David Pollack Names College Football Program That's an 'Absolute Disaster'
The 2025 college football season is still a few months away, but teams have already wrapped up their spring practices and are fully focused on the transfer portal.
One team that the portal has significantly impacted is the California Golden Bears, who have lost 28 players. Of those, 15 players entered the portal during the spring cycle, including five running backs. Among these running backs was Jaydn Ott, who was arguably their best player.
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In his career, Ott has rushed for 2,597 yards and scored 24 touchdowns. Although he faced injuries during last season, he managed to run for 1,315 yards and 12 touchdowns in 2023. He announced that he would be transferring to the Oklahoma Sooners.
On his podcast, "See Ball Get Ball with David Pollack," college football analyst David Pollack discussed the situation at Cal and the challenges the team is facing.
Cal head coach Justin Wilcox talking with an official.Charles LeClaire-Imagn Images
"Cal is a disaster right now," Pollack said. "Like, an absolute disaster. I'll say this: if you've watched Justin Wilcox coach the game of football, the dude is a good coach. Like, Cal has been consistently competitive with way less talent. He's confusing on defense. Always develops no-name guys and plays good defense. Plays a good brand of physical ball."
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The Golden Bears have not had a winning season since 2019, when they finished with an 8-5 record. While they have participated in bowl games in the last two years, they lost both games, ending those seasons with 6-7 records.
Since 2010, Cal has recorded only four winning seasons, indicating a lack of success over the past decade. Although the program hopes to turn things around in 2025, recent player losses to the transfer portal have made this goal more challenging.
The Golden Bears have brought in 22 new players, but they currently rank No. 40 in the transfer portal team rankings and No. 69 in recruiting rankings. As a result, it does not appear that conditions will improve for the upcoming season.
Cal begins the year with a game against the Oregon State Beavers on August 30.
Related: Historic College Football Program Emerges As Favorite For 2,500-Yard Transfer RB
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