Cal's 2024 Transfer Portal Departures Found Mixed Results

Nearly two dozen Cal football players already have entered the transfer portal or expressed their intention to do so.

The end of civilization as we know it?

Probably not.

A year ago, 33 Cal players departed via the portal and the Bears managed to field a team in 2025. Even won some games.

Yes, there were a few players they wish they could have retained, starting with a quarterback who won the Heisman Trophy for an undefeated team. Even there, the Bears competently filled Fernando Mendoza’s spot with freshman Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who has committed to return for his sophomore campaign.

This offseason, the most prominent names to have thrown their names into the transfer portal include linebackers Cade Uluave and Luke Ferrelli, edge rushers TJ Bush and Ryan McCulloch, defensive back Cam Sidney and experienced backup QB Devin Brown.

We're presuming Cal would prefer not to lose many of those guys.

There are a lot of reasons why players transfer: playing time, the chance to compete on a high-level team and, these days, financial considerations. In this case, the coaching change -- Justin Wilcox to Tosh Lupoi -- likely played into the decision of some players.

Sometimes the grass is greener. Sometimes not. Often, you can hardly tell the difference one way or the other.

Separate from whatever financial deal they arranged, we took a look at the players who exited Cal a year ago and rated how well those moves worked out:

What a bonanza!

Fernando Mendoza holds up the Rose Bowl winner's trophy | Grace Hollars/IndyStar / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

QB Fernando Mendoza to Indiana

Mendoza passed for 3,004 yards and 16 touchdowns as a redshirt sophomore at Cal in 2024, then transferred to Indiana after the regular season. He's had a magical season for the Hoosiers, leading them to a 14-0 record and place in the CFP semifinals while passing for 3,172 yards and 36 touchdowns. He won the Heisman Trophy and is in the conversation to be the No. 1 NFL draft pick.

Clearly, the right move

TE J.T. Byrne to Georgia Tech

Byrne was exclusively a blocking tight end in two seasons at Cal, playing 16 games without a reception. He wasn’t a primary target at Georgia Tech, either, but had six receptions for 42 yards including a pair of touchdowns for a 9-4 team.

K Kyle Cunanan to Nebraska

Cunanan spent four months at Cal, including 2025 spring ball, then transferred to Nebraska. He was the starting placekicker for the 7-6 Cornhuskers, converting 16 of 19 field goals and all 45 of his PATs.

TE Jack Endries to Texas

Cal’s leading receiver in 2024 with 56 catches for 623 yards and two touchdowns, Endries transferred to Texas for the chance to play for a national contender. The Longhorns missed the CFP, but Endries had 33 receptions for 346 yards and three TDs for a 10-3 team, one of his touchdowns in a 41-27 win over Michigan in the Citrus Bowl. ESPN’s Mel Kiper Jr. lists him as the No. 3 tight end prospect for the 2026 NFL draft.

QB Andrew Maushardt to junior college

A walk-on at Cal, Maushardt did not play as a freshman in 2024 and had little chance of seeing action going forward. So he enrolled at El Camino College, where he passed for 1,878 yards and 15 TDs for an 8-3 team. He'll wind up at a four-year school eventually.

LB Nate Rutchena to UC Davis

Cal never seemed sure whether Rutchena was a linebacker or a tight end. He moved to Davis, where he became a second-team All-Big Sky linebacker after contributing a team-leading 77 tackles along with two interceptions, two fumble recoveries and a forced fumble to an Aggies team that went 9-4 and reached the quarterfinals of the FCS playoffs.

OL Matthew Wykoff to Houston

Wykoff played 25 games with 15 starts at Cal before transferring to Houston. He started 11 times at center or guard for a 10-3 Houston team that beat LSU 38-35 in Texas Bowl.

Statistics aren’t everything

WR Jonathan Brady to Indiana

After two seasons at New Mexico State, Brady had 36 receptions for 386 yards with three touchdowns for Cal in 2024. He followed Mendoza to Indiana, where his numbers dropped to 14 receptions for 115 yards and three TDs. But he plays for a14-0 Hoosiers’ team that is two victories away from a national championship.

OL Dylan Jemtegaard to Montana

Jemtegaard played just six games, mostly on special teams, over four seasons in Berkeley. He played in six games this season for a 13-2 team that lost in FCS playoff semifinals.

Things could hardly have gone worse

K Derek Morris to UMass

As a freshman at Cal in 2024, Morris tied a program record by converting five field goals in five tries, finishing the season 11 for 15 while going 13 for 13 on PATs in seven games. He transferred to UMass and was 10 for 16 on field goals and 13 for 15 on PATs while enduring an 0-12 season with the Minutemen.

Jaydn Ott carries the ball against Kent State. | NATE BILLINGS/FOR THE OKLAHOMAN / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

RB Jaydn Ott to Oklahoma

Ott was a star at Cal, rushing for 2,597 yards and 24 touchdowns in three seasons. He bolted to Oklahoma, reportedly for big money and the chance to elevate his NFL draft status. But a fall camp shoulder injury limited him early and Ott never gained footing with the Sooners, rushing for a total of 68 yards (3.2 per carry) while playing in seven games. He has fallen off all NFL draft boards.

