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Running Back AJ Sanders III De-Commits from Cal

Cal 's 2027 recruiting class is still ranked among the top 25 in the nation as signing day approaches
Jake Curtis|
Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi
Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi | IMAGN IMAGES via Reuters Connect

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California Golden Bears

Three-star running back AJ Sanders III, who had committed to Cal for the class of 2027 in April, has de-committed from Cal, according to Rivals.

Sanders becomes the sixth player from the class of 2027 that has de-committed from Cal, joining four high school prospects -- tight end Rahzario Edwards (committed to Mississippi), safety Myles Baker (committed to UCLA), offensive tackle Amaziah Siale (committed to LSU) and linebacker Broncs Baker (committed to West Virginia) -- and the No. 1-rated junior college prospect, defensive back Alius May (committed to Georgia).

Broncs Baker had committed to Cal when Justin Wilcox was the Bears head coach, the others committed to current Cal head coach Tosh Lupoi.

Cal’s 2027 recruiting class is still ranked as the 23rd-best class in the country and fourth-best in the ACC by 247Sports Composite and is ranked 25th in the nation and fourth in the ACC by Rivals Industry Composite.

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Cal still has a commitment from four-star quarterback Dane Weber, but he had been wavering a bit with UCLA making a push to land him.

Commitments are not binding until a player signs with a school, and the earliest a player in the class of 2027 can sign is December 2, the first day of the early signing period.

Cal still has one running back on its list of commitments for 2027 – Jaxsen Stokes.

But the Bears apparently have lost Sanders, a 6-foot, 205-pounder from C.E. King High School in Houston, Texas. He also had offer from LSU, Texas A&M, Alabama, Florida State, Houston, Missouri and others before committing to Cal in April.

Cal’s running game has been poor the past two seasons. This season Cal ranks 137th of 138 FBS teams in rushing yards per game (82.8), and the Bears’ 3.02 yards per carry are better than only three teams in the country.

Cal has a 3-6 record heading into Saturday’s road game against Virginia (4-5). The Bears are riding a three-game losing streak and they lost all three by lopsided margins.

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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.

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