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Cal May Have the Best Wide Receiver Duo in the ACC
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- Cal May Have the Best Wide Receiver Duo in the ACC
Chase Henricks | Photo by Jake Curtis
Cal wide receivers Ian Strong and Chase Hendricks each has his own Wikipedia page, which is a measure of fame. But it was in the 2025 opener between Ohio and Rutgers where they gained mutual respect.
"He was a key for us to stop at Ohio," said Strong, then a Rutgers wideout. "We didn't stop him; he went for like 120 yards."
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Hendricks in fact had nine receptions for 115 yards, but Strong had a big game too, catching seven passes for 100 receiving yards in Rutgers' 34-31 victory.
"He's great receiver," Strong said of Hendricks, "and when I saw him in the portal, I said 'Let's come connect at Cal.'"
Strong committed to Cal on January 5, three days after the transfer portal opened.
And Hendricks said Strong's commitment influenced his decision to commit to Cal three days later.
"Oh, for sure," said Hendricks. "I knew we could be a one-two punch, we could better each other and we could make JKS better. It definitely had something to do with my decision."
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Last season, Strong caught 52 passes for 762 yards and five touchdowns after logging 43 receptions for 676 yards and five touchdowns in 2024 and 16 receptions for 230 yards and two scores as a true freshman in 2023.
Meanwhile, Hendricks had 71 receptions for 1,037 yards and seven scores in 2025 after catching 40 passes for 471 yards and a score in 2024 and hauling in 11 passes for 108 yards as a freshman in 2023.
So is Hendricks' suggestion that he and Strong could be a dynamic one-two punch realistic?
Pro Football Focus' elaborate set of metrics suggests as much.
Cal is the only team with two receivers among PFF's top-10-graded ACC returning receivers. It implies that Hendricks and Strong are the top wide receiver duo in the ACC.
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Does Hendricks agree?
"For sure," he said. "I'd definitely say me and Ian bring a lot to the sport, complement each other, he does different stuff. I do different stuff, but I'd definitely say overall we're the top one."
They are different, starting with their size. Strong is 6-foot-4 and 215 pounds, a long big-play receiver who typically lines up on the outside, although he is working in the slot at times at Cal.
The 6-foot, 195-pound Hendricks is more versatile, equally comfortable in the slot or on the outside.
"He definitely can play inside, outside," Strong said of Hendricks. "This is new to me, inside, outside. I played mostly outside last year."
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Hendricks said Strong can use his bigger frame to go up and get the ball. "I'm more of a finesse-type of guy," Hendricks said.
Cal quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele calls Hendricks "one of the best route-runners I've seen."
Former Cal standout wide receiver and current Cal assistant wide receivers coach Geoff McArthur notes the differences.
"Ian, big frame on him, very productive at Rutgers," McArthur said. "Somebody that's going to be a big-play guy for us for sure. I can see him making a lot of plays for us vertically.
"Chase is kind of a jack of all trades. He can play inside, outside, somebody that has a lot of juice and pop to him. Big-play ability. Student of the game."
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However, McArthur feels it's premature to call them the ACC's best wide receiver pair yet.
"We haven't played anything yet," he said. "On paper, they have some things that, production-wise they've both been productive at their previous schools, and they obviously have Jaron, so there's a reason they've been spoken highly of, but at the same time, you gotta go out and produce."
Strong and Hendricks have developed a bound. They hang out together, grab food together.
"We just click together," Strong said.
What makes the addition of Strong and Hendricks more attractive to Cal now is that both received an extra year of college eligibility in the offseason, thanks to a new NCAA rule.
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Now college athletes have five years to play five college seasons. And since both Hendricks and Strong played as true freshmen and did not use a redshirt season, both can play college ball in 2027 as well as this season.
That could work out well since Sagapolutele must play an additional year of college football in 2027 before his inevitable departure to the NFL.
Of course, if Strong and Hendricks do in fact become the best wide-receiver duo in the ACC this season, one or the other may consider heading to the NFL after the 2026 season.
That would lengthen their Wikipedia pages.
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This article was originally published on www.si.com/college/cal as Cal May Have the Best Wide Receiver Duo in the ACC .
