So much for the original version of that extended plan.
In late May of 2017, three months after leaving South Carolina, it was confirmed that Brandon McIlwain would be transferring to Cal. More specifically, the two-sport athlete would be transferring to the Golden Bears to play both football and baseball.
That arrangement lasted two seasons, with McIlwain taking on the role of dual-sport student-athlete. Wednesday, however, head coach Justin Wilcox confirmed that McIlwain has opted to focus solely on baseball and will not play football for the Pac-12 program this year.
The development comes a few months after McIlwain, an outfielder for the Bears, suffered a broken foot during a series with Oregon State that sidelined him for the remainder of the college baseball season. In June of this year, McIlwain was selected by the Miami Marlins in the 26th round of the Major League Baseball draft.
As the primary backup to starting quarterback Chase Garbers, who had replaced injured starter Ross Bowers, McIlwain completed 80 of his 129 passes for 763 yards, two touchdowns and eight interceptions. McIlwain did start two of the 10 games in which he played in 2018.
Bowers, who started every game in 2017 for the Bears, transferred from the program in December of last year. Shortly thereafter, Cal landed UCLA transfer -- and immediately-eligible quarterback -- Devon Modster.
