Cal Recruiting Thread 2011-12 #1

#Cal commit Zach Kline isn’t too far behind Gunner Kiel and Jameis Winston when it comes to arm strength at the #elite11

Best arm? Jake Rodrigues, Zach Kline

Rodrigues (from Whitney High at Rocklin, CA) is committed to Oregon.

Just picked up an offer from Arizona. He already has offers from Cal, Miami (FL), Michigan, Oregon State, UCLA, USC, UW, could be a big-time target next year.

ESPN:

While the game is a big deal, this decision pales in comparison to the one looming about what school he will ultimately sign with on national signing day. Goldman is still wide open and considering 15 schools — Alabama, Auburn, Cal, Clemson, Florida, Florida State, Georgia, LSU, Maryland, Miami, North Carolina, NC State, Oklahoma, South Carolina and Virginia.

This summer Goldman camped at Cal and had a recent visit to see the Gamecocks with his parents and coach.

“They did an outstanding job on that South Carolina visit,” Muhammad said. “It was an eye opening experience for all of us and South Carolina showed us a lot of love. We loved how everything is set up. They are set up for success in football and with the academics. Coach [Steve] Spurrier wasn’t there but he did talk with Eddie on the phone. South Carolina really impressed us.”

This week, Goldman will leave for a four-school stop in the South.

“We are going to back Alabama to stay for a few days,” Goldman said. “We are also going back to Florida State, Auburn and Georgia. I am still open and looking at those 15 schools.”

Paid article ($).

Banner and Josh Garnett (another OT from Washington) have discussed the possibility of playing together in college.

I have no idea what it is, but I will bet you a thousand top dogs Cal is on this list. ($)

Of course, it’s 2013. Arizona is probably his leader right now.

“Schools that stand out to me—I’d probably have to say Arizona, Washington and Cal are definitely my top three right now, but I’m still young so I got time to think about it,” Bird said of his favorites. Arizona is currently at the top of the list for Bird, who also said that the Wildcats are coming after him the hardest.

LINK

“The two schools that are on me the hardest right now are the two schools that are close to home right now – Oregon and Arizona. They are coming to all of my games. I’ve seen them front row in every game I’ve been to.”

LINK

The incoming 6-foot-8 senior, ranked the No. 6 recruit in the country according to MaxPreps.com, told us moments ago his seven finalist for college.

They don’t include Cal.

The schools in alphabetical order are Arizona, Georgia Tech, Kentucky, Oregon, Syracuse, Texas and UCLA.

Too early to tell if it’s anything significant. Scott Kennedy of Scout seems to think it’s an Oregon/USC race right now.

Scout:

10. Zach Kline, 6’2/195, Danville, Calif. – Committed to Cal

Kline is just a notch below the arm strength of guys like Winston and Kiel. For him, it’s a matter of trusting his arm. Scout’s No. 1 quarterback of 2010, Jeff Driskel, had a similar transition through the Elite 11 week as he over threw the ball early, only to settle in and put on a show the rest of the week. Kline has the arm strength, but he needs to relax more and not try to over throw everything.

CBS Sports:

The California kid was sporting a Rafael Nadal-like look on Tuesday with long hair and a headband. Though he was one of the most outgoing and relaxed players on the field, that masked his workman-like approach to learning as much as he could from the coaches and counselors at the event.

“A lot of things like making every throw count and the little things matter the most,” he said about what he learned. “Even the smallest thing down to a drop, the fake on the play action matters more than anything and is the difference between a completion and an interception. And just kind of getting to know these guys and the things that they see.”

Missouri transfer Ricky Krekow has Cal in his final three (article is gated).

Jordan Payton recently publicly de-committed from USC and now appears to be favoring Cal. His recruitment could go on for a while and things could change. The Trojans remain in the hunt and were his childhood favorite growing up.

Wide receiver Kenneth Walker also nearly committed at the event to Cal, but after a late offer from Washington has decided to hold off. If Cal can add Walker to the fold and pick up a commitment from Payton, that would be an impressive trio of wide receiver commits for the Bears.

Cal also made a recent offer to Payton’s teammate, defensive back Ishmael Adams and the Bears may now be the team to beat for Adams commitment.

