Why This Cal Football Team Has a Different Vibe, a Fresh Feel

Valentino Daltoso is the personification of how much college football has changed in a decade.

Daltoso holds the distinction of being the only starter in former Cal coach Justin Wilcox’s debut game back in 2017 who was new to the program that season.

Every other starter on both sides of the line of scrimmage in that 35-30 victory at North Carolina was a returnee from the 2016 roster.

Daltoso, an offensive lineman who came from from Oregon, was the outlier as the only transfer to earn a first-team assignment in the opener.

That almost seems quaint today, given the massive shift in the college sports landscape in the years since. Players did transfer a decade ago and before, but it wasn’t the mass stampede we see in the wake of the arrival of relaxed transfer rules, the transfer portal, NIL and revenue sharing.

In what amounts to an age of college sports free agency, player movement these days is more the rule than the exception.

When first-year coach Tosh Lupoi’s squad debuts on Sept. 5 against UCLA at Memorial Stadium, we could see at least 12 newcomers in the starting lineup on offense and defense.

Because practices and scrimmages are closed to reporters, we don’t know for sure who will trot onto the field first for the 7:30 p.m. kickoff.

But we do know Adam Mohammed will be the No. 1 running backs, Ian Strong and Chase Hendricks form the primary wide receiver duo, Dorian Thomas will play a major role at tight end, newcomers will man the two inside linebacker spots and the secondary could feature three transfer starters.

Cal officials, anticipating a possible sellout for the Cal-UCLA game, should heed the old saying, “You can’t tell the players without a scorecard.” Rosters will be a must.

Given Lupoi’s credentials as an elite recruiter, no one should have been surprised by the success he had securing talent last spring from the transfer portal.

But the personnel changes, including two new coordinators and 16 first-year assistant coaches, are just one factor in why these Bears have generated a fresh outlook:

Here are five other reasons this Cal team feels different:

— Hand-in-hand with the roster overhaul is a tantalizing sense of the unknown. Yes, we are familiar with quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele, who started every game last season as a freshman. Otherwise, we don’t know just how good the newcomers might be, how they could mesh together and where all of that can take this team.

— Partly a result of that mystery factor, there is more enthusiasm, optimism and growing anticipation over what will begin to unfold on Sept. 5. Ticket sales, according to Lupoi, are better than they’ve been in 15 years. Folks are eager to see what this looks like.

— The new era of Cal football actually began before Lupoi’s arrival. Chancellor Rich Lyons came on board just two years ago this summer and immediately signaled an increase in campus support for football.

— Lyons’ hiring of popular football alum Ron Rivera as general manager (and now also athletic director for football) was a clear indication he intends to make Cal football relevant on the national stage. Getting there will be critical to the program’s long-term survival among the power programs. Rivera needed just one season to determine a coaching change was a necessary step in the process.

— The arrival of Rivera, then Lupoi has sparked fundraising for athletics unlike any we’ve seen. The Bears received more than $170 million in gifts and pledges in 2025 and ’26, demonstrative of how booster passion is translating in the most tangible fashion.

Whether all this momentum — including ticket sales and big donor checks — continues or even increases depends on how the Bears fare once the games begin.

The hype will give way to reality. We will find out if the coaches can coach and the players can play. No reason to think they can’t, but the long buildup is nearly over.

It’s almost time to see what Cal football looks like in 2026.

Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky

Add us as a preferred source on Google