Top Cal receiver Jeremiah Hunter announces plans to enter transfer portal

In a significant loss on offense for the Bears, Cal’s top receiver Jeremiah Hunter is set to enter the transfer portal, the redshirt junior announced via Instagram Thursday morning. Hunter will have one season of eligibility left at his next stop.

Hunter tallied 63 receptions for 750 yards and seven receiving touchdowns this season, leading the team in all three categories. Over his three active seasons with the Bears, Hunter played in 33 games, starting 23 of them, and is the Bears’ active career leader with 143 receptions and 2,056 yards receiving over the years. The redshirt junior is also the team’s active leader in receiving touchdowns, with 13, alongside punt return yards with 229.

Hunter spent four years with the Bears, joining the team in 2020 but not seeing any action in the shortened COVID-19 season. Since then, Hunter has played in at least nine games in the last three seasons and has been crucial for Cal’s offense.

While this departure is certainly going to be a loss for the Bears, it was not unexpected. Earlier this month, ahead of Cal’s matchup against Texas Tech in the Independence Bowl, Hunter said he was just focused on the bowl game and was going to “see what happens after that.”

This season, Hunter started 11 games and appeared in all 13, which was a career-high after playing in nine games in his redshirt freshman year and 11 games in 2022. Last season, Hunter also led the team in receiving yards with 965, while fellow former Cal wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant led in receiving touchdowns with seven, two ahead of Hunter.

Now, both players will finish their careers elsewhere with Sturdivant leaving for UCLA last offseason.

Cal picked up a commitment from Tufts transfer receiver Jaden Richardson just a day earlier Wednesday and has other weapons in the wide receiver room including walk-on Trond Grizzell, who was second in receiving yards this season, with 590. The Bears will also have two incoming freshmen wide receivers in Trevor Rogers and Josiah Martin joining the team next year, with Martin being announced yesterday by Cal head coach Justin Wilcox as a midyear addition.

That being said, with Brian Hightower declaring for the 2024 NFL Draft, Monroe Young out of eligibility and Taj Davis moving on from the program, Cal may be looking for some more transfer portal pickups as the offseason continues.

– QB Ben Finley (Nov. 28)

– DB Tyson McWilliams (Nov. 29)

– OL Brayden Rohme (Nov. 30)

– ILB Kaleb Elarms-Orr (Dec. 1) — committed to TCU (Dec. 20)

– OL Everett Johnson (Dec. 1) — committed to Montana (Dec. 17)

– ILB Blake Antzoulatos (Dec. 1)

– K Mateen Bhaghani (Dec. 4) — committed to UCLA (Dec. 18)

– CB Jeremiah Earby (Dec. 5)

– QB Sam Jackson V (Dec. 11)

– DB Raymond Woodie III (Dec. 18)

– TE/DE Moso'oipala Tuitele (Dec. 19)

– WR Jeremiah Hunter (Dec. 21)