The transfer portal era in college athletics seems like it’s been with us forever. Likewise, most fans can recall less turbulent times when transfers happened, they simply didn’t look like a stampede to the 1849 California Gold Rush.
We thought it was time to rank the best transfers Cal teams have attracted, most of them in recent seasons but also including a few OGs from yesteryear.
We limited our ranking to transfers from four-year colleges.
Here is the next athlete in our countdown:
4. Nohl Williams
Sport: Football
Arrival year at Cal: 2023-24
Previous schools: UNLV (Had five interceptions and five pass breakups for the Rebels in three seasons through 2022)
Contributions at Cal:
— A 6-foot, 180-pounder, Williams was a two-year starter at cornerback for the Bears, maintaining Cal’s tradition of strong defensive backfield play in recent years.
— As a junior in the fall of 2023, he had 53 tackles, two interceptions, four pass breakups and a 52-yard fumble return for a touchdown in the Bears’ 42-39 victory over Washington State. It was his second straight game with a fumble return for a TD.
— He triggered a spectacular senior year in the 2024 season opener by returning a kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown, giving the Bears a 14-13 lead over UC Davis on the way to a 31-13 victory.
— Williams also had an interception against Davis, and went on to secure six picks in the Bears’ first six games on the way to an FBS-leading seven for the season, giving him 14 for his five seasons in college, nine of them with the Bears. His seven interceptions in ‘24 are tied for the seventh-most by a Cal player in a single season.
— Williams finished his senior campaign with 52 tackles and a total of nine passes defended (interceptions plus pass breakups) to earn first-team All-ACC and consensus All-America honors. He had four touchdowns in his Cal career — one via interception, one on a kickoff return and two on fumble returns.
— He was chosen in the third round of the 2025 NFL draft by the Kansas City Chiefs, where he saw action in all 17 gaes as a rookie, starting five times, including the team’s final four games of the season.
Standout performance: Williams had two interceptions and Cal forced five turnovers in a 21-14 road victory over Auburn in front of a capacity crowd of 88,043 fans at Jordan-Hare Stadium in Week 2 of the 2024 season. It was the Bears’ fourth victory over an SEC opponent in their past five meetings.
Impact on his team: Williams and the Cal defense limited their opponents to 17 points or fewer in the first six games of the 2024 season, but a 3-0 start dissolved and the Bears were just 6-6 before losing 24-13 to UNLV — Williams’ original school — in the LA Bowl.
Previously on our list:
Follow Jeff Faraudo on Twitter, Facebook and Bluesky
Add us as a preferred source on Google
