Cal RB Jaivian Thomas is in the hospital right now undergoing testing, Justin Wilcox confirmed in the postgame press conference. Wilcox added that Thomas is alert and interacting with the doctors, and has feeling in his extremities.
Personal news, I suppose: Super excited to have written my first article for
@CalRivals
! Will be covering Cal football for the foreseeable future, so follow along for even MORE football news! Super appreciative of my time as
@dailycal
sports editor and will miss it very dearly
It’s game week!🏈
Cal football opens the season on the road Saturday, and earlier today head coach Justin Wilcox, OC Jake Spavital & DC Peter Sirmon previewed the week ahead for the Bears.
@mariakholl
provides top takeaways from Tuesday’s media session:
Wrote about "Cal football Twitter" for the Daily Cal this week! One of the most fun pieces I've ever gotten to write. You can also find it in this week's print issue!
Cal flips 2024 punter Bobby Engstler, former Florida commit. He was committed to UF as a walk-on but will join the Bears on scholarship. The Under-Armour All American is set to join the team this year as the Bears continue to add talent on special teams.
@CalRivals
First, I would like to thank the University of Florida for the NIL opportunity however, after receiving a full scholarship to UC Berkeley. I am decommitting from UF and I’m fully committed to the University of California, Berkeley.
@4thandLongwell
@CalFootball
#GoBears
“When the news broke, I just remember thinking, ‘Holy crap, I wasn’t the only one.’”
As 500 days have passed since the OC Register first reported on the alleged abuse of former Cal women’s swim head coach, the aftermath continues to unfold:
"It's the worst joke I've ever heard," laughed Cal head coach Justin Wilcox at the Independence Bowl press conference just now about
@THEJAYDNOTT
's recent instagram video "announcing" entering the portal
@CalRivals
Former Utah wide receiver Mikey Matthews has committed to Cal, he announced on his Instagram. Through 12 games in his true freshman season in 2023, Matthews had 29 catches for 262 yards, alongside 309 yards in kick returns.
@CalRivals
so proud of this article i got to write with my fellow sports editors at the daily cal. we are the first ever all-female sports editors, but it hasn’t been easy. give it a read, we’re extremely proud of it!
Bears add another player to the wide receiver room in New Mexico State’s Jonathan Brady.
In 2023, Brady recorded 39 catches for 621 yards and 4 TD catches, as well as 117 kick return yards.
@CalRivals
Correction: Brady was a true freshman in 2022, not 2023.
“This belongs blown up on a wall somewhere. This excellently captures the grace, athleticism and beauty of gymnastics.”
@theodwf
getting the recognition he deserves!
@dailycal
There's been a lot of talk about "
#hogs
" lately (even from the
@CalFootball
account!) so I figured now is a good time to plug one of my favorite stories I wrote at
@dailycal
on the trend + its origins
‘Hogs4Spav’: Behind Cal football’s Twitter contingent:
There's been a lot of talk about "
#hogs
" lately (even from the
@CalFootball
account!) so I figured now is a good time to plug one of my favorite stories I wrote at
@dailycal
on the trend + its origins
‘Hogs4Spav’: Behind Cal football’s Twitter contingent:
Big pickup at QB for Cal, especially after losing two quarterbacks to the portal already. Cal's newly appointed offensive coordinator Mike Bloesch came to Cal last season as offensive line coach after spending 2020-2022 as UNT's OC.
@CalRivals
BREAKING: Former North Texas QB Chandler Rogers has Committed to Cal, he tells
@on3sports
Rogers threw for 3,382 Yards (14th nationally) and 29 TDs (9th nationally) in 2023
Ranked as the No. 11 QB in the On3 Transfer Portal Rankings 🐻
Bears pick up a transfer commitment from UNC kicker Ryan Coe. Cal lost its starting kicker in Mateen Bhaghani earlier this month, so this is a big transfer addition for the Bears.
Michael Luckhurst, who started at the beginning of the season, is still on the roster as well.
UC Berkeley’s Winter Commencement ceremony is today, but the Bears are on the road in Shreveport, Louisiana for the Independence Bowl.
But the team still had a ceremony on the field — stoles, caps and all — for the 10 players missing out on graduation today.
@CalRivals
"Burn the bayou" is the official motto for the team this week, Fernando Mendoza confirmed in the press conference today, after "burn the boat, burn the forest and burn the city" for the past three games.
"That is our catchphrase this week just to keep the good luck rolling"
With a video posted to social media, Cal star running back Jaydn Ott announced his return for next season (after briefly joking about the portal). Ott led the Pac-12 in rushing yards per game and had well over 1,000 yards on the ground this season.
Huge win for the Bears.
New Mexico State transfer receiver Jonathan Brady announced his pledge to the Bears Thursday, becoming the second receiver to commit to Cal his week.
