Cal Football: Bears Set to Reel in Recruiting Class With Strong Bay Area Flavor
Cal is expected to sign a 2021 football recruiting class on Wednesday that ranks among the upper half in the Pac-12 Conference.
The website 247Sports projects the Bears’ 18-man class as the third-best in the conference and No. 23 nationally.
Rivals has the Bears a bit lower on both lists: No. 5 among Pac-12 programs and 40th in the country.
“We spent a lot of time this fall and certainly the last week or two on our in-home visits via Zoom. We’re finishing those off tonight,” coach Justin Wilcox said Tuesday morning during an interview on KNBR-680. “We’ve got some really good players who are going to sign with us They’re excited. Their families are excited. We’re trying to make it as normal as possible so they can enjoy it."
The Bears' verbal commitments are just that so far. The commitments become formalized on Wednesday on national signing day.
The video above Wilcox says the Bears could add one or two more players to their class before announcing it Wednesday.
Wilcox continues his growing preference to recruit local talent, getting commitments from five Bay Area prospects and three more from Northern California.
"Obviously, it always will start here, just the circle around our school. There is really good talent here and really good students. We really want to do a good job in our footprint," Wilcox said.
The highest-rated players in the class include tight end Jermaine Terry of Kennedy High in Richmond, wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant of Flower Mound, Texas, quarterback Kai Millner of Gilbert, Arizona, and wide receiver Mavin Anderson of Mission Viejo in Southern California.
Cal has commitments from players across the range of positions with one notable exception: Running back. But the Bears are expected to return two of their top backs from this season, junior Christopher Brown Jr., and freshman Damien Moore, who rushed for 121 yards in the Big Game.
Click on the each prospect's name below to access our stories announcing their original commitment to Cal:
RIVALS TEAM RANKINGS
Top-5: 1. Alabama; 2. Ohio State; 3. Oregon; 4. Georgia; 5. Clemson
Pac-12: 3. Oregon; 11. USC; 32. Utah; 37. Washington; 40. Cal; 52. Colorado; 54. Arizona State; 58. Stanford; 62.Arizona; 67 tie. UCLA; 70. Washington State; NR Oregon State
247SPORTS TEAM RANKINGS
Top-5: 1. Alabama; 2. Ohio State; 3. Georgia; 4. LSU; 5. Clemson
Pac-12: 6. Oregon; 14. USC; 23. Cal; 29. Utah; 30. Washington; 47. Arizona State; 56. Colorado; 57. Stanford; 63. Washington State; 67. Arizona; 69. UCLA; 108. Oregon State
2021 CAL VERBAL COMMITMENTS
— WR Mavin Anderson (6-0, 187)
Mission Viejo HS, Mission Viejo, CA
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 4 stars
Notes: Picked Bears over offers from Arizona State, Colorado, Oregon and Washington State, among others.
— Saf Hunter Barth (6-2, 200)
Queen Creek HS, Queen Creek, AZ
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Had offers from Oklahoma State, Oregon, USC, Utah and Virginia, among others.
— DE Akili Calhoun (6-4, 240)
Liberty Union HS, Brentwood, CA
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Five Pac-12 schools chased Calhoun, including Arizona State and UCLA.
— DE Kaleb Elarms-Orr (6-3, 220)
Moreau Catholic HS, Hayward, CA
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Elarms-Orr drew heavy interest from the Pac-12 and Mountain West, with offers from Colorado, Washington State and Boise State.
— WR/CB Lu-Magia Hearns (5-11, 170)
De La Salle HS, Concord, CA
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Lure of staying close to family and playing in the Pac-12 closed the deal for Cal.
— CB Kaleb Higgins (6-2, 173)
Folsom HS, Folsom, CA
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Lots of love from Pac-12 programs, including USC, Washington and Oregon, along with Texas A&M and Nebraska.
— OLB Patrick Hisatake (6-5, 245)
Westview HS, Clackamas, OR
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Five other Pac-12 schools were among his suitors, in addition to Michigan, Boise State and Cincinnati.
— Saf Fatuvalu Iosefa (6-0, 175)
Mililani, HS, Mililani, HI
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Younger brother of Cal freshman linebacker Mo Iosefa. BYU, Nebraska and Oregon State couldn’t compete with family ties.
— OG Dylan Jemtegaard (6-4, 270)
Yelm HS, Yelm, WA
Rivals rating: 2 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Cal reportedly was the only Pac-12 program to offer him, but Jemtegaard drew interest from Boise State and San Diego State along with at least four Ivy League schools.
— OT Ryan Lange (6-6, 330),
Pittsburg HS, Pittburg, CA
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Cal got the nod over offers from USC, Arizona, Arizona State and Washington State,
— TE Keleki Latu (6-6, 202)
Jesuit HS, Carmichael, CA
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: USC, Oregon, Arizona State and Utah also made offers to Latu.
— QB Kai Millner (6-2, 180)
Higley HS, Gilbert, AZ
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 4 stars
Notes: Millner comes to Cal from the same high school as redshirt freshman Spencer Brasch. He passed for 2,387 yards and touchdowns as a junior in 2019 and this season pulled off one of the great trick plays we’ve seen. . . . From Higley coach Eddy Zubey: “He is a very smart quarterback and has a quick release. He’s athletic enough to run when needed, but his arm strength and accuracy make him great.”
— LB Moses Oladejo (6-3, 225)
Cosumnes Oaks HS, Elk Grove, CA
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Arizona, Colorado and San Diego State also made scholarship offers.
— WR J. Michael Sturdivant (6-3 182)
Marcus HS, Flower Mound, TX
Rivals rating: 4 stars; 247 rating: 4 stars
Notes: Caught a touchdown pass last weekend but Marcus suffered its first loss of the season, falling in the bi-district round of the Texas Class 6A Division II playoffs . . . moved to Texas from Kansas before his junior season, when he caught 87 passes for 1,125 yards and 10 TDs from quarterback Garrett Nussmeier, who is expected to sign this week with LSU.
— OG Bastian Swinney (6-6, 270)
Edina HS, Edina, MN
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Drew serious interest from many Midwest schools, with offers from Michigan, Oklahoma State and Minnesota.
— TE Jermaine Terry (6-4, 235)
John F. Kennedy HS, Richmond, CA
Rivals rating: 4 stars; 247 rating: 4 stars
Notes: Half the Pac-12 made scholarship offers to Terry, including Oregon and Arizona State.
— DE Derek Wilkins (6-5, 242)
Santa Margarita Catholic HS, Rancho Santa Margarita, CA
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Nine other Pac-12 schools pursued Wilkins, including USC, Stanford and Oregon, along with Michigan and Northwestern of the Big Ten.
— DE Myles Williams (6-3, 250)
Bishop Alemany HS, Calabasas, CA
Rivals rating: 3 stars; 247 rating: 3 stars
Notes: Cal won the recruiting battle among a list of five Pac-12 suitors.
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Follow Jeff Faraudo of Cal Sports Report on Twitter: @jefffaraudo
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