Cal Football

New Bears on the Block: Cal Junior JC Transfer Marquis Montgomery

By Jim McGill

July 15, 2023

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Junior receiver Marquis Montgomery‍ took an unconventional route to Cal to say the least. After playing just one season of high school football as a sophomore in 2016 and a couple of seasons of hoops at Kapolei High School on Oahu in Hawaii, the future Bear didn’t even have a recruiting profile. It took him two years to find his way to Independence College in Kansas just a year after former Cal linebacker Kuony Deng starred for Independence in 2020 before he transferred to Snow College in Utah where he played in 2021 and 2022.

Playing in a run-heavy offense, the 6-4/220 receiver didn’t put up big numbers with 13 catches for 223 yards and three touchdowns, as well as one rush for four yards and one touchdown last season but the 3 star receiver nevertheless became a hot commodity, pulling 41 offers, choosing Cal over a Top 5 of Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M and LSU.

Adding even more to the unconventional route that Montgomery took to Cal was starting out in football on the other side of the ball in a completely different position.

"Growing up, I was a D-lineman surprisingly, but pretty much once I entered high school, that's when I made the transition (to wide receiver)."

It wasn’t until playing at the JC level four years after his last season at receiver that the future Bear would start to hone his craft at his future position.

"I'd probably say I really made my biggest strides as a receiver at the JC level," Montgomery said. "Coming out of high school, I was really undersized and I wasn't mature. I wasn't nurtured or anything. So I feel like when I got to JC, I was able to grow into the body that I have now and be able to hone my skills and to become a better receiver. So I'm glad that I took the JC route."

Montgomery attributed the relationship he had with the Cal staff, particularly his future position coach that set the Bears apart from some stiff competition.

"It was definitely the relationship that I had with the coaches, especially Coach Spav and coach Toler," Montgomery said of what made Cal the right choice for him. "Before I was even offered by Cal, Coach Toler came out to my junior college in Utah to see me all the time. So I mean, just him taking that action I felt like they were really invested in me and he really cared about me not only as ballplayer but as a person.

"He thinks I can be a huge playmaker on the outside with me being like 6-4/220," Montgomery noted. "I have size that's bigger than a lot of the average DBs so I kind of have an advantage."

The transition to Cal has been smooth so far, underscoring that he made the right decision to be a Bear.

"It's been great," Montgomery said. "I love the city, love the campus just the environment. So it's been a nice transition."

Montgomery is rooming with another former Independence CC player, making his transition that much more comfortable.

"So I'm roommates with one of my new teammates," Montgomery noted. "His name is Frenchie (Tidiane). He came from JC, too, and he also played at Independence. So yeah, we connected a lot on that, on our experiences.”

As for what he’s most looking forward to wearing the Blue and Gold?

"Just being able to help the team go to the PAC 12 championship and to bring the trophy home,” Montgomery said.

“Go Bears!”