Ifanse Brings Depth to RB Room as Grad Transfer to Cal

With injuries limiting their running back depth in spring ball the Bears added some serious experience and talent to the RB room with the addition of grad transfer Isaiah Ifanse today.

After graduating from Montana State in 2022, Ifanse enrolled at San Jose State to pursue a graduate degree and will transfer from there into Cal this summer to continue his studies with one more season of eligibility.

“I"m excited to get down there for sure," Ifanse said. "The facilities were awesome on my visit and Coach Aristotle (Thompson) is a great guy and a great coach and someone that I wanted to finish my career getting coached by. 

"The vibe on my visit in January was real cool. Like immediately when I got there, I was super comfortable with the coaches, and the staff that they had at hand. And then when I walked into the facilities, and walked around campus, I was just blown away. It's truly a beautiful campus and a beautiful school."

The 5-10/205 running back finished his Bobcat career with an impressive 3,742 career rushing yards, Montana State’s all-time record after coming back from a knee injury that caused him to miss of all his final season before returning for MSU’s three playoff games. Ifanse gained 1,623 yards in 2021, an MSU single-season record, earning FCS All-American status and first team All-Big Sky. Ifanse started his collegiate career at MSU in 2018 and rushed for 1,025 yards, making him the only MSU freshman in history to gain more than 1,000 yards in a season.

Cal’s legacy of strong running backs got the Bears on Ifanse’s radar early, especially when former Bear Marshawn Lynch eventually wound up at Seattle where the future Bear watched him play not to mention former Bear Justin Forsett.

“When I was actually growing up, I watched Marshawn Lynch play a lot. He was in Seattle for some years. So that was someone who I looked up to. I remember watching that famous run against the Saints when I was I was at an AAU tournament.  I saw that like on a little screen and I was like, this dude is something else.”

In high school, Ifanse played for Seattle area powerhouse Bellevue High School, earning Washington’s Gatorade Player of the Year as a senior, also earning all-league and all-state honors and rushed for 2,468 yards and 44 touchdowns in his high school career.

As for what made him successful at Montana State, the humble running back is happy to share the praise with his line.

“Having a great old line and then just being in the film room and kind of having a pre-snap read of where things would hit I’d say were the biggest keys to my success,” said Ifanse, who also credits NFL players like Frank Gore and Laveon Bell as players he likes to emulate on the field.

“I like watching Frank Gore, like his style of running and sometimes I'll watch Laveon Bell with his patience and how he just kind of like hits the hole. But those two guys are the main guys that I watch.”

While Ifanse is the latest portal addition, he likely won’t be the last and he’s looking forward to being a part of what the Bears are building.

“I think that they've been making some great moves and I'm just excited to be a part of it,” Ifanse concluded.