College football program loses 32 players to transfer portal

A Power Four college football program has lost 32 different players to the NCAA transfer portal in 2026.

California Golden Bears wide receiver Jacob De Jesus (21) reacts after making a touchdown catch over the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors | Marco Garcia-Imagn Images

More than two weeks have passed since the final day of the NCAA transfer portal period for college football players in 2026. The portal's two-week entry window opened at midnight on Jan. 2 and shut down at midnight on Jan. 16.

Now that the vast majority of players have committed to their next school, the media is beginning to analyze the activity from the portal over the past month. This includes ranking the classes assembled by major college football programs and studying the potential impacts of individual transfers.

One program that was hit particularly hard by the NCAA transfer portal is California. Despite acquiring a myriad of transfers to mitigate the losses, the Golden Bears saw 32 players enter the NCAA transfer portal from the end of the regular season into the middle of January.

California announced it was parting ways with head coach Justin Wilcox in late November. Wilcox held the post for nine seasons, making him the fifth-longest tenured coach at California behind Jeff Tedford, Pappy Waldorf, Stub Allison and Andy Smith. The Golden Bears hired former Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi as Wilcox's successor.

Mass exodus via the NCAA transfer portal is virtually guaranteed at every major program that makes a coaching change in this era of college football. Only two of California's 32 transfers are ranked as four-stars, but many of the departures were impact players from the 2025 team.

California Golden Bears linebacker Luke Ferrelli (41) reacts after a blocked field goal attempt by Stanford Cardinal | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

California's most publicized transfer is linebacker Luke Ferrelli, who logged 91 tackles for the Golden Bears in 2025. He originally committed to Clemson before flipping to Ole Miss, a situation that raised questions about potential tampering across college football. Lead tackler Cade Uluave (BYU) and four-star transfer Harrison Taggart (Utah State) have also left California for the transfer portal.

Golden Bears' leading rusher, Kendrick Raphael, is another loss to the portal. Raphael committed to SMU, a move that will add intrigue to the matchup between the Mustangs and Golden Bears in late October.

Backup quarterback Devin Brown (Weber State) is the other four-star transfer on the move away from California. He came to the Golden Bears from Ohio State in the 2025 offseason, but 2025 starter Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is staying at California despite the coaching change, a move that would restrict opportunities for Brown.

247Sports ranks California as the No. 2 transfer portal class in the ACC behind Miami, with its 30 incoming transfers tied for the most in the conference with Louisville. Nationally, the Golden Bears sit at No. 14 overall.