Counting Down Cal's Top-50 Transfer Athletes: No. 8 Davis Webb

The transfer portal era in college athletics seems like it’s been with us forever. Likewise, most fans can recall less turbulent times when transfers happened, they simply didn’t look like a stampede to the 1849 California Gold Rush.

We thought it was time to rank the best transfers Cal teams have attracted, most of them in recent seasons but also including a few OGs from yesteryear.

We limited our ranking to transfers from four-year colleges.

Here is the next athlete in our countdown:

8. Davis Webb

Sport: Football

Arrival year at Cal: 2016

Previous schools: Texas Tech (2013-15, passed for 5,557 yards, 46 touchdowns his first two seasons with the Red Raiders).

Contributions at Cal:

— Came to Cal for the 2016 season after losing his job to Patrick Mahomes the season before at Texas Tech.

— As the successor to No. 1 NFL draft choice Jared Goff, Webb passed for 4,295 yards and 37 touchdowns, both No. 2 all-time at Cal. His passing yards were second-most in the Pac-12 in 2016.

—The 6-foot-5, 229-pounder had 10 games of at least 300 passing yards and four outings with 400 yards or more. He threw four touchdown passes in three games and five in three other games.

— Davis passed for a career-high 522 yards, completing 41 of 72 attempts against San Diego State, but was also intercepted three times in a 45-40 road defeat. Hs second-highest passing yardage total — 478 — also came in a road defeat, 51-41 at Arizona State.

— Voted Cal’s MVP, Davis also was an honorable mention All-Pac-12 pick and a semifinalist for the Davey O’Brien Award, given to the nation’s top quarterback.

— Davis, who passed for 9,852 yards and 83 touchdowns at his two college stops, was selected in the third round of the 2017 NFL draft. He currently serves as offensive coordinator for the Denver Broncos.

Standout performance: Davis put together his best performance of the season in a game where his yardage total was not other-worldly. He completed 42 of 61 passes for 325 yards with five TDs and no interceptions in the Bears’ 52-49 double-overtime win over Oregon. After the Bears squandered a 34-14 lead early in the second half, Davis forced the second overtime by scoring in a one-yard run to tie the game at 49-all and Cal won on a 28-yard field goal by Matt Anderson.

Impact on his team: Davis sustained coach Sonny Dykes’ pass-happy offensive approach as the Bears scored at least 40 points in six games. But their porous defense allowed them to win just three of those games and Cal finished the season at 5-7 and ineligible for a bowl game.

Previously on our list:

No. 9: Hezekiah Masses

No. 10: Ioanna Krimili

No. 11: Chad Hansen

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