Cal Football: Bears add experienced depth to QB room in Ohio portal transfer CJ Harris

The Bears gained needed experienced depth in the quarterback room with today’s commitment of Ohio University redshirt senior QB CJ Harris following his official visit.

“It was awesome,” Harris said of his visit. “The setting, being from a Midwestern area like Detroit, I think for me, being out west and being a really cool area like the Bay Area, you have all the big cities around. The weather is amazing. C It’s great, 70-80 degrees I love it, it was great for sure.

Although he hasn’t had many collegiate starts, the 6-4/220 Harris has proven himself in several recent critical opportunities, including winning MAC Offensive Player of the Week in his first career start late 2022 in a big victory against Bowling. Green where he scored 4 TDs including 3 on the ground. He was also named Arizona Bowl MVP to cap the season when Ohio defeated Wyoming in overtime, 30-27, with Harris going 20 for 33 for 188 yards and 2 touchdowns and no interceptions, also collecting a net of 52 yards down the field. ground.

In 2023, Harris got off to a rough start in Ohio’s narrow loss to San Diego State, throwing 3 interceptions in the loss, but he bounced back the following week completing 7 of 8 passes before going down with an injury that forced him to miss the remainder of the season.

Since entering the portal two weeks ago, Harris and the Cal staff developed a quick bond that resulted in his visit and commitment.

“It’s been great,” Harris said. “They’ve been talking to me for a few weeks now. They knew about my visit and so did I. Talking to Coach Gilbert, Coach Bloesch, Coach Wilcox and Coach Johnson, the GA quarterback, They seem to have a lot of confidence in my abilities and what I can do and how I can develop, so it’s been great.

“They like the fact that I have experience, but I also think they like the fact that I’m able to move, that I’m agile and, like I said, that I have the experience of being able to play college football before I think it will really help me a lot in my development and get used to the offense more quickly.

Academically, Harris excelled in the classroom, earning both his undergraduate degree and a master’s degree in management. He will enroll in Cal’s Entrepreneurship Certificate program this fall with two seasons of eligibility, 2020 not counting toward eligibility, and a redshirt season in 2021. Having missed most of 2023, he could be eligible for a 7^th season with a petition in 2025.

Harris becomes 39^th signee of the Cal 2024 recruiting class as the portal’s recruiting season comes to a close.

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