He led the Aggies in yards (621) and catches (39) in 2023, also recording 4 receiving TDs.
@RivalsPortal
Cal’s freshman kicker Mateen Bhaghani, who became the starting kicker earlier this season, is entering the transfer portal. Bhaghani was perfect on extra points this season (27-27) and 8-9 on field goals through nine games.
@CalRivals
UNT transfer QB Chandler Rogers announced his commitment to Cal with 1 year of eligibility. He threw for 3,382 yards, with 29 touchdowns and 5 interceptions this season.
Proven consistency and good on the ground — strong pickup for Cal.
@RivalsPortal
Check out my newest piece for
@CalRivals
— Cal’s coaching staff talked all things Auburn at Tuesday’s media availability, going over what the team needs to adapt heading into Saturday’s matchup, what they expect from an SEC opponent and more!
We (Daily Cal sports) have not one, not two but THREE reporters travelling to report on big tournaments this week! Check out
@kenzofuku
reporting on the w hoops Pac-12 champs out of Vegas and
@jocelynxhuang
with Mia Wachtel at LSU for the LSU Podium Challenge! Follow for updates!
Wrote about "Cal football Twitter" for the Daily Cal this week! One of the most fun pieces I've ever gotten to write. You can also find it in this week's print issue!
very proud of this feature i got to write this past season for cal women’s tennis! excited to cover some more off season content before i move to my new role as deputy sports editor for the
@dailycal
in the fall!
“That’s what we’re trying to do: keep the pressure on, keep the pedal on the gas and don’t let up,”
@Jorgeleon17
said. “That’s what we can do with our power, just keep doing what we can, and hopefully someone out there is listening and seeing this.”
Cal football is in Shreveport, Louisiana for the Independence Bowl against Texas Tech this Saturday. The Bears will also get to participate in a plethora of other activities — because a bowl game is about much more than just the actual game.
Didn't notice this the first time around (thank you to
@CavemanZoltan
for pointing this out) but we're now seeing ACC patches on the jerseys in these posts.
Might take some getting used to!
At Memorial Stadium today with
@kenzofuku
to cover Cal football’s first “Golden Buddies” football clinic in partnership with the Cameron Institute and Special Olympics of Northern California! Children get to participate in various drills and games with Cal football players
Also great feature on Cal QB
@qb_fernando
by the lovely Daily Cal sports editor
@miaewachtel
. Give it a read ahead of the Big Game today — and support student journalism!
Inside linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr, one of the Pac-12's top tacklers, is not dressed for Cal's matchup vs. Oregon today.
Also not dressed: safety Raymond Woodie II and RB Isaiah Ifanse.
Cal continues to struggle with injuries in the RB room, could hurt today.
15 seconds of this game have passed. The Bears have already recovered a fumble on the kickoff return and scored a touchdown on the very first play (pass to Monroe Young).
Bears lead 7-0.
Shreveport!
@CalRivals
Per his Instagram, former Cal receiver Jeremiah Hunter has committed to Washington.
Hunter led the Bears in receiving yards (750), receiving touchdowns (seven) and catches (63) this year.
Redshirt freshman Fernando Mendoza got the start last Saturday against Oregon State — and impressed. It seems like the QB battle may finally be over.
I talk about Mendoza’s Saturday night success, despite the loss, in a column for
@CalRivals
Last week I got to cover the 2023 U.S. Figure Skating Championships for the one and only
@dailycal
. Super proud of this (more candid) From the Press Box column that came out of it. Look out for my junior and senior recaps, which will be out tomorrow!
Put on the Pinstripe Bowl for some non-American family members who have never seen American football. Some questions I’ve fielded so far:
- “why is he using his foot?”
- “can they push each other like that?”
- “are you allowed to criticize the president in America?”
Got to write a column that was really important to me after spending the last few days at media events ahead of (and after!) the Super Bowl. More content coming soon, but in the meantime here is me wearing my heart on my sleeve ahead of Valentine’s Day
A couple days ago, SafeSport suspended former Cal w. swim HC Teri McKeever for 3 months.
This is the 1st time McKeever admitted to any of the allegations. In previous statements, McKeever said she denies and "unequivocally" refutes that she "abused or bullied any athlete."