This didn’t work out well, either

RB Jaivian Thomas to UCLA

After rushing for 626 yards and seven touchdowns for Cal in 2024, the Oakland native opted for UCLA, where he totaled just 294 yards with one TD on a 3-9 team.

No better, no worse

WR Mavin Anderson to Texas State

Anderson never made a big breakthrough with the Bears and at Texas State he had nine catches for 155 yards and a touchdown for a 7-6 team.

LB Hunter Barth to Stanford

Low on the depth chart at Cal after totaling 38 tackles, four tackles for loss and two sacks in 2024, Barth moved to Stanford, where his numbers were nearly identical: 32 tackles, two tackles for loss and two sacks for 4-8 team.

Nebraska wide receiver Nyziah Hunter runs to the end zone against Maryland | Tommy Gilligan-Imagn Images

WR Nyziah Hunter to Nebraska

Hunter caught 43 passes for 628 yards and five touchdowns this fall for a 7-6 Cornhuskers team. A year ago at Cal, he had 40 receptions for 578 yards and five TDs for 6-7 team.

WR Josiah Martin to Oklahoma

Martin caught 12 passes for 112 yards and no touchdowns as a freshman in 2024, then followed Jaydn Ott to Oklahoma, where he redshirted this past season.

WR Mikey Matthews to UCLA

A transfer from Utah, Matthews was reasonably productive for Cal in 2024, catching 32 passes for 272 yards and a touchdown. At UCLA this fall, he had 33 receptions for 348 yards, two TDs for 3-9 team.

WR Tobias Merriweather to Utah

The former 4-star prospect began his career at Notre Dame, where he averaged 20.3 yards on 14 catches as a sophomore in 2023. He was injury-plagued at Cal, catching 11 passes in five games, and couldn’t stay healthy at Utah, catching eight passes for 130 yards and no TDs before missing the final six games on an 11-2 Utes team.

Edge David Reese to Syracuse

Reese came to Cal from Florida in 2023 and in his second season had 22 tackles, 7.5 tackles for loss and 4.5 sacks. He landed at Syracuse this year for his seventh season of college football — that’s right — and posted 27 tackles with 3.5 TFL, 2.5 sacks and two fumble recoveries for 3-9 team.

CB Marcus Scott II to Central Arkansas

Scott saw no action with Berkeley’s Bears in 2024 and none with the Bears of Conway, Ark.

WR Mason Starling to San Jose State

Arrived at Cal from junior college in 2022 and was healthy enough to play in just seven games over three years. Same thing as SJSU, where he saw no action this season.

Edge Myles Williams to Nevada

Williams got into just four games for Cal in 2024 due to injury. At Nevada, he played in nine games, and managed three tackles for a 3-9 team.

Saf Ryan Yaites to TCU

Yaites had just three tackles in 12 games and accumulated no stats over the final five games for a 9-4 team. At Cal in 2024, Yaites played 12 games and had 16 tackles.

Nothing to lose

RB Kadarius Calloway to New Mexico State

After rushing for just 124 yards and one touchdown at Cal, Calloway totaled 438 rushing yards with three TDs and another 175 yards on 26 receptions but for a 4-8 team.

San Diego State Aztecs running back Byron Cardwell Jr. | David Frerker-Imagn Images

RB Byron Cardwell Jr. to San Diego State

Injuries limited Cardwell to 16 rushing yards in two seasons at Cal. With the Aztecs, he rushed 48 times for 267 yards and one touchdown and caught five passes for 108 yards and a TD for 9-4 team.

OL Trent Ramsey to Appalachian State

Ramsey, who played in just eight games off the bench in three seasons at Cal, started the first seven games for the Mountaineers before suffering a season-ending injury.

RB Justin Williams-Thomas to Marshall

Limited to a single game at Cal in 2024, Williams-Thomas played nine games for Marshall, totaling 238 yards rushing and receiving with three touchdowns on a 5-7 team.

We hardly knew thee

Saf Brooklyn Cheek to Wyoming

Cheek saw no action as a freshman for the Bears in 2024. He transferred to Wyoming and played in 11 games but was not listed on the two-deep at defensive back and totaled eight tackles for 4-8 team.

P Bobby Engstler to Arkansas State then to Florida A&M

After seeing no action as a freshman for Cal in 2024, Engstler initially transferred to Arkansas State before flipping to Florida A&M, where he punted 52 times for 42.7-yard average.

Edge John Gayer to Utah State

Gayer spent the spring at Cal but never played for the Bears before transferring to Utah State. He saw action in two games and had no stats this season.

LS Caleb Johnson to Rutgers

Long snapper spent spring ball at Cal after three seasons at Washington, then transferred to Rutgers. But he left the Scarlet Knights during fall camp and apparently retired.

TE Camden Jones to junior college

A four-star high school prospect, Jones saw no action for Cal as a true freshman in 2024. He enrolled at Mt. SAC junior college, where he played in one game this season, catching a single pass for five yards.

TE Simon Mapa to New Mexico

Mapa spent spring ball at Cal after two seasons at College of San Mateo, then transferred to New Mexico before playing in a game for the Bears. He played 13 games with one start for the Lobos, catching three passes for 42 yards with two touchdowns on a 9-4 team.

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