Cal Sports Report

Texas Tech Transfer Safety Jordan Sanford Commits to Cal

Sanford will try to get playing time in Cal's wide-open competition for starters in the secondary
Jake Curtis|
Jordan Sanford
Jordan Sanford | Annie Rice/Avalanche-Journal / USA TODAY NETWORK

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Texas Tech transfer safety Jordan Sanford has committed to Cal, according to on3 and Rivals.

Sanford played in 13 games for the Red Raiders last season, but did not start any of them. He recorded 16 tackles but no other statistics. In 2023, he had nine tackles and no other statistics for Texas Tech.

He has two seasons of college eligibility remaining.

Cal lost all five starters from its secondary from the 2024 season, and three of them -- Nohl Williams, Craig Woodson and Marcus Harris -- were selected in last week's NFL draft. Competition to determine their replacements is wide open.

Sanford is from Arlington, Texas, and he had offers from Michigan, Louisville, SMU, Washington, Nebraska, Utah, Minnesota, Oklahoma State and Indiana, among others, coming out of Mansfield Timberview High School.

Here is what 247 Sports analyst Gabe Brooks said about Sanford as a prospect coming out of high school.

Adequate physical tools with positive length and space to add mass. Owns physical specs to play multiple secondary roles.

Comfortable playing over the top, press, off man, over the slot, and a variety of alignments. Even has shown step-down ability as a situational off-ball linebacker of sorts.

Designated as a safety but elite camp exposure and encouraging senior year reps some promising corner functionality. Better field athlete in short-area suddenness and fluidity than combine testing data suggests.

Possesses a terrific athletic profile supported by track and field experience. Texas 6A state qualifier as a junior in the 100 meters with double-digit sub-11.00 times, including 10.55 and 10.57.

Can improve consistency in pursuit angles. Adding strength will enhance arriving impact as a tackler. Senior year shows encouraging catch-point peskiness but limited ball production across two-year sample size.

Great natural athlete still developing as a football player. Could provide early special teams snaps and should give a defensive staff a versatile, athletic puzzle piece in the secondary.

Possesses plenty of long-term potential given verified speed markers and flashes on tape. Could need some seasoning initially, but clearly projects to the Power Five level with a long-term ceiling that could lead beyond college.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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