Football: How good was recruiting weekend?

Posted on January 28, 2013 by Jeff Faraudo

The Bears picked up three more oral commitments last weekend, but seemingly did not get the news most important to them.

Cameron Hunt, a four-star offensive guard from Centennial-Corona, was among the prospects who made official campus visits. But no word from Hunt confirming his earlier commitment.

Meanwhile, recruiting experts Brandon Huffman and Greg Biggins of Scout.com both are projecting that Hunt will announce Oregon on signing day, a week from Wednesday.

This is a big one for Cal. The Bears have O-line needs and Hunt is one of their best commits. Scout rates Hunt as the No. 15 OG prospect in the country.

The news may be better for Cal on L.J. Moore, a four-star cornerback from Central-Fresno. Moore is considering Oklahoma State, Arizona State, Colorado, Arkansas and UCLA, but Huffman and Biggins are both expecting him to choose the Bears on signing day.

Moore is rated by Scout as the nation’s No. 24 cornerback prospect.

Jeff Faraudo

Juancho

Well, if this is true, I’m alright with it.

To be honest I’d rather have Moore than Hunt b/c of need. Our O line is in better shape than our secondary.

We had a really really good O line class last year. And a good one this year.

Secondary on the other hand has been pretty weak.

If Hunt flips, so be it, and I’ll wish him the best. If not and he sticks with Cal then he’ll have a great career.

Moore is a legit shutdown corner that we haven’t recruited since Sydquan probably.

Both committing would be better.

Recruiting is crazy. Moore announced this past week that his final 2 are Oklahoma and Arizona State. Yet those two experts think he’ll pick Cal ? Crazy world.
SteveNTexas

Juancho why not start a site like this for Cal?

1. It will inform Cal Fans about Cal Sports to augment the Cat’s News.

2. Recruits like attention.

Knowledge is power!

http://www.insidethehall.com/2013/01/28/recruit-roundup-williams-oa
rotfogel

Cal always gets good/underrated players. Marc Anthony, the team’s SECOND best CB was the best CB at the senior bowl:
Cal’s Marc Anthony (5-11⅜, 191) has stood out all week. He was the best defensive back from the South squad. He was the guy who got his hands on the ball the most. With good instincts and anticipation, he is good at reading routes, he’s very balanced and has a knack for finding the ball.
Damn Steve Williams is going to be great in the NFL.
rollonubears

We’re a freaking NFL factory. I don’t get why top recruits aren’t beating down the door to get in here (aside from the educationally challenged set). I do hope this changes next year. I didn’t used to be an NFL fan, but now that it’s hard to turn on the tv on sunday without seeing a bear alum, it’s pretty enticing.
The Wisdom Cow

Gotta disagree, Juancho. DBs may be a bigger need, right now, but they can get instant upgrades, not to mention that a quality DL and/or blitz package can aid them substantially. The OL is EVERYTHING for the offense. Games are won or lost in the trenches.

I didn’t get good vibes from the Hunt quotes I read last night. I think they blew him away with glitz and girls in Oregon. It’s too funny. I can stomach a smart OL recruit taking tOSU over Cal, but not Oregon. It isn’t like Hunt is a sure thing for the NFL, so more should matter than the Nike college experience.

I have not given up that he’ll choose Cal, but the quotes really screamed Oregon did the shock and awe approach.
Juancho

Agree to disagree on this one Wisdom. Below are the current DBs and O Lineman, not counting this year’s commits.

In the aggregate, there is much more depth at DB, but in terms of quality, I think our current O line guys are a lot better.

