Cal's defensive line of the future got another boost when Puka Lopa made his pledge to the California Golden Bears, according to Ryan Gorcey of Bear Territory. Lopa is the Grant High School (in Sacramento) teammate of nose tackle commit Vei Moala, his teammate and best friend, and it seemed that all that kept Lopa from making was that elusive Cal offer. Lopa chose Cal over Oregon State, Washington State, and San Diego State. He is expected to make the announcement tomorrow morning at his high school. Joe Davidson of the Sacramento Bee confirms this story.
In terms of rankings, Rivals considers Lopa a three-star prospect, the 34th best strongside defensive end in the country and the 46th best prospect in the state of California. ESPN has Lopa as a three-star prospect and the 138th best defensive end of this class. Scout has him at three stars as well and the 56th best defensive end overall.
With few slots remaining in the 2011 recruiting class, it had been rumored Lopa will greyshirt the 2011 season, similar to the situations of Chris McCain and Cecil Whiteside last year. According to Jim McGill of Bear Insider, Lopa managed to turn that greyshirt into a 2011 offer, so if Gorcey's news holds true, he will be part of this year's class.
Welcome to Cal, Puka. GO BEARS!
Here is the only highlight video of Lopa courtesy of ESPN. After the jump, an interview with Lopa and Moala, where they talk about their Cal connection midway through.
Grant Edison 002.MPG (via masskicksass)