Cal Officially Names Keith Bhonapha Running Backs Coach

It had been reported last week that Oakland native and Michigan State running back coach Keither Bhonapha would be named Cal’s new running backs coach, and Cal made it official on Monday by announcing the addition of Bhonapha to Tosh Lupoi’s 2026 coaching staff.

The 45-year-old Bhonapha is a 1998 graduate of Oakland’s Skyline High School, which means that at least four members of Lupoi’s coaching staff will be from the Bay Area. Lupoi and Michael Hutchings, who is expected to be named the Bears’ defensive coordinator, both attended De La Salle High School in Concord, California, and Nick Rolovich, who will be Cal’s quarterbacks coach next season, attended Marin Catholic High School in Kentfield, Marin County, California.

At Cal, Bhonapha will try to improve the Bears’ running game. The Bears ranks dead last in the country in rushing yards per game, although starting running back has rushed for more than 100 yards three times this season.

Bhonapha was Michigan State’s running backs coach the past two seasons and was also was the Spartans’ co-special teams coordinator.

Bhonapha was a defensive back during his college playing days at Hawaii, which is Cal’s opponent in Wednesday’s Hawaii Bowl.

Bhonophra played at Hawaii from 1999 to 2002, so he was a teammate of Rolovich in 2000 and 2001. Hawaii defeated undefeated, ninth-ranked BYU in the final game of the 2001 season.

Before arriving at Michigan State, he spent one season on the coaching staff at Oregon State, and he previously worked on the coaching staffs of Boise State, Washington and Hawai'i.

Oregon defensive coordinator Lupoi was named Cal next head coach on December 4, and he will take over as the Golden Bears’ head coach when Oregon is eliminated from the College Football Playoff.

The Ducks play a CFP quarterfinal game against Texas Tech in the Orange Bowl on New Year’s Day.

In the meantime, Rolovich will serve as Cal’s interim head coach for the Hawaii Bowl. The Bears (7-5) are slight favorites in that bowl game, but Hawaii (8-4) is 6-1 at home, and the game will be played on the Rainbow Warriors’ home field at the Clarence T.C. Ching Athletics Complex on the University of Hawaii campus.

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