Golden Recruiting Wire: Rivals 100 & 250 Edition

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Verbal commits are marked w/ (CAL)

May 11th, 2011 | 4th

Rivals 100 | 250

Tedford & Company

• Zach Kline, QB (CAL) San Ramon Valley (Danville, CA) is #40 on Rivals 100.

• Michael Barton, LB De La Salle (Concord, CA) verbally committed to Cal [1].

  "I was always interested in Cal, and when they offered I started developing a really good relationship with Coach Thompson, Coach Pendergast and Coach Lupoi," said Barton, who has excellent speed and expects to play linebacker at Cal. "It's a big family circle because Coach (Mike) Blasquez is the strength and conditioning coach there, and he started at De La Salle."

  "It's great because now I can definitely focus on the team and my brothers," Barton said. "Now we can really dial in and getready for this upcoming season, because it's not going to be easy [2]."

  "Cal has been high on my list for awhile now and I love the direction the program is going in," Barton said. "I knew I wanted to commit early and of all the schools I was looking at, Cal had the best combination of athletics and academics and it was where I felt most comfortable.

  "Coach [Tosh] Lupoi and the defensive coordinator, Coach [Clancy] Pendergast, came to my school on Friday and I decided I wanted to commit to them in person and just end the process right there. They like me as an inside backer at the will position in their 3-4 and I think that fits me real well. They have had some other players similar in size to me play that position and I'm excited about being a Bear right now [$3]."

• Max Tuerk, OT Santa Margarita (Santa Margarita, CA) offered by Cal. There is no timetable for Tuerk's commitment decision. He is planning to take an unofficial trip in the summer to Notre Dame [4]. Tuerk is #103 on Rivals 250 for 2012.

  "I saw Tuerk in person a few weeks ago and there aren't many offensive linemen who look that impressive," Rivals.com West Coast analyst Adam Gorney said. "Tuerk started slowly, picking up offers this spring, and now he pretty much has every team on the West Coast recruiting him. He has lots of options and many more offers could come soon [5]."

• Fernando Villanueva, OT Independence (San Jose, CA) offered by Cal. Utah is visiting Independence this week.

• Erik Magnuson, OT La Costa Canyon (Carlsbad, CA) offered by Cal [6][7][8]. Magnuson won't be making a commitment decision soon. Magnuson is #34 on Rivals 100.

• Deontay Greenberry, WR Washington Union (Fresno, CA) offered by Cal. Notre Dame has also offered [9]. Greenberry is cousin w/ Golden Recruit Tee Shepard of Central (Fresno, CA). Greenberry is #115 on Rivals 250.

• Aaron Porter, LB La Habra (La Habra, CA) offered by Cal. Most of the Pac-12 have also offered.

• Darius Hamilton, DE Don Bosco Prep (Ramsey, NJ) has Tennessee, Rutgers, Florida, North Carolina, and South Carolina standing out [10]. Hamilton is #5 on Rivals 100.

• Andrus Peat, OT Corona Del Sol (Tempe, AZ) is ready to narrow down to 8-10 programs soon [11]. Peat is #15 on Rivals 100.

• Ellis McCarthy, DT Monrovia (Monrovia, CA) has accepted his invitation to play in the US Army All-American Game. McCarthy is #6 on Rivals 100. McCarthy will camp at Florida this fall [12].

• DJ Foster, ATH Saguaro (Scottsdale, AZ) offered by Auburn as RB. Michigan offered Foster as a CB. Oregon offered Foster at WR [13]. Foster is #74 on Rivals 100.

• Eddie Goldman, DT Friendship Academy (Washington, DC) has already visited Florida [14]. Goldman is #4 on Rivals 100.

  There’s no doubt Goldman will be blessed enough to play Division I, the only question is where. Goldman hasn’t narrowed his lengthy list of offers down in any way yet, but he has began to formulate a list of criteria he wants in a school. He wants to keep that list private so the schools he visits don’t just cater to its contents.
  
