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Cal and UCLA have scheduled football games against each other for four consecutive seasons beginning in 2026. The first game will take place Sept. 5, 2026 in Berkeley and will alternate home sites for the three seasons after that.

Cal has updated and released its 2024 roster with all the new additions made. I'll be going through it to see if anything jumps out but take a look and feel free to post about any notable items you see.

- Seven quarterbacks total with newcomers CJ Harris (Ohio transfer), EJ Caminong and Andrew Maushardt joining the group that was together in the spring.

- Eight inside linebackers are listed and Sergio Allen is not among them. Cade Uluave is listed at 240 up from his 230 a year ago making him the heaviest ILB. Newcomer Teddye Buchannan is second on that list at 235 pounds and 6-foot-2.

- The roster lists 17 offensive linemen and 15 interior defensive linemen. There are three defensive linemen listed at 320 pounds or more — Aiden Keanaaina (320), Stanley Saole-McKenzie (320) and Ricky Correia (325). Nick Morrow and freshman Aiden Newbill are the tallest offensive linemen both checking in at 6-foot-8.

- Eight running backs and eight tight ends on the roster heading into the fall.

- There are 16 receivers on the roster and only seven of them were on the roster last season. Of those seven, only one caught more than 10 passes in 2023 (Trond Grizzell).

- Some number switches: Miles Williams 13 ➡️ 4, Collin Gamble 21 ➡️ 13, Lu-Magia Hearns 15 ➡️ 21, Mason Starling 18 ➡️ 9,

- This more fun than anything but freshman kicker Derek Morris will be wearing No. 99, which I personally just think is pretty awesome haha

Here's the OV list for the weekend, including the aforementioned headliner ...

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Sagapolutele impressed at Elite 11 this week and could see his stock rising entering his senior season as teams -- like Cal -- who haven't landed their QB yet this cycle regroup and look for new targets. Sagapolutele has already taken OVs to Oregon State, Utah State and Boise State.

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COMMITS

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We break down the significance of today's big recruiting win, including Rivals recruiting director Adam Gorney's scouting report and thoughts on Sagapolotele's commitment:

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Cal has done it. The Bears have landed a major commitment from high three-star quarterback Jaron Sagapolutele this afternoon. I spoke with him about why the Bears won out in his recruitment. You can read his thoughts on the decision at the link above.

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Hello everyone.... but I guess I should say goodbye...

My sub runs out tomorrow or at midnight tonight not sure exactly but I wanted to say goodbye to all of you and thank you for your contributions here over the many years that I've been posting here (says 2008 on my profile but I was here starting right around 2000)... I've enjoyed so much of the banter - even when it's gotten a bit contentious at times - because we're all here for the same reason. There have been a lot of posters that have left over the years for many different reasons I'm sure. There have been many different folks who managed, published, written articles and engaged in some great give and take. I could go back and list the many who were employed here but they have mostly moved on... I will call out a couple of the recent folks who are still around.... Ben who has been our defacto Cal hoops writer even as he acts (it's all an act right @Ben.?) as the publisher for the Furd along with Trace, Marc, Nam and Matt who despite his Wildcat pedigree has been doing yeomans work here on the football program.

I've enjoyed bantering with many of you over time and I do see a lot of you over on Bear Insider. But I wanted to call out a bunch of you for your give and take with me and the rest of the ever changing cast of characters here...

@BadBucks ... @Harky4 .... @mike79 .. @Colonial Bear .. @RugBear .. @Alkiadt .. @joni.a ...@CalGreg and @droski ... @screenwriter140 and I'm sure many more. This board was my favorite for the majority of the past 20+ years but the changes that have taken place since Trace, Nam and Ben left (by the way Ben you were so right about Fox - and I want you to know that I know that) even with all of Matt's contributions have left things IMO a shell of what they used to be here. I don't see it changing so reluctantly I'm going to move along.

I know that I am seeing many of you already on BI and for those of you that I don't you have your reasons and I respect you for that. The one thing that we are all here for I hope continues to change this year... Madsen (MadDog) sure seems to have a good plan and seeing Cal play for the first time in Haas since COVID reminded me of the best of Monty and Counzo.... the ship is turning. We have a chance thanks to joining the ACC in football and the boost from NIL - Thanks @Sebastabear for your efforts. I hope this is the year - God knows we are due...

Anyway, Let's go Bears and pray that things are finally headed in the right direction...

Petalumabear .... OUT

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Jaron Sagapolutele will announce his choice tomorrow afternoon. The high three-star quarterback will announce his commitment at 3 p.m. PT, and Cal heads into the announcement as the favorite. I caught up with the Hawaii native this evening to look ahead to his college choice. He has already informed the coaching staff of his decision, and all that remains is to make his choice public.

Here's what he said about the Bears and why they are part of his final list:

"Right when they offered me, all the coaches they just jumped on board. They were really excited about my talent. They really love me, and I was just so happy that they really think I'm the guy. That's something that stood out to me."