Big-time defensive tackle Ellis McCarthy recently told me he knows three official visits he wants to take this Fall. The Monrovia (Calif.) star said USC, Cal and Florida will get a visit. McCarthy was one of the top defensive lineman at ‘The Opening’ two weeks ago.

http://247sports.com/Article/Free-Link-West-News-Notes-and-Elite-11-32079

Adams who was on Treggs’ 7×7 team and Payton who is Adams teammate at Oaks Christian are looking good for Cal. Adams, a CB, has really shot up the charts in the last month doubling his offers……even Scout shows Cal as Adams’ only “high interest”…
http://recruiting.scout.com/a.z?s=73&p=8&c=1&nid=5243493

Gorcey:

Blinn LB Eddie Porter has been offered by #Cal LB coach kenwick Thompson

247Sports:

10. Zach Kline – California commit
Don’t be surprised if Zach Kline throws some interceptions early in his career. He’s got a mentality that there isn’t a throw he can’t make. And why not? He has possibly the best arm at the event and was absolutely humming it in the 7on7 attempting to fit into some windows that no other quarterback could think about. More importantly though, he was still making good decisions and the correct reads. He finished 6 of 8, completing 3 of 4 in each of his two series.

247Sports:

2. Zach Kline – California commit
Similar to Mangum, Kline is still bubbling with energy and there has certainly been no drop off in arm strength. Kline came out and made all the throws fitting his passes into some tight windows that very few quarterbacks would be able to hit. One of his best throws of the day came on a perfectly placed ball on a vertical route off of a double move. Though the receiver dropped the football, hurting Kline’s completion percentage, the throw was on the money and he showed natural leadership by immediately picking the receiver up and praising the route.

Goldman says he plans on being in Tallahassee until Friday after seeing Alabama earlier in the week. He also plans on a second trip to the Southeast to see more schools.

“I’ll probably check out Auburn, Georgia, Miami and South Carolina the next time I’m in the area,” Goldman added.

Expect Goldman to take an official to FSU, and he could choose Sept. 17 when the Seminoles host Oklahoma. The Under Armour All-American is eyeing a decision in late September or October but doesn’t have a date in mind.

“At the end of the day I just want to go to a place where I’m surrounded by good people,” Goldman said.

I have a feeling it will take him longer to decide.

Link

Here are the potential visitors

WR: Leonte Carroo Don Bosco Prep Ramsey, NJ
DT: Darius Hamilton Don Bosco Prep Ramsey, NJ
Yuri Wright Don Bosco Prep Ramsey, NJ

Don Bosco Prep is Steve Levy’s school.

List is unpaid, article is ($): Wisconsin, Boston College, Cal, Rutgers

5-star DE Darius Hamilton of Ramsey (NJ) Don Bosco Prep says he will take official visits to UF Cal and Tennessee

It is probably too early, and the coaching staff hasn’t decided yet. I’m guessing it will be Utah on Oct. 22, with a second guess as Washington Nov. 5.

USC is a Thursday night game, so I don’t think we’d bring the recruits out for it, and the only september home game is against Presbyterian

Click here!

All signs point to Cal too….

ScoutKennedy 4-Star CB Ishmael Adams says he’s about ready to commit, gonna check with family 1st. Teams – #ucla, #CU, #oregon, #ASU, #cal. GTech maybe

Rumor is today (Saturday) or tomorrow..

Hardy Nickerson Jr. committed to Cal today per Moraga Bear…

http://bearinsider.com/forums/showthread.php?p=534180#post534180

Bear Insider:

“Right now, I’m most interested in Cal, UCLA, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Baylor and Washington State,” said Artis.

Artis visited Cal in May and felt right at home on campus.

“My visit at Cal went real well,” said Artis. “I talked to their academic counselors and hung out with the guys. Overall, I like Cal a lot.”

UCLA was next on his list and the Bruins moved up significantly for Artis after another impressive visit.

“When I went down to UCLA, I went with my mom and my stepfather,” said Artis. “We met with their academic counselors and spent time on campus. I chilled with the players and had a workout down there. We did a lot of ball screen stuff and things like that.”

