Cal took a hit when four-star wide receiver Eli Woodard chose Miami on Tuesday, but the bigger picture still points to a massive recruiting year for Tosh Lupoi and the Bears.
Even after Woodard went to the Hurricanes over Cal and UCLA, the 2027 class still looks loaded by ESPN’s top-300 measure. Cal has eight commitments from players on that list, and if all eight sign, it would be the most top-300 prospects the program has signed since ESPN started its rankings in 2008.
That would clear Cal’s previous high of five, set in 2011, by three. It would also be four times the number of top-300 players Cal has signed across the past five classes combined.
The Bears nearly had a ninth. Woodard’s decision would have pushed the total to nine top-300 commitments, but instead Cal remains at eight.
The group includes wide receiver Demare Dezeurn (No. 88), wide receiver Charles Davis III (No. 108), tight end Rahzario Edwards (No. 109), wide receiver Zion White (No. 134), athlete/defensive back Duvay Williams (No. 178), quarterback Dane Weber (No. 231), outside linebacker Elijah Staples (No. 235) and cornerback Kamil Loud (No. 286).
There was another small change to the class on Tuesday as well. Four-star prospect Myles Baker, who had committed to Cal in March, flipped to UCLA, though he is not ranked in the ESPN 300.
The bigger question is what all this means once these players get to campus. The answer is messy, and Cal’s own history shows it clearly. Some top-300 recruits become difference-makers, while others barely make a dent.
Jared Goff and Keenan Allen are the obvious examples of how well it can work. But Cal has also landed plenty of players outside that group who became some of its best over the past 19 years, including Evan Weaver, Marvin Jones and Camryn Bynum.
A look back at Cal’s ESPN top-300 signees since 2008 shows just how wide the range can be.
Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele was technically an Oregon signee before transferring to Cal a few weeks after enrolling, but he is often counted in Cal’s 2025 class. He became the Bears’ starting quarterback in the first game of his true freshman season and had an outstanding 2025 season.
Justin Hasenhuetl did not play as a true freshman in 2025 and is unlikely to start in 2026.
J.Michael Sturdivant had a strong run at Cal as a redshirt freshman, catching 65 passes for 755 yards and seven touchdowns. He later transferred to UCLA, then Florida, where he played in 2024 and 2025 before being signed by the Packers as an undrafted free agent in 2026.
Kai Millner completed 9-of-15 passes as a redshirt freshman at Cal without making a start, then transferred to Northern Arizona.
Mavin Anderson started eight games as a freshman, finishing with 37 catches and three touchdowns, then added nine receptions as a sophomore and 14 as a junior before transferring to Texas State for 2025.
Jermaine Terry had one reception in 2022 and then started nine games as a sophomore with six catches before transferring to Oregon State.
Chase Garbers started 34 games at Cal and threw for 6,582 yards with 50 touchdowns and 24 interceptions.
Taariq Johnson did not play in two seasons at Cal before moving on to El Camino College and then San Jose State.
Demetris Robertson put up 50 catches for 767 yards and seven touchdowns as a true freshman, but injury limited him to two games as a sophomore. He later transferred to Georgia, played three seasons there and then transferred to Auburn.
Carlos Strickland never played in his lone season at Cal before transferring to Kansas State, then later to Texas-San Antonio, where he became a starting tight end.
Erik Brown did not play in his two seasons at Cal, then transferred to Riverside Community College and later UTEP.
Devante Downs played in 40 games with 20 starts, finishing with 212 tackles, 14.5 tackles for loss, eight sacks and five interceptions. He was limited to seven games as a senior because of injury, but was named Pac-12 player of the week twice that season. He went in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft and played three NFL seasons.
Jared Goff started for three seasons, set multiple school records, went No. 1 overall in the 2016 NFL draft and is now the Detroit Lions starting quarterback.
Zach Kline never became a starter at Cal, then moved on to Butte College and later appeared on the rosters at Indiana State and Fresno State.
Darius Powe played in 46 games with 21 starts over four seasons and finished with 104 catches, 1,253 yards and 11 touchdowns.
Todd Barr made seven starts in five seasons and posted 54 tackles, 17.5 tackles for loss and 8.5 sacks.
Avery Walls, later known as Avery Sebastian, made six starts in four seasons, with an injury wiping out nearly all of his 2013 campaign before he transferred to Notre Dame for his final year.
Maurice Harris started 14 games across five seasons and finished with 81 receptions for 1,009 yards and 10 touchdowns.
Viliami Moala played in 35 games with 12 starts over three seasons and ended with 48 tackles, five tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks.
Jason Gibson played in only six games without a start over three injury-riddled seasons and retired for medical reasons before the 2014 season.
Keenan Allen was an instant starter as a freshman and left after three seasons with school records for career receptions, at 205, and a No. 3 spot in receiving yards with 2,570. A third-round pick in 2013, he has been selected to six Pro Bowls and ranks 13th all time, second among active players, in career receptions with 1,055.
Cecil Whiteside played one season at Cal, appearing in 10 games and starting three in 2010.
Steve Williams played in 37 games with 28 starts over four seasons, recording 150 tackles, 9.0 tackles for loss, one sack and six interceptions. He was a fifth-round pick in the 2013 NFL draft and played three NFL seasons.
Before ESPN launched its top-300 rankings, Cal had already signed players who would have qualified, including Marshawn Lynch, who was the No. 22 prospect in the class of 2004 by Rivals, and Desean Jackson, who was No. 14 in 2005 by Rivals.
Since 2008, only two of the 19 former Cal players on NFL preseason rosters who were signed by the Bears and ranked in the ESPN top 300 at the time were Jared Goff and Keenan Allen.
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Chad Hansen Still Stands Among Cals Best Transfer Success Stories
Chad Hansens time at Cal remains one of the cleaner transfer success stories in recent memory. After sitting out a year, the former Idaho State receiver quickly became a go-to target for the Bears, turning into a major part of the passing game and earning his place among the programs more productive wideouts. By the end of his redshirt junior season, he had gone from a relatively obscure arrival to a name that showed up near the top of the national receiver charts and on multiple All-Pac-12 lists.
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