How New Eligibility Rules Affect Cal Football in 2026

The new rules regarding college eligibility affect three things about Cal football:

---More Cal freshmen will play this season.

---Star Cal players have an additional season of eligibility.

---Some Cal players who believed their careers were over last season can play another year.

The NCAA changed its eligibility rules this offseason so that players now have five years to play five college seasons. Period. The redshirt season is essentially a thing of the past.

On July 31, a judge issued a preliminary injunction granting a fifth season of eligibility to athletes who entered college in 2022 who had used up their four years of eligibility. Before that injunction those players thought their college eligibility was done because they had played four college seasons. This would only apply to players who, under the previous rule, had used up their eligibility after the 2025-26 season.

So how does it affect Cal. Here are the ways:

More True Freshmen Will Play

Because there is no advantage to redshirting a freshman, you could see more first-year players getting playing time.

“It makes me a little anxious to play the freshmen,” Cal defensive line coach Darrion Daniels sadi.

He mentioned Frank Fanua Jr., Nemyah Telona and Lucky Schirmer as freshmen who might get playing time on the defensive line this season.

Freshman tight end Taimane Purcell figured to play this season anyway, but now Cal coaches have no reservation about playing him extensively in 2026.

Defensive back Niles Davis, running back Victor Santino, and several wide receivers are freshmen who might get more playing time than expected this season.

Cal offensive line coach Famika Anae says the rule provides flexibility in dealing with first-year players and adds depth up front.

“It makes young guys available sooner to do certain things for your team, and we are totally exploring that avenue,” said Anae.

He did not mention any names, but Daniel McMorris might be a freshman who would get playing time late in the season, which would not have happened in the past.

An Extra Season For Stars

Wide receivers Ian Strong and Chase Hendricks transferred to Cal this past offseason for what they figured would be their final college season. But neither redshirted as freshmen, so the new rule will give them eligibility in 2026 and 2027.

Either could enter the NFL draft after the 2026 season, but unless they put up big numbers this season, at least one will be back at Cal for the 2027 season, assuming they don’t transfer.

Having them for two seasons with Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele as their quarterback would be a big deal for Cal’s offense since we claimed Strong and Hendricks might be the best wide receiver duo in the ACC this season.

Outside linebacker Jayden Wayne, who started nine games for Cal last year, will also still be eligible in 2027 even though he played at least eight games in each of his three previous college seasons.

Defensive back Daniel Harris is competing for a starting spot this season, but he can return for 2027 despite being listed as a senior.

Sagapolutele theoretically has three years of eligibility remaining after this season, although he’s likely to enter the NFL draft after the 2027 season.

Bringing Back Players

Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi has not dismissed the idea of adding players to this year’s roster that qualify under the preliminary injunction.

“We’re going to try to approach it and detail it out, learn it, make some calls, and see what we can do and see if there’s any possibilities,” Lupoi said on August 17.

Asked if he has added any players to the 2026 roster yet, Lupoi, “No, haven’t as of right now.”

Players who have signed a pro contract (such as Paco Austin) are not eligible to come back, but two players who could return to Cal this season are wide receiver Jayden Dixon-Veal, who caught four passes and played in 10 games, including one start, last season, and defensive back Ja’ir Smith, who played in all 13 games for Cal last season and played in 12 games in 2024.

Their twitter sites suggest they would like to return:

🙏🏽 https://t.co/xRjSFSvmdY
— J3 (@JaydenDixonVeal) August 11, 2026

God willing 🙏 https://t.co/Xy0AXThMaj
— Ja'ir Smith (@Jair_Smith04) August 1, 2026

By the Way

Thankfully for Bastian Swinney this rule was not in effect when he entered Cal, because he would not be eligible this season if it was.

Swinney is entering his sixth college season, but he had two redshirt seasons, so he eligible under the former rules, which can be applied to current players.

Swinney is Cal’s starting center and is considered the leader of the Bears’ offensive line.

“Got lucky; this is his 38th year of college football, and he got grandfathered in,” Anae said. “Can’t say enough about Bastian Swinney and what he means to this team.”

Other Sports

Because the temporary injunction ruling came so late in the summer, the logistics for adding football players are difficult. The ruling might be a bigger factor for winter and spring sports, such as basketball, baseball, softball and gymnastics.

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