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Jaron Sagapolutele is Cal's top target at the quarterback position and may be the top target overall in the class right now. The Ewa Beach (Hawaii) Campbell standout signal caller is on the rise following a standout performance at the Elite 11 last week, and the Bears have made a big play for him in recent weeks. He wrapped up his June official visit schedule with a trip to Berkeley over the weekend, and the Bears made him feel like a top priority throughout the stay. That sounds to be holding a lot of weight as he now settles in to make a decision.

Sagapolutele doesn't have a set timetable for making his choice, but the Bears have positioned themselves well as he assesses his options. Boise State, Utah State and Oregon State all hosted him on official visits as well, but Cal was able to get him out for the coveted last summer visit potentially putting the Bears in great position to land his commitment that sounds like it will be coming in the not-too-distant future.

"I think the Cal visit overall was an amazing visit. They had everything. They really checked off all the boxes just in terms of their playbook, the coaching, their overall scheme and just how they are as a team. I think it was a really great visit, and I was super blessed to be able to go there."

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It’s July 1 on the East Coast and that means Cal is now officially part of the ACC. The new era begins.

With Mark Pope headed to Kentucky, Mark Madsen’s name is already beginning to come up as a potential replacement at BYU. Madsen’s buyout is $4 million. It’s difficult to imagine BYU paying that, but it is something to monitor as it stands now.

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Mark Madsen completes his roster with the addition of Washington State transfer forward Spencer Mahoney. The 6-foot-9 forward was offered by the Bears in the spring. Central Florida was his other known offer.

Mahoney was a three-star recruit in the 2023 class who redshirted as a freshman last season with the Cougars. He’ll head to the Bears with all four years of his remaining eligibility intact.

A nice low-risk late addition for the Bears.

For those interested. There is also a dinner the night before at the College Football HOF.

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Cal forward Fardaws Aimaq has received a summer league invite with the Sacramento Kings.

Jovan is a grad transfer who adds depth and maturity at PG. We have one remaining open scholarship.

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Three-star 2025 edge rusher Epi Sitanilei has narrowed his focus to just four schools with one visit remaining on his schedule. The 6-foot-5 prospect from St. John Bosco in Bellflower is down to Cal, UCLA, Utah and Ohio State. At this point, the Bruins are the favorite, but the Bears are in a great spot with his final visit before making a decision. He has canceled a planned trip to Arizona this weekend and will instead focus on making it back out to Berkeley next weekend followed by a commitment to one of the four schools not long after that.

Sitanilei was on campus at Cal during spring ball, and the staff made a strong impression on him then. He admits that UCLA was a childhood dream school, but don't count the Bears out in this one. Utah has been involved for a while and Ohio State is newer into the mix, but it truly does feel like a race between UCLA and Cal with the Bears looking to make up some ground heading into next week's visit.

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Mays Pese is the 12th commitment in the cycle for Cal and the first from a big recruiting weekend for the Bears. The 6-foot-2, 275-pound prospect from Bishop Diego in Santa Barbara had a wide array of offers including Michigan State, Arizona, Oregon State, Washington State, Fresno Sate and San Diego State among others.

He was credited with 63 tackles and six tackles for loss last season as a junior.

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The wait begins for Lyons to do what must be done.

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Cal is back up to 13 commitments for 2025 as athlete Tre' Harrison has announced his pledge to the Bears just a few minutes ago. He took official visits to Cal, Harvard, Columbia and San Diego State before making his decision. The Bears were the first of that group, so a strong pickup for the program to outlast those other schools and visits to lock him up. He's part of Serra's state champion 4x100 team and will play defensive back at Cal.

The visit with the Bears really put things over the top in his recruitment.

"It’s basically been the capstone of all the work they’ve done throughout my recruitment to be honest. They were coming to my area and spending time and me going up there felt exactly the same. Their message was, 'You can achieve a lot on and off the field with a winning mentality and you are more than just football.'"


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The Cavs picked JT # 20 in the NBA draft which validates his choice of Cal due to his feeling that Mark would develop him to become an NBA draft pick. ABC did not pay as much attention to him as would be expected for a # 20 pick, but the press in Cleveland is very positive on the pick. The new Cavs HC is Atkinson, who was with the Warriors last season, which makes me wonder if he visited Haas last season to check out JT.

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Three-star offensive lineman Mike Klisiewicz has taken to Instagram tonight to announce his commitment to the Bears following a weekend official visit. The 2025 recruit from Brentwood-Liberty also visited Washington State this month before making his decision. San Diego State, Sac State, Fresno State and Yale were some of his other offers.


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Fortuna HS tight end Jacob Houseworth committed to the Bears tonight following a recent official visit to Cal.


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Committed to Cal according to 247

Just found out Jabari Bird is the third leading scorer for Rajawali Jakarta of the Indonesian Basketball League. Glad he’s found his way back to pro basketball!

If you want to see where other former Cal hoopers are playing globally, click here. Kind of amazing how many leagues there are.

Cole Welle in Sweden, Kameron Rooks & Derek King in Taiwan, Tyrone Wallace in Turkey, Joel Brown in Canada and Andre Kelly in Greece to name a few. A lot of blasts from the past!