The California Golden Bears football team has announced details about its running back group for the upcoming season. The roster includes three returning players—Dean-Taylor Chapman, Jayden Parker, and Jamaal Wiley—and three transfers: Brandon High Jr. from UTSA, LJ Johnson Jr. from SMU, and Kendrick Raphael from NC State. Anthony League is the only true freshman among the running backs.
Jamaal Wiley is the only returning player who scored a rushing touchdown last season and played in four games. Dean-Taylor Chapman and Jayden Parker did not appear in any games during the previous year.
Brandon High Jr., transferring from UTSA, had 93 carries for 495 yards and eight touchdowns last season. He also caught six passes for 58 yards while playing for the Roadrunners.
LJ Johnson Jr., formerly with SMU, appeared in 13 games with three starts last season. He rushed for 303 yards and five touchdowns, adding 11 receptions for 80 yards.
Anthony League joins as a freshman after rushing for 1,546 yards and scoring 22 touchdowns as a senior at Millikan High School in Long Beach. He averaged over 154 yards per game and was named the 2024 Moore League Player of the Year after his team finished with an 8-3 record.
Kendrick Raphael comes to Cal after ranking third in rushing last year at NC State with 425 yards on 78 carries (6.5 yards per attempt) and three touchdowns.
Julian Griffin takes over as running backs coach this season. Griffin previously spent five years at UTSA, where he helped set school records in several rushing categories and saw his teams qualify for a bowl game each year. “Griffin was named to Dave Campbell’s Texas Football 40 Under 40 list in June 2021.” Before joining UTSA, Griffin worked as an offensive quality control coach at Arkansas and SMU, where he worked with Denver Broncos wide receiver Courtland Sutton and contributed to SMU’s top-20 national rankings in scoring offense and passing offense during the 2017 season.
Griffin’s earlier coaching roles include positions at Central Methodist (Mo.), Louisiana-Monroe—his alma mater—and Texas A&M-Kingsville. He played wide receiver at Louisiana-Monroe from 2008 to 2012 before earning degrees from both ULM and Texas A&M-Kingsville.
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