Has Cal Already Filled Its Big Vacancy at Tight End?

Along with quarterback Fernando Mendoza and running backs Jaydn Ott and Jaivian Thomas, Cal’s biggest loss to the transfer portal last offseason was tight end Jack Endries.

A one-time walk-on from nearby Danville in the East Bay, Endries had emerged as a favorite target for Mendoza. He became the first tight end to lead the Bears in receptions in 42 seasons, collecting 56 catches for 623 yards and two touchdowns.

Endries is now at Texas and two other tight ends on the 2024 Cal roster also are gone.

In their season-opening 34-15 victory at Oregon State, the Bears showed the cupboard isn’t bare.

Idaho redshirt sophomore transfer Mason Mini, hardly so at 6-foot-4, caught freshman quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s first career touchdown pass, a 19-yarder that gave Cal a 7-0 first-quarter lead.

Mini made a nice adjustment on his route while Sagapolutele eluded pressure by rolling left, and slipped behind the defensive back to make the catch.

Mason Mini (85) celebrates with fellow tight end Landon Morris | Craig Strobeck-Imagn Images

Landon Morris, a 6-5 senior transfer from Temple, made a 4-yard scoring reception to boost the Bears’ lead to 24-3 in the third quarter.

As good as Endries was a year ago, this marked the first time Cal got two touchdowns out of its tight end position in the same game since Oct. 23, 2021.

On that day, in a 26-3 home victory over Colorado, Chase Garbers connected with tight ends Keleki Latu and Gavin Reinwald for touchdowns of 24 and 31 yards, respectively. That was 44 games ago.

Mini finished with four receptions for 33 yards, Morris had two catches for 30 yards and returning senior Jeffrey Johnson had one catch for 20 yards.

Sagapolutele, who leads Cal against Texas Southern in its home opener on Saturday, was effusive in his praise of the Bears’ trio of tight ends.

“Blocking, catching, they’re doing everything for us. Helping out the O-line with protection. They’re making the great catches,” he said Tuesday during his media session. “All of our tight ends are ballers, they work hard every single day, and you can see it showed up on the field.

“They’re going to continue to get better every game, every week, every day.”

Of course, whether they can become as productive on a weekly basis as Endries remains to be seen. In his debut with the Longhorns, Endries had four catches for 50 yards in the Longhorns’ 14-7 loss to Ohio State.

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