Simmons top 15- Miami, Auburn, Cal, Washington, UCLA, Georgia, Oklahoma, Arizona, USC, Oregon, Oregon St, SMU, Ohio St., TCU, Utah

Gorcey:

Looks like #cal and #ucla are the two big factors for ishmael Adams.

Dominic Artis commits to UCLA. Rivals has Artis as No. 15 2012 PG, ESPN 16, Scout 19. Pac12 recruiting at high level.

In spite of having only four recruits

The math formula used must emphasize quality and potential.

As a point of reference we are between Penn St who has 12 recruits (four 4-star and six 3-star) and Oklahoma State who has 7 recruits (two 4-star and five 3-star)

Crazy. Maybe the best thing to happen to Hoosier football in three decades.

Brandon Huffman of Scout:

Los Angeles (Calif.) Dorsey receiver Jaydon Mickens, a USC commit, has received a new offer from California…

Gorcey:

After receiving a #cal offer, #usc commit jaydon mickens says he is “very open”

Arkansas will make the shortlist. Arizona, UCLA, Colorado, Washington, Arizona State, California and Oregon State are also currently being considered.

Cal being considered along with ASU, Colorado, Oregon, Oregon St, Washington.

Dozier is such a versatile athlete, he could play any number of skill positions in college; tailback, receiver, return specialist, quarterback, heck — he’s also a skilled gymnast.

“I talked to the UW coaches about a week ago — and one thing I have to say is that I really like Coach Cox”, said Dozier, “He’s always excited and upbeat. I have a good relationship with him.”

As far as a decision, Dozier reiterated, “There’s no timeline — it’s when God tells me. I really want to tell everyone that I have no leaders right now either, right now I’m focusing on my team and the season — and doing the best I can.”

Plant the Spear:

I spoke with someone who was in attendance for the Jimbo Fisher Football Camp last week and he was able to spend some one on one time with 5* defensive tackle Eddie Goldman.

He told me that Eddie seemed to be having a blast at the camp and that he spent a great deal of time with the entire FSU coaching staff. He also let me know that Goldman told him that he really wants to play beside FSU freshman Tim Jernigan.

Goldman and Jernigan were seen chatting it up on the sidelines for a good portion of the day. Things are definitely on the up and up with FSU and Goldman, and I don’t know that I’d bet against the FSU staff right now.

FSU received a commitment from DT Justin Shanks, which might have an impact on Goldman’s decision. Still a long way from knowing the schools Goldman is leaning towards.

Cal, Notre Dame, UW according to someone who probably has access to Scout article.

Will have to wait for official confirmation, but it does coincide with what I’ve been hearing—these are the three schools he’s favored since the beginning.

Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee reports.

Caught up w Grant superback Shaq Thompson.Lots of schools still on him w NDame expressing major interest;he is undecided #beepreps

Shaq says no timetable or hurry to commit. My sense is it is Cal,USC or Washington

Brian McLaughlin of AOL Sporting News reports.

When asked what other schools could be considered as favorites along with Stanford, the California native didn’t hesitate: Cal, UCLA, USC, Washington, Texas A&M and Michigan were rattled off in that order.

I suspect Furd is still on his list, but I don’t know for sure.

Cal is in Bullard’s top 13 or so schools according to his Rivals profile. Phil Kornblut:

"I’ll narrow my list at the end of summer to 5-6 schools, "Bullard said. "I don’t have any favorites right now."

Frank Burlison with the original report.

Bookert might have qualifying issues according to MoragaBear of Bear Insider though.

Sacramento Bee:

At 6-foot-2 and 212 pounds, Thompson is long, lean and muscled. He has the sort of frame that makes you mutter “NFL.”

His brother and idol, Syd Thompson, was a national prep recruit at Grant a few seasons back and started for four years at cornerback for Cal. He is now preparing for his second season with the Denver Broncos.

Kid brother Shaq is taller, heavier, stronger and faster (Syd will dispute the speed factor, of course).

He suddenly finds himself as the most coveted Grant Pacer of them all, a decorated list that includes Channing Williams, Clyde Sanders, Chad Elliott, Donte’ Stallworth, Onterrio Smith, Christian Tupou and Vei Moala.

College coaches envision Thompson as a runner, wide receiver or cornerback.