Cal Sports Report

Utah Transfer CB Quimari Shemwell Commits to Cal

Shemwell received limited playing time in 2024 as a freshman for the Utes, but Cal needs help in the secondary

Jake Curtis

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox / Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
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Utah transfer cornerback Quimari Shemwell, who played in 12 games and made one start as a freshman in 2024, has committed Cal. He announced his commitment on Instagram Friday.

Shemwell had limited playing time last season for the Utes, recording one solo tackle and no other statistics. But he has shown potential with three seasons of eligibility remaining. He played the nickelback position primarily for Utah.

He is the sixth player Cal has added from the transfer portal this month, joining running back Brandon High Jr. (Texas-San Antonio), wide receiver Quaron Adams (South Dakota), outside linebacker/edge TJ Bush (Liberty), outside linebacker Chris Victor (Chattanooga) and long snapper Rino Monteforte (Notre Dame).

Cal needs help in the secondary as all five starting defensive backs from 2024 are gone. Cal has produced some outstanding defensive backs under head coach Justin Wilcox, and two of the Bears’ starters from last season – Nohl Williams and Craig Woodson – are expected to be taken in the NFL.  A third Cal starter from 2024, cornerback Marcus Harris, has an outside shot at being drafted.

The 5-foot-11 Shewell went to high school at Long Beach Poly and initially committed to Arizona in October 2023.  He decommitted from Arizona a few weeks later and signed with Utah. He also had offers from Connecticut, Washington State and San Jose State.

A number of defensive backs took turns playing with the Bears’ first-team defense in the spring with nothing settled.

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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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