Wake Forest · L 7-41
No catches.
NC State · L 10-31
2 catches, 11 yards
The other 7 games average 67 yards. This one was 56 below.
Strong has catches in 8 of California’s 9 games: none against Wake Forest.
Dashed line: 100 yards.
“RB Adam Mohammed could play today - reportedly is dressed and is going thru pregame warmups. WR Ian Strong probably won't - apparently looks very limited in warmups.”
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed. Of his catches with a spot in the play text: left 7, middle 1, right 5.
Ian Strong
Moves the chains on third down. Played for two head coaches at two programs in four seasons: Greg Schiano and Tosh Lupoi. A game that shows it: 97 receiving yards and 5 receptions against Virginia Tech — Week 6, 2026.
478 receiving yards · 35 catches · 1 receiving TD
Play style
Reliable target who converts on critical downs. Not flashy; consistently productive.
Closest statistical matches, adjusted for opponent strength.
Fans first named Ian Strong vs UCLA.
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Season | Team | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2026 | California | 35 | 478 | 13.7 | 1 | 49 |
| 2025 | Rutgers | 52 | 762 | 14.7 | 5 | 45 |
| 2024 | Rutgers | 42 | 668 | 15.9 | 5 | 65 |
| 2023 | Rutgers | 16 | 230 | 14.4 | 2 | 29 |
| Career | 145 | 2,138 | 14.7 | 13 | 65 |
Last game (Wk 9): 11 receiving yards, 2 catches.
Game log · Week-by-week
2026 season · 8 games
Swipe the table sideways for more columns.
| Wk | Opp | REC | YDS | AVG | TD | LONG | Note |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wk 1 | L 24-45vs UCLA | 5 | 94 | 18.8 | 0 | 49 | |
| Wk 2 | W 21-18@ Syracuse | 3 | 64 | 21.3 | 0 | 43 | |
| Wk 3 | W 49-7vs Wagner | 6 | 48 | 8.0 | 0 | 19 | |
| Wk 4 | L 10-24vs Clemson | 3 | 44 | 14.7 | 0 | 26 | |
| Wk 5 | L 31-39@ UNLV | 6 | 49 | 8.2 | 1 | 20 | |
| Wk 6 | W 25-20vs Virginia Tech | 5 | 97 | 19.4 | 0 | 31 | Season-high 97 yds |
| Wk 8 | L 20-59@ No. 23 SMU | 5 | 71 | 14.2 | 0 | 36 | |
| Wk 9 | L 10-31@ NC State | 2 | 11 | 5.5 | 0 | 6 | |
| Total | 35 | 478 | 13.7 | 1 | 49 |
Oct. 24 · L 20-59 at SMU, play by play
5 catches for 71 yards. California threw to him on 6 of its 38 passes. 71 of the 71 came before halftime.
36-yard catch. First quarter, tied 0-0.
16-yard catch on 3rd and 22. Second quarter, tied 17-17.
2 catches for 11 yards. California threw to him on 3 of its 45 passes.
6-yard catch. Second quarter, down 7-0.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
5 catches for 97 yards, his most this season.
Not drawn: the play-by-play has 4 catches for 78 yards, the box score 5 for 97, so no play is placed until they agree.
6 catches for 49 yards and a touchdown.
Not drawn: the play-by-play has 6 catches for 74 yards, the box score 6 for 49, so no play is placed until they agree.
3 catches for 44 yards. California threw to him on 6 of its 30 passes.
26-yard catch. Third quarter, down 10-7.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
6 catches for 48 yards.
Not drawn: the play-by-play has 6 catches for 54 yards, the box score 6 for 48, so no play is placed until they agree.
3 catches for 64 yards. California threw to him on 7 of its 34 passes. 43 of the 64 came before halftime.
Incomplete on 3rd and 6. First quarter, down 3-0. Broken up by Syracuse’s N. Ward.
43-yard catch. Second quarter, down 12-0.
Incomplete on 3rd and 11. Second quarter, down 12-7.
6-yard catch on 3rd and 9. Third quarter, down 12-7.
Seen from behind the quarterback; numbers are yards past the line of scrimmage. The play text only says left, middle or right, so inside a lane marks are sorted, not placed.
5 catches for 94 yards.
Not drawn: the play-by-play has 5 catches for 102 yards, the box score 5 for 94, so no play is placed until they agree.
Week 1 · 2026
L 24-45
vs UCLA
5 rec · 94 yds
With J. Sagapolutele — 271 yds · 2 TD · 2 INT · QBR 62.5 · A. Mohammed — 120 rush yds (28 car) · 1 TD · 7 rec · 46 yds
The plays that mattered most
81st in receiving yards, among all 2,086 FBS players with a receiving row this season, any position
Conference ranks count every player in the conference with a row in that stat, any position. Career ranks count current FBS players, from the games in our log.
Ratings of the games shown run from -3 to +14 points against an average team (SP+ rating of each opponent).
Receiver profile · Targets, catch rate, and throw depth
How often he's targeted, and how well it works
Targets
5715% of team targetsCatch rate
61%35 of 57 targetsBehind LOS · Negative air yds
Short · 0–9 air yds
Middle · 10–19 air yds
Deep · 20+ air yds
61% catch rate on 57 targets · 15% of the team's targets · 50% catch rate on 10 deep targets (20+ air yds).
Splits · Per-game
2026 season · 8 games
Home vs Road
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Home4g | 4.8 | 70.8 | 15.2 | 0.0 |
| Road4g | 4.0 | 48.8 | 12.3 | 0.2 |
First half vs Second half
| REC/g | YDS/g | YPR | TD/g | |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Weeks 1-76g | 4.7 | 66.0 | 15.1 | 0.2 |
| Weeks 8+2g | 3.5 | 41.0 | 9.8 | 0.0 |
Supporting cast · Scheme
Staff and system around the player
Head Coach
Tosh Lupoi
Pass share
61.4%
386 pass / 243 run
Plays / game
69.9
9 games
Team sack rate
3.9%
432 dropbacks · PBP
Scheme: Pass-leaning.
Player standing · 2026
About as many catches a game as a typical FBS receiver who plays every week.
Recognition
Production · CFB Zeitgeist Score
Three-star recruit. Now #110 at the position.
The No. 1,198 recruit in the country is starting at receiver in the ACC as a senior.
2026 is in progress.
A stat line in 38 games over four seasons.
Coaching lineage · 2023–2026
2 coachesPlayed for 2 head coaches at 2 schools: Greg Schiano and Tosh Lupoi.
Next stop · Transfer
Transferred to California
CBS Sports College Football