DBs we have coming back:

6 Alex Logan
7 Cedric Dozier
4 Avery Sebastian
27 Damariay Drew
32 Vachel Samuels
26 Ikem Okwudiafor
29 Jordan Morgan
33 Dan Fadelli
21 Stefan McClure
28 Matt Mayes
5 Michael Lowe
30 Jeffrey Coprich
18 Joel Willis
15 Adrian Lee
20 Isaac Lapite
3 Kameron Jackson

OL

76 Christian Okafor
72 Matt Williams
64 Steven Moore
59 Brian Farley
68 Mark Brazinski
78 Freddie Tagaloa
73 Jordan Rigsbee
79 Bill Tyndall
61 Donovan Frazer
71 Alejandro Crosthwaite
74 Matt Cochran
70 Geoffrey Gibson
58 Chris Adcock
rotfogel

Juancho: Lots of unproven on the OLine side. Rigsbee is like his brother, not very good…ditto for Brazinski, Tyndall and Crosthwaite…maybe they’ll get better…I hope or maybe some of the redshirt freshman will become men (Okafor, Moore, Cochran and Tagaloa). But last year’s offensive line was the worst since the horrific Holmoe era. Did you watch Cal last year, specifically did you pay attention to how bad the O Line was? It was HORRIFICALLY BAD! Having Maynard exacerbated the problems.

I really like Avery Sabastian and McClure. Kam Jackson has shown some talent too. I think the secondary will be good next year, I’m more worried about the LBs, they really seemed lost last year.
Steve W.

A lot of our current O linemen were as highly ranked as Hunt, if not higher. And a lot of them have been busts so far. I agree that a shut-down corner is more important than Hunt. I think there is a better chance of developing an O-lineman into a true nasty via coaching and strength and conditioning than there is to develop a cornerback into a shutdown guy at his position. After all, wasn’t Alex Mack a two-start recruit?
BlueNGold

Rollon-
I think the reason top recruits don’t beat down the door to get to Cal is that a lot of them are only looking for a direct and expeditious path to the NFL. I have to believe that some SEC and other schools are much more appealing to those to whom their education is a distant second or third priority to playing football.
covinared

Blue and Gold: it is apparent that education hasn’t been a priority for a significant number of our players the last few years. Recruits want to play for winners most of all.
Juancho

Recently cals top commits have been guys who grew up cal fans. Kline, goff, treggs. Even jabari bird.

Weve been in the land of college football irrelevancy. Not ranked in the top 25 since 2009. Meanwhile oregon and stanford are perrenial bcs contenders.

Thats why recruits arent beating the doors down.

Its like if cal was suddenly mediocre academically. The top students would stop coming.
The Wisdom Cow

And yet fans of PLAYERS, not teams, have plenty of Cal alumni they see in the NFL . . .
Juancho

Oregon must read the cats blog. They just offered lj moore.
wehofx

Motherclucking ducks!

After this weekend, the class has risen as high as 22 ranking – that’s counting C Hunt.

Any news on Enewally?
The Wisdom Cow

I get the feeling Oregon just looks at the highest rated guys that lean toward west coast programs, then poaches them with the Ole Nike Misdirection Dazzlefest. “New coach, possible sanctions on the horizon, who cares? We got Phil Knight!”
Juancho

Wisdom i read yor quote and thought cal. Then realized you meant oregon. Given our academic rating issues.
The Wisdom Cow

New Rule (Maher Style):

All prospective Oregon recruits that make official campus visits must also visit a 3rd world Nike factory, spending a night with the family of a floor worker.
Juancho

Oregon is now offering johnny ragin iii
Juancho

At this point lets expect oregon to push for khalfani muhammad and darius allensworth. Good grief.
ScottyBear

Not too worried about getting 4 & 5 star recruits. USC is full of them and so what these days. Oregon hasn’t gotten many and Oregon State never has, yet look what they have accomplished. Stanford absolutely sucked three years ago before Harbaugh. It’s attitude. It’s your coaching being better prepared with a better game plan than the other team. It’s your coach getting the most out of his players, which Tedford did the opposite of. Sonny Dykes is the kind of coach whose system and game plan will never be predicable. I can’t wait to see Cal for once go for a 2 point conversion just to set the tone for the game. Personally, I’m stoked to have both Zack Kline and Jared Goff for the next four years. Sonny will create a game plan for them with Rodgers, Bigelow and our smurfs out wide. Go Bears!
The Wisdom Cow

Hmmmm . . .

“So, Cameron, how was your visit to Hippyville?”

