores.

Pavia was granted an extra year of eligibility for the 2025 season in December 2024 when he won a preliminary injunction from a U.S. District court judge in a lawsuit filed against the NCAA, based on his two seasons of junior college ball. Pavia ended up finishing second in the Heisman Trophy voting, behind only Fernando Mendoza, while leading Vanderbilt to a 10-3 record and a final No. 15 national ranking this past season.

Pavia is now appealing to get an additional year of eligibility to play for Vanderbilt in 2026, and that appeal is still pending. However, Pavia also plans to enter the upcoming NFL draft, so that appeal may be moot.

Tennessee quarterback Joey Aguilar is also attempting to get another year of eligibility based on the fact that he played two years of junior college football. This week, he received a temporary restraining order, which would seem to improve his chances of getting an extra year of eligibility.

So there is hope that De Jesus could be granted another year of Division I eligibility.

“To my understanding it’s an eligibility exhaustion [issue],” Lupoi said of the De Jesus case, “but the fact that junior college precedents that have already been set with certain individuals that have gotten that year back, that’s a case by case situation. So there’s details that they’re ruling on there. We would be in strong support and open arms if we were to have an opportunity for him to continue on our roster.”

De Jesus is not just any wide receiver. His 108 receptions not only led the nation but set a Cal single-season record. His 1,030 receiving yards and six touchdown receptions were both fourth in the ACC. He also ranked fourth in the ACC in punt returns, averaging 11.8 yards per return.

His numbers suggest he should be an NFL prospect, but at just 5-foot-7, he will have trouble convincing NFL brass he should be drafted.

However, he could be on the field for Cal with a three-wideout formation that includes Hendricks and Strong, along with tight end Mason Mini or New Mexico transfer tight end Dorian Thomas, Sagapolutele would have an excellent array of targets.

Hendricks is the highest rated player transferring into Cal, according to ESPN’s ranking of the top 100 transfers. ESPN places Hendricks at No. 66 after he had 71 receptions for 1,037 yards and seven touchdowns for Ohio in 2025. Strong was the second-highest ranked incoming Cal transfer at No. 74 after he caught 52 passes for 762 yards and five touchdowns in 10 games for Rutgers.

There is always a chance that the February 10 ruling on De Jesus will be delayed, or it could result in further appeals or subsequent rulings, but there is also a chance that decision will be final.