Cal Sports Report

Nation's No. 1 Safety Prospect Among Recruits Visiting Cal This Weekend

Two top-35 prospects, S Honor Fa'alave Johnson and CB Duvay Williams, are among the large group of 2027 high school recruits scheduled to visit Cal this weekend
Jake Curtis|
Tosh Lupoi
Tosh Lupoi | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

In this story:

California Golden Bears

Several highly rated prospects, including an ESPN top-15 recruit, will be among the large group of high school recruits expected to be on the Cal campus this weekend for what is being called “Premier Day.”

Five of the prospects expected to be on hand are ranked among the nation’s top 300 prospects in the class of 2027 by ESPN. It suggests that new Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi, who has a reputation as an outstanding recruiter, is trying to compete with the top football programs for elite talent.

Two of the expected visitors are ranked among the nation’s top 35 prospects by ESPN, and the headliner is Honor Fa’alave Johnson, a two-way, five-star prospect from San Diego. Fa’alave Johnson, who attends Central Catholic High School, is rated the country’s No. 14 overall prospect in the class of 2027 by ESPN, and ESPN and 247Sports both rank him as the nation’s No. 1 safety prospect.

Getting him to visit Cal is an accomplishment of sorts, but getting him to commit to Cal will be a challenge. On December 16, Fa’alave Johnson said that he has narrowed his list of offers to 10 schools – Alabama, Ohio State, Miami, Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon, Penn State, Texas A&M, USC and Oklahoma. He also had offers from Georgia and Mississippi but they were not included on his list.

The 6-foot-1, 190-pound Fa’alave Johnson could play running back or safety in college, but he would likely play defense at Cal. His speed is almost off the charts. He competed in the 100 meters in high school and was recorded at a speed of 22.7 miles per hour in this football clip.

You want speed? Take a look at this video posted by Billy Tucker of UCReport and reposted by Fa'alave Johnson

The other highly rated 2027 prospect scheduled to be on the Cal campus this weekend is cornerback Duvay Williams, a four-star prospect from Gardena, California, and attends Junipero Serra High School. ESPN ranks him as the No. 33 overall prospect in the class of 2027 and the No. 3 athlete. 247Sports Composite ranks him as the nation’s No. 5 cornerback prospect.

The 5-foot-11, 150-pound Williams has offers from Georgia, Ohio State, Alabama, Indiana, LSU, Texas, Notre Dame, Oregon, Michigan and Texas A&M among others, but he reportedly favors USC at the moment.

Three other highly rated 2027 prospects scheduled to visit Cal this weekend are worth mentioning:

---Sione Kaho, a four-star quarterback from Lincoln High School in Tacoma, Washington, is rated the 262nd-best prospect in the class of 2027 and the No. 14 pocket passer by ESPN. The 6-foot-3, 195-pound Kaho has offers from BYU, Duke, Washington, Oregon, Arizona State and Utah as well as Cal.

---Zion White, a tall, four-star wide receiver who attends IMG Academy in Bradenton, Florida, is rated the 157th-best overall prospect in the class by ESPN, which ranks him as the 23rd-best wide receiver prospect. The 6-foot-4, 190-pound White has offers from Oregon, Penn State, BYU. Nebraska, Arizona, Arizona State, North Carolina and Washington.

---Ty Johnson, a four-star wide receiver from Irvine, California, attends Crean Lutheran High School. ESPN ranks the 6-foot-3, 200-pound Johnson as 175th-best overall prospect in the class and 26th-best wide receiver. He holds offers from Georgia, Oregon, Texas Tech, Louisville, Arizona State, Arizona, TCU, Washington and UCLA among others.

Recent articles:

ESPN puts three Cal games among its top 100 football games of 2025

Cal's rally at Florida State comes up just short

Cal Football GM Ron Rivera reportedly interviews for Arizona Cardinals coaching job

Did one bad play call cost Marshawn Lynch a spot in the Hall of Fame?

Cal's men's and women's weekend sweep of Stanford basketball a rare occurrence

Cal's complete 2026 football schedule is set

Published | Modified
Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

Home/Football