Cal Reportedly in the Running for a Conference Defensive Player of the Year

Last week Cal coach Tosh Lupoi left open the possibility that he might go after a player who was granted a fifth year of eligibility and entered the transfer portal.

Apparently he wasn’t kidding because Pete Nakos of Rivals/On3 reported that Cal is one of the schools in the running for linebacker Trent Hendrick, who was the 2025 Sun Belt Conference Defensive Player of the Year while at James Madison.

In 2025, Hendrick had 106 tackles, including seven tackles for loss and three sacks, and also broke up three passes, recorded two quarterback hurries and forced two fumbles for a James Madison team that went 12-2 and reached the College Football Playoff.

NEW: Cal is on the move and in the running for a conference DPOY who was recently granted eligibility, writes our @PeteNakos ‼️

More on the Bears standing and who is in the final dash below, including two teams on the 2026 schedule 👀

Intel (+): https://t.co/h565sZ5OE2 pic.twitter.com/XO648j2EvA
— Golden Bear Report (On3 | Rivals) (@CalBearsOn3) August 22, 2026

Nakos reported that two other schools among the leaders for Hendrick are both on Cal’s 2026 schedule, and one of those teams is UCLA, which faces Cal in both teams’ opener on Saturday night, September 5 in Berkeley.

Several reports suggest the Bruins may be the leaders in the competition for Hendrick, and On3 quotes him as saying he “loves UCLA.” Adding to the speculation that UCLA may be the leader for Hendrick is the fact that new UCLA head coach Bob Chesney was James Madison's head coach the past two seasons.

The inside linebacker spot was a position of strength for the Bears throughout Justin Wilcox’s term as the Cal head coach, but there are questions at that position this season under Tosh Lupoi.

Tristan Jernigan and AJ Tuitele seem to have the inside track as the Cal inside linebacker starters for 2026 at this point, but both are young players who were not starters at their previous schools last year (USC for Tuitele, Texas A&M for Jernigan).

Acquiring Hendrick would give Cal a proven player at a key position, although it’s difficult to determine how quickly he could become acclimated to the Bears’ defensive system this late in the preseason.

Presumably Hendrick will make a decision on a new school quickly, because if he is going to play a fifth season it has to be in 2026 based on the new NCAA rule that gives players five years to play five seasons.

Hendrick is from Richmond, Virginia, and James Madison is located in Harrisonburg, Virginia, so this would be a cross-country move for Hendrick if he chose Cal or UCLA. But long-distance moves have been commonplace for players who enter the transfer portal.

Hendrick became eligible for a fifth season this week when a court ruled this week that players who have played four college seasons in four years are eligible for a fifth season if they are not with a pro team and have not had a redshirt year. Before that ruling players who had played their fourth season under the previous eligibility rule could not play a fifth season. So this past week’s ruling – in the form of a temporary injunction -- applies only to players who thought their college eligibility ended in 2025.

Hendrick has been a prominent player for James Madison in each of his four years there. He finished with 209 career tackles, 19 tackles for loss, six sacks, five passes defensed and three forced fumbles.

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