Cal Football

Bears Add Big Oregon Portal DLine Target Jericho Johnson

Big 6-4/340 DT Johnson will add a crucial piece to the Bears' DLine rebuild through the portal
By Jim McGill
January 17, 2026
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10 Comments
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Photo by Instagram / Jericho Johnson

The Bears picked up one of their prime defensive targets in Oregon defensive tackle Jericho Johnson‍.

The 6-4/340 redshirt soph DT was highly recruited by Cal out of high school and was just the pickup they were looking for to shore up their middle of the defense.

After redshirting his freshman season in 2024, Johnson added 5 tackles and a pass defended in a backup role in Oregon’s deep DLine corps this season.

Rated a high 4 star prospect by 247 out of Armijo High School in Fairfield, CA, Johnson visited Cal several times before picking the Ducks over Cal, Alabama, Auburn, Michigan, Georgia, USC, UW and more.

Johnson becomes the third defensive lineman the Bears have signed, including Justin Beadles‍ (Louisville) and Ashun Shepphard‍ (Miss St). He’s also joining edge Solomon Williams‍ (Texas A&M), linebacker Tristan Jernigan‍, safeties Kingston Lopa‍ (Oregon) and Michael Hurst Jr‍, cornerbacks Marquis Groves-Killebrew‍ (Miss St) and Daniel Harris‍ (Georgia),  running backs Adam Mohammed‍ (UW), Carter Vargas‍ (UC Davis) and Ashton Emory‍, WRs Cooper Perry‍ (Oregon), Ian Strong‍ (Rutgers) and Chase Hendricks‍ (Ohio), tight end Dorian Thomas‍, OTs Jimothy Lewis‍ (Mississippi State), Jacob Arop‍ (South Dakota) and Mykeal Rabess‍ (FIU) and OG Kahlee Tafai‍ in the Bears 2026 transfer portal class.

http://instagr.am/p/DTobXkEAfy2

10 Comments
Tags
Cal football portal recruiting Daniel Harris Jericho Johnson Solomon Williams Kingston Lopa Tristan Jernigan Michael Hurst Jr Ashun Shepphard Justin Beadles Football Football Recruiting
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Bears Add Big Oregon Portal DLine Target Jericho Johnson

10,972 Views | 10 Replies | Last: 19 days ago by calumnus
TonyTiger
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9:08p, 1/17/26
Lets Go!!!
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goldenjax
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9:30p, 1/17/26
Love to see the big kid coming back to play for the home team! Go Bears!
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Cal Junkie
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9:58p, 1/17/26
Goodness, gracious, great balls of fire! It's like Cal has been a dormant volcano for decades with a few rumblings, and now it's about to explode. What a wild ride this is going to be!
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sppbears
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10:47p, 1/17/26
Boom!!! Anchor that D line!
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Jcasa
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11:21p, 1/17/26
I don't put a lot of weight on the the number of recruiting stars these guys had coming out of high school. I think it's more important that they come from winning programs and they are team players.
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calumnus
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In reply to Jcasa • 11:56p, 1/17/26
Jcasa said:
I don't put a lot of weight on the the number of recruiting stars these guys had coming out of high school. I think it's more important that they come from winning programs and they are team players.

Depends on the position. There is an old adage "OLine is building a house, DLine is destroying a house."

For D Linemen, I want guys that are big, freakishly strong and athletic, are aggressive and have a motor that doesn't stop. For the most part, it is obvious who those guys are coming out of high school. All the top schools go after those guys, the ratings dont require a lot of guesswork or projection.

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Marty
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In reply to Jcasa • 10:48a, 1/18/26
Excellent point. That philosophy seems to be working quite nicely for Indiana...
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Big C
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10:50a, 1/18/26

Welcome back to the Bay, Jericho! Cal fans are really looking forward to this fall!

GO BEARS!!!
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ducktilldeath
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7:40p, 1/18/26
He played 33 snaps in 6 games.
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calumnus
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In reply to ducktilldeath • 7:55p, 1/18/26
ducktilldeath said:
He played 33 snaps in 6 games.

Understood. There were better players ahead of him on a top 10 defense.

Our starting TE this year had 5 catches total at FCS Idaho in 2024.

In this case, we are bringing in a guy that Tosh recruited, coached and has worked with directly so he knows how good he is. He does not need to rely on stats.
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