Former Cal QB Victor Viramontes Elects to Transfer to Junior College
Former Cal quarterback Victor Viramontes has enrolled at Riverside City College with the goal to earn another chance to play college football at the highest level.
On June 13, Viramontes announced his decision to transfer from Berkeley after Justin Wilcox replaced Sonny Dykes as the Golden Bears head coach in January. After committing to Michigan in June 2015, the former three-star QB recruit backed away from his pledge on Dec. 7, the same day UC Berkley offered.
Viramontes added two other late Pac-12 offers from Arizona and Utah before announcing his decision to play for Dykes at Cal on National Signing Day in 2016. With the coaching change taking place this past winter and having gone through spring practices, the Norco HS (Norco, California) product decided a fresh start was needed.
"I never want to waste time, and felt how everything worked out my red shirt freshman year it was better for me to leave early in my career and attend RCC," Viramontes told Rivals.com on Thursday.
Having redshirted his true freshman season Viramontes will have three years of eligibility remaining after this upcoming season.
The decision to choose the junior college route came as a culmination of factors, including former Alabama and Palomar Junior College QB Blake Barnett, who signed with Arizona State in February after spending one season at the Juco level.
Barnett and Viramontes train together at Winner Circle Athletics in Corona, California, with both coming from similar backgrounds and each chasing one common goal.
"He didn't say much. He knew what he had to do same way I know what I have to do," Viramontes said on Barnett's advice after electing to transfer. "We are both big time QB's who can offer a lot to someone's program.
"I have a great environment where I'm preparing physically and mentally during my short time home. When college coaches watch me play I'll take advantage of the opportunity."
In preparation for his upcoming season at Riverside C.C., Viramontes is focusing on only what he can. Staying mentally sharp and continue to learn how to break down film at the college level to become a better student of the game.
"I can always work on watching film and learning the different type of defenses," he added. "You can never get enough of metal reps while watching film and understanding what the defense is trying to do."
Viramontes came out of Norco HS as the No. 15 dual-threat QB in the 2016 class and finished his high school career throwing for 4,680 yards, 42 touchdowns and 15 interceptions in three years as the teams starter.