Cal Transfer Guard McKade Mettauer Commits to Oklahoma

Bears' best offensive lineman heads to national powerhouse football program

Guard McKade Mettauer, who was Cal's highest rated offensive lineman in 2021 as a junior before entering the transfer portal, announced on social media Monday that he has committed to Oklahoma.

It demonstrates the respect coaches have for Mettauer's talent that he was able to transfer to one of the nation's elite football programs.

Mettaur was named a second-team all-Pac-12 offensive lineman this season by Pro Football Focus.

Mettauer will be playing for new Sooners head coach Brent Venables, who had been Clemson's defensive coordinator before replacing Lincoln Riley as Oklahoma's head coach. Riley is now the head coach at USC.

Oklahoma had finished each of the previous six seasons ranked among the top seven teams in the final AP polls. The Sooners have participated in the four-team College Football Playoff in four of the past six seasons, and they were in contention for a spot in the CFP for most of this season. They are No 16 in the final CFP rankings this season and are scheduled to face Oregon in the Dec. 29 Alamo Bowl.

Mettauer started 28 games on Cal's offensive line during his career in Berkeley.

He made his first start in in the 2019 opener against UC Davis, and he started the last 28 Cal games in succession. The departure of Mettauer leaves a holes in the Bears' offensive line.

The offensive line was one of Cal's strengths this past season. The Bears yielded only 25 sacks in 12 games (2.08 sacks per game) this season. That was a sizable improvement over 2020, when it allowed 15 sacks in just four games (3.75 sacks per game) and 2019, when it gave up 46 sacks in 13 games (3.54 sacks per game) in 2019.

Cal signed one offensive lineman, Sioape Vatikani, in its incoming 2022 class, although true freshmen seldom make a major impact in their first season in the Pac-12.

Cover photo of McKade Mettauer is by Darren Yamashita, USA TODAY Sports

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Follow Jake Curtis of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jakecurtis53

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