Freddie Tagaloa played in the Semper Fidelis All-American Bowl in January 2012. Photo by Mark J. Rebilas-USA TODAY
Cal offensive lineman Freddie Tagaloa, having overcome an obstacle in his transfer to Arizona, is set to enroll for the spring semester, according to the San Jose Mercury News.
The Bears did not originally release him from his scholarship, meaning he would have to sit out two years if he transferred to a school within the Pac-12. He won an appeal to Cal over the holidays, though, and will be required to sit out only the typical one season for a football transfer.
Tagaloa (6-8, 330) will be able play at Arizona in 2015 with two seasons of eligibility remaining.
Tagaloa, who started the first seven games of the 2013 season at left tackle, was rated a four-star recruit by Rivals.com after his senior season at Salesian High in Richmond, Calif. His first offensive line coach at Cal was Jim Michalczik, who just finished his first season at Arizona.
“Having a coach I looked up to as a father figure was one of the main deciding factors,” Tagaloa told the Mercury News about transferring to Arizona. “I talked to (former Cal offensive linemen) Alex Mack and Mitchell Schwartz, and they call him an O-line guru.”
Tagaloa will become eligible at a key time for Arizona, which will need to replace tackles Mickey Baucus and Fabbians Ebbele after the 2014 season.
Another Cal transfer, linebacker David Wilkerson, joined Arizona as a walk-on in September. Coach Rich Rodriguez talked positively about his progress during bowl practices, but Wilkerson is no longer on the roster.
Read more from Tagaloa and his decision to transfer here.