Breaking: 18 former Cal swimmers sue UC regents for alleged negligence concerning the response to allegations of abuse by former Cal women’s swim coach
Cal's receiver Jeremiah Hunter hasn't been getting many looks by Fernando Mendoza in the young QB's first two games. Mendoza said Wednesday that Hunter should be getting the ball a lot more in the coming games, and Hunter already has three receptions for 28 yards today
New piece out for
@CalRivals
! Wrote about how the upcoming game at North Texas will be a "homecoming" — of sorts — for over a dozen of the players and even some of the coaches! Check it out:
read my recap of the mubadala silicon valley classic that took place last week in san jose! very grateful to have been able to cover it in person! and keep an eye out for a column from the press box coming soon
Sold out crowd tonight at Oracle Park, with A’s and Giants fans alike chanting “sell the team” throughout the game, but especially at the top of the fifth inning — part of a planned “Unite the Bay” reverse boycott, second for the A’s in as many months, for the two fanbases
NEWS: The UC Board of Regents met Tuesday morning to discuss Cal’s Pac-12 membership following a mass exodus of eight out of the 12 schools in the conference and as six schools switched conferences last week. Story for
@dailycal
:
Wrote my last Cal women’s tennis piece — our new staffers will take over from here, & I can go back to being sports editor “full time.” This beat was a joy to cover for the past year and a half.
@CalWomensTennis
takes on (now-No. 5)
@UMichWTennis
tomorrow:
As promised, more Super Bowl content! Last week, I asked several players on the Eagles what they think is the weirdest, or most unique, thing about the Super Bowl. Here’s what they said:
Cal earned its first bowl invite since 2019 and learned Sunday it will be heading to Shreveport, LA, to take on Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl Dec. 16.
Will have a chance to speak with HC Justin Wilcox and QB Fernando Mendoza about this in just a bit
ANOTHER touchdown for Jaydn Ott, now in the first four minutes of the second quarter.
Ott ties career highs with 3 rushing and 3 total touchdowns today — all with just under 12 minute still left to go in the second quarter. The star sophomore already has 141 yards in this game
As Tim Plough departs for the UC Davis head coaching job, the Bears make an internal hire and promote Mike Saffell to tight ends coach. Saffell, a former player, has spent the last three seasons as an assistant coach at Cal.
@CalRivals
More here:
Wide receiver Brian Hightower, who was at Cal for just this season after transferring from Illinois with a stint at Miami prior, is preparing to declare for the 2024 NFL Draft. Hightower had 10 receptions for just over 100 yards for the Bears this year.
Big loss for the Bears on defense as one of the leading tacklers in the conference, Kaleb Elarms-Orr, announced he is entering the transfer portal. Elarms-Orr leads the Bears in tackles
Absolutely loved covering this event last weekend. Very nice to see so much effort going into making it as adaptive and inclusive as possible, and great fo have
@kenzofuku
there with me!
FOOTBALL | “The team took a break from its summer training schedule this past Saturday to welcome around 80 children and their families to the first-ever Golden Buddies Football Clinic.”
✍️Maria Kholodova (
@mariakholl
) & Kenzo Fukuda (
@kenzofuku
)
1 year since last year’s Big Game and this is still one of my favorite stories we published during my time at the Daily Cal. Shoutout to
@Grant_Marek
(and the column still very much stands, I’m sure)
Reports: Cal to hire Ole Miss analyst Sterlin Gilbert as quarterbacks coach.
Cal seems to have rounded out its offensive staff with Gilbert, who would come to Cal with prior stints at Syracuse, Texas and USF, among others. 1st reported by
@JohnDBrice1
Check out my recap of last week’s senior U.S. Figure Skating championships! An absolute privilege and joy to cover this event in person. And huge shoutout to
@_jonnyshotit_
for the awesome visuals
For what it's worth, Fernando Mendoza's decision making — a point that has been discussed over and over again with Cal's other QBs Sam Jackson V and Ben Finley — looks great. He's quick, he's decisive, he looks to be in control of this offense.
Zverev is set to stand public trial in May after domestic abuse allegations from a SECOND former partner (the previous case isn’t discussed as often as it should be IMO).
And he’s playing in a Grand Slam semifinal right now.
The ATP’s handling of this is an utter disgrace.
If the ATP had an active domestic violence policy, Zverev would not be featuring in tonight's match, let alone the tournament.
But you wouldn't know it listening to local broadcasts – and it's doing a massive disservice to fans.
As a reminder, Cal AD Jim Knowlton and assistant AD Jennifer Simon-O'Neill are currently reportedly under investigation, through outside counsel, investigating their role in the situation.
Another loss on offense for the Bears and the second QB to leave after Ben Finley as Sam Jackson V enters the portal.
Jackson was one of the starters for the Bears this season and was the QB1 heading into Week 1 after training camp.
@CalRivals
Cal QB Sam Jackson has entered the portal. Transferred to Cal from TCU. Played in seven games at TCU and this season played in five for Cal. He threw for 556 yards this year.
UC Berkeley has reportedly started a formal investigation into Cal’s Athletic Director Jim Knowlton and Associate AD Jennifer Simon-O’Neill over the response to abuse allegations made against former women’s swim and dive coach Teri McKeever. Read more: