QB Sam Jackson V enters into transfer portal after one season at Cal

Cal quarterback Sam Jackson V has entered the portal Monday morning, as first reported by 247Sports. The quarterback himself has yet to make an announcement as of publication time.

Jackson came into the 2023 season as the starter after a battle with Ben Finley and Fernando Mendoza throughout training camp in August. While Jackson started three games against North Texas, Idaho and Arizona State, he appeared in five games — Auburn and Washington alongside his three starts — throughout the season as the starting job flipped between the TCU transfer and Finley before the staff finally settled on Mendoza in Week 6.

Jackson transferred from the Horned Frogs last offseason, so he will ultimately only spend one year with the Bears. During that time, he had a 53.1% completion rate, going 51 for 96, and threw for 556 yards and five touchdowns alongside two interceptions during his time at Cal. Jackson provided a dynamic element to Cal’s offense due to his abilities as a runner; over the course of five games, Jackson rushed for 59 yards, with one rushing touchdown.

The redshirt sophomore out of Chicago, Illinois, had some early-season struggles, as difficulties getting out of collapsing pockets and missing reads carried over from training camp. Despite the issues, Jackson displayed a solid throwing ability, with his longest pass at Cal coming in at 36 yards against Idaho. Despite limited time on the field at TCU, Jackson showed potential with the Horned Frogs and seemed to be a good addition to the Cal quarterback room, but he struggled to display enough consistency to retain the starting job with the Bears.

Though he started in Cal’s season opener against North Texas, Jackson exited the game early due to injury to his non-throwing shoulder and was replaced by Finley, who earned himself the starting job for the next week. Jackson continued to struggle with injuries as the season went on, and was deemed to be unavailable for Cal’s bowl game appearance against Texas Tech by Cal head coach Justin Wilcox last week due to ongoing injury concerns.

ESPN reports that Jackson is not listed as a graduate transfer, and has two years of eligibility remaining, so it remains to be seen whether he will be able to get immediate eligibility at his next destination. Per NCAA rules, non-graduate students must sit out a season upon making their second transfer move.

Jackson is the second quarterback to announce his departure from Cal after Finley announced his intention to enter the portal at the end of November. Given that Cal’s 2024 commit in EJ Caminong is not expected to arrive in Berkeley until summer, this leaves the Bears with just one scholarship quarterback in Mendoza heading into the spring.

The move also comes in the midst of a reshuffling with Cal’s offensive staff, after former offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Jake Spavital recently departed for Baylor and was replaced by offensive line coach Mike Bloesch. A new quarterbacks coach has not yet been announced, but according to multiple reports, Cal is set to hire Ole Miss analyst Sterlin Gilbert.

This is the second year in a row that the Bears have had two scholarship quarterbacks enter the transfer portal; last year’s starter Jack Plummer and backup quarterback Kai Milner both transferred last December, with the former ending up at Louisville and the latter at NAU.

– 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)

– ILB Blake Antzoulatos (Dec. 1)

– K Mateen Bhaghani (Dec. 4)

– CB Jeremiah Earby (Dec. 5)

– QB Sam Jackson V (Dec. 11)