“Awe, man. Don’t be like that. It was actually really cool. You know, their facilities are right up their with yours, and the view is unbelievable.”

“Please, Phil upgrades everything every four months. Berkeley isn’t due for their next upgrade until 2063.”

“Fair point. But I really liked the guys I met on the trip, both the current layers and the other Cal commits.”

“Well, we can’t steal their current players, at least not under the current rules (Phil’s working on it), but we have open spots to fill, still. How about we offer all of Cal’s top rated guys to come up here with you?”

[Fade out with Darth Vader theme music playing]

[End of scene]
Juancho

WE HAVE A PROBLEM. ZACK KLINE HAS GOTTEN A TATTOO. ON HIS FOREARM. ITS RELIGIOUS BUT STILL A TATTOO. ITS OFFICIAL BERKELEY RUINS PEOPLE.
The Wisdom Cow

Is he Kaepernicking?
Juancho

Jeff can you intervew kline ? Hes the most intriguing guy to me in the transition to the spread.

Plus we need to talk to him about laser tattoo removal.
Juancho

Given klines conservative christian beliefs, im troubled by his tattoo. It starts with a tattoo. Then a little bit of that grass the kids smoke in berkeley. Then the long hair is back. Next thing you know hes wearin flip flops 7 days a week. Then he starts playing guitar and talking about feeling connected to the universe. And boom hes thrown his life away.

In these troubled times for zach kline i pray for him, in zach klines name, amen
wehofx

21, 22, 24, 25 LMFAO!

next thing you know zk’s gonna be fornicating w some of those damn Cal Hotties – no, it’s not an oxymoron – before marriage

if you follow titter, Coach Likens and Yenser’s tweets are pretty funny.

fyi they’re in LA ABCing.
Larry

You don’t feel connected to the universe?
Gobears49

Anybody have any idea what date Cal’s final spring football practice will be? I want to plan on attending plus going to the Faraudo beer blast at Pappy’s after the event.
wehofx

Tweet:

Coach Yenser ‏@zyenser

2014 recruiting all day today; in homes all day tomorrow back to 2014 Thurs and ending with a Big IN HOME Friday #SignEmUp #calfootball
BlueNGold

Covinared- I agree about education not being a priority. My point was that those regarded as ‘top recruits’ are looking for schools that not only provide the opportunity to be on a winning team, but don’t require a rigorous academic program at the same time. Their primary interest is getting a ticket to the NFL as seamlessly as possible. Those are the ‘top recruits’ who are currently choosing schools other than Cal.
BlueNGold

Juancho, do you really sit around and fret about the stuff you posted in #25? If so, maybe you have too much time on your hands!
covinared

Blue and Gold: if you went to the same Cal I did, and the one my nephew currently attends, its not difficult to skate through Cal academics with not much effort if one so chooses, even for non athletes. Its a big school with lots of easy courses. I doubt its significantly more difficult than any other Pac 12 school to just get by . Berkeley gets its reputation from its faculty, resources and environment more than its academic rigor. Some kids take advantage of the opportuntity, some don’t. College for the most part is what you make of it. Berkeley offers alot more than most, but no one is forced to take advantage of all it has to offer.
Juancho

BlueNGold. Part of my responsibilities to this blog is to try to provide some comedic relief.

And I disagree with your premise.

If kids wanted to steer clear of academically rigorous schools, Stanford wouldn’t be beating us for kids like Hooper, Barry Sanders Jr., a number of O linemen, Aziz Shittu. And UCLA wouldn’t be pulling in a top 5 class.

The fact that Stanford has become an annual BCS participant directly refutes any idea that Cal can’t because of academics. The idea that we can’t recruit at an elite level b/c of academics is directly refuted by the fact that UCLA does it, so does Michigan, so does Notre Dame, so does Texas, so does Vanderbilt.

Michigan is currently ranked # 1 by the way. Aren’t they the # 2 public school in the country ?

I think due to the never ending debacles that are part and parcel of Cal sports, over time we’re all trained to make a number of excuses for why we can’t do what others can. We always tend to blame the competition, or the kids.

