Ever since NIL and the portal have seeped into the college football world, there have been an immense number of changes all around. Players are taking off at a moment’s notice, and the coaches are deploying any ‘extreme’ measures they are allowed to do. Take the example of Matt Rhule, the man who has canceled spring games altogether and even made statements to support that. Other coaches, like Kirby Smart, are also facing the heat of the portal. While some, like Mario Cristobal, take advantage of it with their sneaky moves. Still, one head coach has been facing the negative aspects of the portal, quite brutally.
Justin Wilcox’s time at the California Golden Bears hasn’t been easy over the years. The team hasn’t finished with a winning season since 2019, and last season, moving to ACC from Pac-12 took a heavier toll on the team than expected. Many had thought that a change of scenery might do more good than harm since ACC isn’t as competitive as other conferences like SEC and Big10. Still, California finished at 6-7 even after starting their season with three straight wins. One of them is against Auburn. But the troubles for Justin Wilcox aren’t over yet.
So far, 4 running backs have opted for the transfer portal in just one day on April 15th and will be looking for pastures anew. Those players are Byron Cardwell, who was the 4-star RB of the 2021 class. Jaydn Ott and Justin Williams-Thomas are the 4-star running backs of the 2022 class. Lastly, the fourth player to request a transfer is Kadarius Calloway, another running back of the 2021 class.
Four Cal running backs entered the transfer portal IN ONE DAY pic.twitter.com/9D18TVEXFo
— Rivals (@Rivals) April 15, 2025
Wilcox had recently roped in a whole new coaching staff with changes at all the major positions. At offensive coordinator came Bryan Harsin, the former Auburn head coach, and at running backs came Julian Griffin, the former UTSA RBs coach. The hiring of Julian Griffin was expected to bring optimism within the RB room. Since this is the coach who had developed players like Sincere McCormick, who had two almost 1,500-yard seasons and had consistently helped deliver yards at UTSA. Even then, the RBs at California don’t seem too convinced by the idea.
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