Cal football suddenly feels like it has hit the reset button. Over the past six months, a newly created general manager role paired with a hometown head coach has fueled an aggressive recruiting push that is already delivering blue-chip high school commitments and a wave of veteran transfers into Memorial Stadium. For Bay Area fans, the shift feels intentional, with donors, staff and recruits all being sold on a rebuilt Cal program in real time.
According to a new report, the rebuild starts on the recruiting trail. As reported by The Athletic, the Rivera-Lupoi operation has put recruiting at the top of its early to-do list, and the payoff is already visible in recent pledges and transfer portal additions.
The GM-and-coach playbook
Ron Rivera, a Cal All-American and longtime NFL coach, was brought back last March in a newly created general manager role to oversee fundraising, staffing and roster strategy, the university announced. Berkeley News noted that the position is privately funded and designed to modernize the program. Tosh Lupoi was formally introduced as head coach on Dec. 5, 2025 and is expected to be the closer who sells that new vision to recruits and their families. Cal Athletics hosted Lupoi's introduction at Memorial Stadium. Cal parted ways with Justin Wilcox in late November 2025 after a rivalry loss to Stanford, the program announced, as reported by ESPN.
Recruiting haul: high school stars and portal pickups
The early scoreboard is already loud. A run of commitments that included quarterback Dane Weber, tight end Rahzario Edwards and athlete Elyjah Staples helped vault Cal up the recruiting lists, with a five-commitment-in-five-days stretch on campus documented by Sports Illustrated. On the transfer side, the staff has added playmakers such as Rutgers receiver Ian Strong and Washington running back Adam Mohammed, signaling a roster mix that blends young talent with experienced contributors, a trend tracked by the San Francisco Chronicle.
Why it matters now
Keeping last season's breakout freshman quarterback in the fold has been the first major test of the new regime. Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele has announced he will return for 2026, a decision that stabilizes the roster while new pieces arrive, according to CBS Sports. And Rivera has argued that the financial picture around the program has shifted.
What to watch this summer
This summer, expect a steady flow of visits, offers and on-campus camps as Lupoi's staff hunts for both depth and game changers. The upcoming camp circuit and official visits will show whether the current surge turns into something sustainable or just a flash of offseason buzz. If the recruiting and portal work continues at this pace, Cal could head into the fall with its best-prepared roster in more than a decade, a prospect that carries extra weight for Bay Area fans who remember the long lean years.
