Ask Tristan Jernigan where he’s from, and Tupelo, Mississippi, comes up with a built-in piece of trivia.
“Elvis!” Jernigan says when asked to name the most famous person from his hometown.
“I know a lot about him. Every time I say Tupelo, somebody says Elvis.”
That connection runs deep in the place Jernigan grew up. Elvis Presley was born in Tupelo in 1935 and stayed there until his family moved to Memphis when he was 13. Graceland may draw the crowds now, but Tupelo is where the story starts.
“He really is just a historical mark in our history,” Jernigan says. “They have a statue of him in the downtown park.”
Presley’s birthplace is now a museum, and the “Becoming” statues in Tupelo honor both the young Elvis and the superstar he became. Jernigan even lived on Elvis Presley Drive during his senior year of high school.
“A fun fact: I lived on his street, the street he grew up at,” he says. “My senior year I lived on Elvis Presley Drive in Tupelo. It’s pretty cool.”
Born 70 years after Presley, Jernigan grew up with a family that knew the King well enough. His parents and grandparents were big fans, and he says he knows one of Presley’s biggest hits.
“I know Hound Dog,” he says, referring to the 1956 song that spent 11 weeks at No. 1 on the pop chart.
For a linebacker, that hometown background seems to fit. Jernigan says he’s proud of where he came from and the values he picked up there.
“It’s a great area,” he says. “I’m just very happy with where I came from. The culture that my dad instilled in me, the principles and discipline.”
Those roots helped turn him into a four-star high school prospect, and after two seasons at Texas A&M, he arrived at Cal as a transfer earlier this year. With the Aggies, he played in 10 games and made 14 tackles.
He has already made his presence felt for the Bears, starting both of their first two games and ranking fourth on the team with nine tackles.
Cal’s coaching staff brought in three transfer linebackers over the offseason, with AJ Tuitele from USC and Kamar Mothudi from Oregon joining Jernigan. None arrived with a massive college résumé, but each came with upside.
“We recruited a person and a skill set for the most part with a lot of guys, just because of the lack of overall game film,” defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings says. “Tristan got on campus, he’s done his job. Pleased with the person, pleased with the player, and really the way he approaches each day.
“He’s passionate about his craft. Really passionate about being a good teammate, a leader.
There’s really so much growth from him from when he arrived on campus to now. You’re just going to continue to see it.”
Jernigan also pointed to the difference in Cal’s defense from the season-opening 45-24 loss to UCLA to last week’s 21-18 road win at Syracuse. Hutchings turned up the pressure on quarterback Steve Angeli, and the result was three sacks and three interceptions.
Jernigan says that aggressive style suits him. “I love playing very aggressive.
That’s part of the reason Tosh brought in the guys he did because he knows we are very aggressive players. I’m very excited to see what we do moving forward.
“We have the capability of doing anything. Everybody on our defense is very talented. I feel like we’re elite across the board and we can go far.”
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Cal Gets One Last Chance To Fix Troubling Issues Before Clemson
Cal gets a rare chance to clean up some obvious issues before the real pressure ramps up, with Wagner coming to Berkeley for the first meeting between the programs in 2026. The Bears are coming off a win at Syracuse, but the bigger focus inside the building is on sharpening an offense that has been uneven and a special teams group that still has room to settle in before conference play tightens the screws.
Wagner arrives with Tom Masellas program trying to steady itself after a rough opening stretch, which makes this the kind of matchup Cal expects to control while getting a better read on its own roster. For the Bears, the point is less about the opponent and more about using one final tune-up to build cleaner execution and some confidence before Clemson shows up. [Read more 🡒]
Cal's ACC Spending Reality Could Spark A Bigger Concern
Cals place in the new financial pecking order is looking clear enough to raise eyebrows. A report from The Athletic estimates the programs 2026 football player-payment budget at between $20 million and $24 million, putting the Bears tied for 40th among 68 Power Four schools and ninth among ACC teams. The broader trend is hard to miss, too, with the biggest spending programs continuing to line up near the top of the national rankings, where Ohio State and Oregon sit among the leaders.
For Cal, the numbers add another layer to the challenge of competing in a league where money is increasingly part of the roster conversation. Quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele is already reported to have $3 million in NIL deals, which underscores how much individual player value can shape the picture even as the program tries to keep pace overall. The bigger concern is what this spending level means over time, especially if the gap between the Bears and the ACCs biggest spenders keeps widening. [Read more 🡒]
Cal Fans Just Got An Early Look At A Defining ACC Test
Cals next ACC slate already has some shape to it, with the conference revealing the Golden Bears 2027 football schedule and offering an early look at the kind of week-to-week challenge that will define their place in the league. The Bears are set for nine conference games, and the home portion brings Boston College, Florida State, Louisville and SMU to California Memorial Stadium, a lineup that gives fans a first glimpse at how far the program will have to travel in the new landscape.
The road trip list is just as telling, sending Cal to Georgia Tech, Miami, Pitt, Stanford and Wake Forest as the schedule starts to take form. The conference also revisited how the Bears have fared against those visiting ACC opponents in the past, a reminder that some of these meetings already carry history even before the 2027 dates and times are released later. [Read more 🡒]