Remember the Alamodome.
Brandon High certainly had that in mind when he entered the transfer portal for the second straight season. The former UTSA running back transferred to Cal last offseason. But after one season in Berkeley, the Spring, Texas, native returned to his roots in San Antonio. High is a roadrunner again.
High spent the 2023 and 2024 seasons at UTSA, amassing 509 yards and eight touchdowns in his first season. Nearly all of that production came during his breakout 2024 season, when he split the ball with Robert Henry Jr. in an offense that ranked 12th nationally in yards. High averaged 5.3 yards per carry (second on the team) in a 495-yard season and gained at least 60 yards and a touchdown five times in 12 games.
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In the 2024 Coastal Carolina Myrtle Beach Bowl, High had a career-high 103 yards from scrimmage and a touchdown to help the Roadrunners win 44-15 on the green turf of Conway, South Carolina. After that game, he packed his bags and headed west to California, where he supported Kendrick Raphael. In one season as a Golden Bear, Hay finished with 98 yards and a touchdown, all of which he had done through October.
Hay has been limited by injuries since October and has played just five games in Cal. He returned to San Antonio, where he reunited with his former head coach Jeff Traylor and quarterback Owen McCown. High rejoins a running back corps led by former (and current) teammate Will Anderson III, who had 866 yards rushing and six touchdowns in 2025 with a 6.9 average. When Hay transfers on Jan. 9, the Roadrunners plan to retain backups A’Marion Peterson and Bryson Donnell to build an experienced guard corps in San Antonio.
In today’s era of transfer portals, boomerang transfers like High’s are not unheard of. For example, Ohio State running back Sieh Bangura played for the Bobcats from 2021-23, had a brief stop in Minnesota, and returned to Ohio State in 2025, where he had a 1,392-yard, 15-touchdown season. UTSA is similarly high-minded, hoping his return to San Antonio can spark his best year yet.