To quote Bill Romonowski “Guess What?”, it’s up to Cal to become a BCS contender. The idea that due to the way kids think we can’t is hogwash. The thought we can’t b/c of academics is hog wash.

I’ve got to say I love the enthusiasm Sonny D and his staff are bringing. I wish we had a similar group come in and rejuvenate our basketball program.
BlakeStreetBear

Covina, as a person who had quite a long undergrad “career”, get ready:

1. 1994 Cal as freshman – dropped out first semester (long story)
2. 1995-96 Solano CC for next 3 semesters
3. 1996 UCDavis for 1 quarter
4. 1997-99 University of Washington – 7 quarters
5. 2000-2002 Cal – 5 semesters – graduated with BA in applied math

Having gone to all of those schools including another UC and Pac12 school, nothing came close to Cal as far as rigor, except for one UCDavis math class. UW was a frickin joke academically. I remember an upper division applied math class that basically had about 20 hours of work for the whole quarter!! I was offended when the final “project” assignment came out and I knew that I could write 20 lines of matlab to do the assignment in an hour or so…

Cal is by far the most rigorously challenging public school in the country, I do not doubt that one bit. Freshman chemistry alone, sunk my ship, I had no idea that a week’s homework assignment would take 5-6 hours of serious concerted effort, minimum.

You may be able to slip by taking mickey mouse courses but even those, at Cal, are not gonna be a cakewalk – the instructors/professors (at least those I had) DO NOT ALLOW THAT.

I can only imagine what a mickey mouse course is at UW or Nebraska or Oregon. “Hey guys, today we’re gonna count beans and then copy the alphabet offa those big signs at the front of the room. Then maybe arm-wrestle for a few, then we can look at the big picture books in the back of the room on the carpet. Practice starts at 3 today, don’t forget your cups…”

There are enough good, smart football players out there that can benefit from ALL that Cal offers – including an academic kick in the nutz every once in a while – it did me good. Go Bears!
BlakeStreetBear

Covina, as a person who had quite a long undergrad “career”, get ready:

1. 1994 Cal as freshman – dropped out first semester (long story)
2. 1995-96 Solano CC for next 3 semesters
3. 1996 UCDavis for 1 quarter
4. 1997-99 University of Washington – 7 quarters
5. 2000-2002 Cal – 5 semesters – graduated with BA in applied math

Having gone to all of those schools including another UC and Pac12 school, nothing came close to Cal as far as rigor, except for one UCDavis math class. UW was a frickin joke academically. I remember an upper division applied math class that basically had about 20 hours of work for the whole quarter!! I was offended when the final “project” assignment came out and I knew that I could write 20 lines of matlab to do the assignment in an hour or so…

Cal is by far the most rigorously challenging public school in the country, I do not doubt that one bit. Freshman chemistry alone, sunk my ship, I had no idea that a week’s homework assignment would take 5-6 hours of serious concerted effort, minimum.

You may be able to slip by taking mickey mouse courses but even those, at Cal, are not gonna be a cakewalk – the instructors/professors (at least those I had) DO NOT ALLOW THAT.

I can only imagine what a mickey mouse course is at UW or Nebraska or Oregon. “Hey guys, today we’re gonna count beans and then copy the alphabet offa those big signs at the front of the room. Then maybe arm-wrestle for a few, then we can look at the big picture books in the back of the room on the carpet. Practice starts at 3 today, don’t forget your cups…”

There are enough good, smart football players out there that can benefit from ALL that Cal offers – including an academic kick in the nutz every once in a while – it did me good.

Tell your nephew to take math 104, if he wants a challenge…

GO BEARS!
BlakeStreetBear

whoops, double post, sorry.
Juancho

UCLA beat us for Terrell Newby, they beat us for Tyler Foreman, they beat us last year for Ishmael Adams and Ellis McCarthy, and Jordan Payton.

How do you fit that academic rigour argument against the two who are most directly hurting Cal in terms of recruiting: UCLA & Stanford?
Juancho

Sonny D and co are accountable to recruit excellent classes each and every year. Just like we made no excuses for Tedford towards the end, we have to keep the current staff accountable.