  Last month, he made a couple of Southern swings to see North Carolina, North Carolina State and Clemson, Alabama, Auburn, Georgia, Florida and Florida State with his father, his coach and other members of the Friendship football family. Muhammad said they want to get out west to see Notre Dame and some other schools, but it isn’t clear when that trip will take place, although it could be sometime in May [15].
  

• Bryce Treggs, WR St John Bosco (Bellflower, CA) visited Notre Dame & Northwestern [16][$17]. Treggs is #133 on Rivals 250.

• Cedric Dozier, ATH Lakes (Lakewood, WA) looks forward to utilizing his 4.40 speed at WR & RB this year. Dozier, #138 on Rivals 250, has accepted his invitation to the US Army All-American Game. He remains open in his recruiting [18].

• Seth Jacobs, OLB Arroyo Grande (Arroyo Grande, CA) placed 2nd in 100m at Pac-7 Track & Field meet w/ 11.33s [19]. Arizona has offered Jacobs.

• Joshua Garnett, OT Puyallup (Puyallup, WA) visited by Washington, Notre Dame, Auburn and Oklahoma [20]. Garnett is #22 on Rivals 100.

• Jordan Simmons, OT Crespi (Encino, CA) visited by New Mexico State, Ohio State, Washington, SMU, Idaho, Weber State, Auburn, and Notre Dame [21][22][23]. Simmons is #45 on Rivals 100.

• Kyle Murphy, OT San Clemente (San Clemente, CA) has accepted his invitation to the US Army All-American Bowl [24]. Murphy is #28 on Rivals 100.

• Jaydon Mickens, WR Dorsey (Los Angeles, CA) offered by Washington [25]. Mickens is #158 on Rivals 250.

• Kaiwan Lewis, OLB St Joseph (Hammonton, NJ) looks to narrow to about 10 schools by the end of May. Lewis will be visiting UConn, Syracuse, Boston College before summer vacation and Florida, Florida State, Auburn, and Tennessee in July [26].

• Jalen Cope-Fitzpatrick, TE Whitney (Rocklin, CA) is waiting for USC to offer [27]. JCF is #180 on Rivals 250.

  "The unofficial visit to Washington was my fourth trip so far and I have also been to Cal, UCLA and USC," Cope-Fitzpatrick said. "I liked USC, I think that would be a solid pick for me, and the coaching staff said that they'd probably offer if I kept on improving."

  "All I want to do is stay optimistic and analyze things carefully. I want to go somewhere, a college, that wants me, so I'm not going to rush into a commitment. Overall, things are going well, I've heard a lot of people say that I'm blowing up on the recruiting scene [28]."

  "My goal was to work with B2G Sports, but sometimes, things come up,'' Cope-Fitzpatrick said. "I'm hearing from a lot of different schools, that's why it was important for me to check out Washington. I plan on making some other visits too, probably very soon.
  
  "Things are happening fast right now, there are a lot of big-time colleges talking to me. When I think about things, it's amazing, so surreal. It's crazy. I have talked with Florida, Tennessee and Notre Dame, USC too. Actually, I think USC is recruiting me the hardest [29].''

• Jordan Payton, WR Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, CA) has accepted his invitation to the US Army All-American Bowl. Washington, Nevada, Harvard and Azusa Pacific visited Oaks Christian this week [30]. Payton is #96 on Rivals 100.

• Arik Armstead, DE Pleasant Grove (Elk Ridge, CA) compared to a young Jonathan Odgen [31]. Armstead is planning to enroll early at USC [32]. Armstead is dedicated to play defense and basketball in college [33]. UNLV & Oklahoma are actively pursuing Armstead for basketball. He is #23 on Rivals 100.

  Armstead has a unique blend of height, bulk and speed for a defensive tackle his age. Plays with good pad level for his height. Holds up well at the point of attack and usually eats up two blockers. Has a good eye for the ball and doesn't stay on his blocks long. Powerful coming off the ball, but changes it up well with a great swim move [34].

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