Former Cal receiver will join NU as a graduate transfer

Form Cal receiver Kanawai Noa announced on Sunday that he plans to join Nebraska as a graduate transfer. He made the announcement official on his personal Instagram account on Sunday.

Noa follows former Golden Bear and now NU defensive line coach Tony Tuioti to Lincoln, who coached at Cal for the 2017 and 2018 seasons. Current Husker quarterback Adrian Martinez was also supposed to once play with Noa at Cal, as he was a long-time Bear commit before former head coach Sonny Dykes was fired after the 2016 season.

"He's a solid third-down threat, has great hands, is fearless over the middle," Golden Bear Report's Trace Travers said of Noa. "Talented player in the slot, has a good feel for finding holes in zone coverage. I don't know how close he and Tuioti were, but the Cal staff all made a point to get to know every player outside of their position group, so there was some relationship between the two of them."

The former three-star recruit Noa is a native of Hawaii and caught 94 catches for 1,224 yards and six touchdowns for the Golden Bears from 2016 to 2018.

In 2017, Noa had 76 catches for 788 yards but suffered an injury setback in 2018 that limited him for most of the season.

"Sharp route runner as well, you're gonna like him if he can stay healthy," Travers said. "He took a shot in the Bowl game that looked like a concussion, and I hope he's recovered from that. He'll be good for (Adrian) Martinez."

With the loss of Stanley Morgan Jr., Noa gives the Huskers another established playmaker at receiver, whereafter JD Spielman, NU's other returning wide-outs had just a combined 30 catches in 2018.

The addition of Noa now gives the Huskers 82 players on scholarship for the 2019 season, with the ability to add potentially one more transfer player this summer.