None of these excuses on why we can’t. That’s Tedfordian.
covinared

Blake: your interesting story does not counter anything I posted unless all football players are math majors. As you commented before, LA has women with fake breasts. Maybe that’s why we’re now losing recruits to UCLA.
Dan

Too much weak Oregon-bashing and whining about “Cal’s rigorous and difficult academic requirements”. Just a bunch of excuses and small mindedness. No one at Stanford, which has much tougher entrance requirements than Cal for both the students and for student-athletes is whining anymore about how hard it is to get football players.

And for all the pathetic, tired digs about Phil Knight and Oregon, I wish Knight went to Cal, I wish our former head football coach had even one of Chip Keely’s testicles when it comes to creativity, confidence, aggressiveness and execution.

Face it, they have both done it WAY better than Cal, and too many Cal alums bring out pathetic, unimaginative, mostly false, accusations. Man, do you guys work for the government? I can’t imagine some of you would survive in the real world very long, no matter your educational pedigree.

Juancho- keep speaking the truth brother!
ScottyBear

Tree sitters shitting in buckets and dumping it on the people below. Berkeley’s mayor, a former Rose Bowl player for Cal, threatening to sue to stop the stadium remodel. Telegraph Avenue looks the Doors’ “Strange Days” album cover. Not the greatest first impressions offered the past few years. We now have the stadium and a coach who has a game plan to kick ass. This year’s recruiting class is shaping up nicely, all things considered. After one season under his belt Sonny will have players dying to play here.
Larry

I believe success comes from the top down. I don’t believe in the CAL hocus pocus. I’m hoping Sandy finally has the right coach in place. Tedford picked us up off the ground and dusted this football program off. He took this as far as he could.

Now Sonny needs to ‘hold the rope’ and get us moving forward. Things will fall into place once the leadership gets the kids to “buy-in” and momentum keeps building.

GO BEARS!!!
covinared

Dan: I agree except for the disparagement of government workers. USC was bashed for years, now its Oregon and Knight.
The Wisdom Cow

Dan, curious about just what aspects you believe I proposed where false and/or weak?

Note a few Tweets by Cameron during his Oregon visit:

“Just got done with dinner now Out with my host!”

“Man, last night did me right”
Steve W.

Wisdom,

I am in your court all the way. It is not whining to state the facts: that Daddy Warbucks Phil Knight stacks the playing field in favor of Oregon recruiting. When you have the best facilities and the best uniforms and god knows what else is presented under the table, impressionable athletes will tend to overlook the fact they are going to spend the next five years of their life in an outback like Eugene.

Oregon football was a backwater throughout the 70’s, 80’s and most of the 90’s before Knight started pumping fiscal sunshine into the program. T Boone Pickens is doing the same thing with Oklahama State football. Barry Sanders notwithstanding, who remembers what they did 10, 20 or 30 years ago?
The Wisdom Cow

Steve W, and Dan, too,

Having a sugar daddy isn’t that bad, and I sure wish Cal had one. I do think their is a problem, though, when your sugar daddy’s money is sports related. Nike is part of the advertising of nearly every sport, such that all that advertising becomes synonymous with Oregon in the mind of high school kids contacted by Oregon before their Sr. year.

Think of a Sophomore player contacted by Oregon. He’ll see Nike influence everywhere and think Oregon each time. It’s a bit of an ethical issue, IMO. It’s somewhat similar to U$C’s open practices, where celebrities just happen to come watch because they were fans, not boosters. Both are legal, but both sway prospects, and I BELIEVE, just as U$C knew and abused the “legal” system, so does Oregon.

That said, I don’t mind T. Boone at all. If I was a billionaire, Cal would have the top facilities, too (and the student section of Haas would actually be on the floor without a line of $$$ seats in front of them, per his wishes!).
Kev

It would be great to keep Hunt but if he goes to the Ducks, you just got to wish him luck. Hopefully we lay the smackdown on the Ducks when the season starts.