Golden Bear Roster Rundown: No. 2, Isaiah Humphries

This article marks the beginning of a series previewing the Golden Bears' 2020 Football Roster.

2020 is the first year for Isaiah Humphries to get on the field at Cal. The Penn State transfer sat out all of 2019 in accordance with NCAA rules.

Humphries did have one of the better showings in the spring of 2019, winning the Bears' turnover competition, with four interceptions over the course of the fifteen practices, beating every other defensive back by at least two.

He comes into the 2020 season as a redshirt sophomore, after redshirting his first year in Happy Valley then sitting out as a redshirt freshman. Cal lists Humphries at 5'11" and 190 lbs.

Humphries didn't see much time for the Bears in the spring, but he's in the running to get reps at the safety position Ashtyn Davis and Jaylinn Hawkins graduated from. At the moment, the likes of Elijah Hicks, Craig Woodson, and Daniel Scott are the front-runners to replace Davis and Hawkins, but Humphries will have a chance to compete for playing time.

Humphries should also compete for time on special teams, as the Bears could use his tackling ability and ranginess on a number of their coverage units. He may be able to fill a similar role to the now graduated Trey Turner, who had the most reps on special teams in 2019.

With a relatively young defensive back group after 2020, this may be a pivotal year for Humphries to show some of what he did last spring, show some of the ball-hawking ability that led him to a district record 15 interceptions in his high school career.

Out of Sachse HS in Rowlett, Texas, Humphries earned an offer from his father's alma mater, Penn State, committing there on New Year's Day, 2017. Humphries had offers from across the country prior to committing, and he was offered by Cal after his commitment, but never wavered from the Nittany Lions, signing in December of 2017.

Humphries entered the transfer portal in November of 2018, and former Cal defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander had a relationship with Humphries and his father already built, and after a visit to Berkeley in January of 2019, he committed and enrolled in short order.

As a high schooler, Humphries accumulated 191 tackles and 15 interceptions, with two returned for touchdowns during three varsity seasons.