Cal Football: Bears' 2021 Recruiting Class Getting High Marks -- But It's Early

It's too early to be drawing definitive conclusions about the quality of colleges' 2021 football recruiting classes. A number of programs have yet to get their first commitment for that class.

Nonetheless, it is noteworthy that Cal is off to a good start on the recruiting front, as evidenced by the fact that the Bears' recruiting class, which includes five commitments, is ranked as the 21st-best in the country by 247 Sports at this early stage. That puts the Bears ahead of such heavyweights as LSU (four commitments) and Oklahoma (two commitments).

Perhaps more important is the fact that Cal's 2021 recruiting class ranks third in the Pac-12, according to 247 Sports, behind USC, which ranks first, and Oregon.

Rivals.com has Cal's class rated a bit lower, at No. 28 in the nation, but it also has the Bears as the third-best Pac-12 class for the time being.

The two headliners of Cal's commitments are tight end Jermaine Terry of Richmond, Calif., and wide receiver Mavin Anderson of Mission Viejo, Calif.

Terry is ranked as the 150th-best overall prospect in the class of 2021 by 247 Sports, the 211th-best prospect in the nation by ESPN.com, and 154th by Rivals.com.

Anderson is ranked a bit higher than Terry by ESPN.com, which pegs Anderson at No. 197 overall, while 247 Sports puts him at No. 260. Rivals.com does not include Anderson its top 250 recruits for the class.

Terry and Anderson are considered the top two recruits that have committed to Cal since Justin Wilcox became the Bears head coach, according to 247 Sports.

Cal's most recent commitment came from quarterback Kai Millner, and the Bears earlier received commitments from defensive end Akili Calhoun and offensive tackle Bastian Swinney.

Cal is in battle with three other Pac-12 schools for four-star defensive end Derek Wilkins of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif.

In early March, 247 Sports included Cal in one of its "six schools punching above their weight" in terms of recruiting for 2021. That article said the following about Cal: "Cal has seen improvement in each of the first three seasons of the Justin Wilcox regime, including eight wins last fall. It seems to be carrying over to the [recruiting] trail."

Two members of ESPN's top 50 recruits in the country have Cal on their list of schools in which they are interested. However, Cal is just one of 21 schools on the list of defensive tackle J.T. Tuimoloau, who is rated the fourth-best overall prospect in the class of 2021, and the Bears are one of 17 schools that hold interest for quarterback Miller Moss, the No. 36 prospect.

Of course, none of these commitments are binding, and the players can change their minds any time they want. Players are not bound to schools until they sign letters of intent, and they cannot do that until December 16, 2020, which starts the early signing period for football.

Cal head coach Justin Wilcox said that the tranditional signing period in February is almost obsolete now:

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