Cal has already seen a handful of its current players announce intentions to enter the transfer portal despite the team’s three-game winning streak to end the regular season and upcoming bowl game. Friday, the most notable player of that group made his plans known.

Starting inside linebacker Kaleb Elarms-Orr stepped up for the Bears when all-conference middle linebacker Jackson Sirmon went down midway through the schedule with a season-ending injury. Elarms-Orr now appears to be headed elsewhere to finish out his career after announcing his decision to enter the transfer portal just a few days before it opens Monday.

Elarms-Orr finished the regular season with the team lead in tackles (96) to go along with six quarterback hurries, five pass breakups, 3.5 tackles for loss, a sack, a forced fumble and an interception.

The redshirt sophomore from Hayward collected at least 10 tackles in four games this season including a career-high 16 against Arizona State. He had 13 tackles in Cal’s big nonconference tilt with Auburn early in the season.

Elarms-Orr emerged as a likely starter during training camp working alongside Sirmon when Clemson transfer Sergio Allen suffered an injury that kept him off the field for a time. Ultimately, the productive linebacker played and started in 11 of Cal’s 12 games this season with his only absence coming because of injury in the game against Oregon.

“He’s made tremendous strides,” Cal defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Peter Sirmon said earlier in the season about Elarms-Orr, who made the move from outside linebacker to inside with the Bears after suffering an injury in high school. “... When we first put him behind the ball, he looked like he was relatively new to that. But, he’s put a tremendous amount of work, focus and a lot of determination on getting more comfortable, understanding the playbook and he’s made great strides since the conclusion of last fall.

“For what he did in the winter and the improvement we saw in the spring, he really catapulted himself in a situation that I’m not actually surprised with his production. He has very, very good tools. He runs well. As he develops, the thing that he can’t rush is just getting more experience.”

The Bears will need to replenish the linebacker group this offseason with Sirmon exhausting his eligibility as well. Freshman Cade Uluave is in line to be the future of the position group after a standout showing in his first year.

Cal has already been actively pursuing other options at inside linebacker and will host a highly-productive junior college recruit on a visit this weekend.

Elarms-Orr is now the fifth Cal player to announce plans to enter the portal or enter the portal since the end of the regular season. He is, however, the first full-time 2023 starting player for the Bears to do so.

He will have two seasons of remaining eligibility at his next stop.

– QB Ben Finley (Nov. 28)

– DB Tyson McWilliams (Nov. 29)

– OL Brayden Rohme (Nov. 30)

– ILB Kaleb Elarms-Orr (Dec. 1)

– OL Everett Johnson (Dec. 1)