Kendrick Raphael scored the game-winning touchdown against SMU on Nov. 29, 2025 — then two months later, he entered the portal and signed with them.
The Workload
Last year: 232 carries, 943 yards, 13 touchdowns, 4.1 yards per carry. Add 34 catches for 245 yards and a score, and that's a real workload — the heaviest of his career after two lighter seasons at NC State before he landed at Cal for 2025. This isn't a committee guy or a change-of-pace back. Cal handed him the ball, and he produced.
The Line Question
4.1 YPC on 233 total touches isn't a red flag by itself. It's fine. It's the kind of number that either means the back is just okay, or it means the guy up front wasn't opening much. Last year's Cal struggled for much of the season up front so this could be a chance too buy low on a player in a better situation.
The One Number That Matters
He's now in SMU's backfield next to Kevin Jennings, who we've got ranked 41 on our own Preseason Top 50 — the only current-season signal we have on that offense. That's the number that ends the argument for now: a ranked quarterback plus a proven workload back is a real setup, whether or not the blocking behind him actually improved.
The volume was proven in 2025. The environment change is the bet.
He beat SMU once already. Now he's joining them with hopes to win SMU there first ACC championship and second playoff birth.