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The California Golden Bears will get another huge addition to their 2015 recruiting class a little bit early. Lonny Powell, arguably the crown jewel in Cal's recruiting class, has signed a financial aid agreement with Cal and is all set to join the Bears for spring practice as a mid-year enrollee. Powell will join Antoine Albert, DeVante Wilson, Derron Brown, and Ross Bowers as early entrees.
It's been long speculated that the Sacramento (Ca.) athlete could play either side of the football at the collegiate level. Powell's long-term projection is at linebacker (his recruiting tape makes him look like an unstoppable force as a defender), but Cal has several starters at the position and they're unlikely to be dislodged in year one. So he could turn to running back and provide much needed power to the run attack behind Daniel Lasco, Khalfani Muhammad, Tre Watson and Vic Enwere. It's a bit of a crowded lineup, but I could see Powell getting into the mix pretty quickly. His early statement seems to indicate that the latter will be the case.
"I chose Cal for several reasons. I looked at all of the running backs that have come out of Cal with many now in the NFL and some with rings. I also liked the academic side of Cal, want to study business and am looking forward to getting into business school. Being close to my home in Sacramento also factored into my decision because I have a lot of friends and family that would like to see me play in college and it’s exciting to know that they can easily come here to watch me."
I'm hoping that Powell can become our very own version of Myles Jack and Shaq Thompson and can play both ways. He has the talent to do so. Right now, he could be an imposing powerback that will give us the punch we've needed to convert in short yardage. Can't wait to see what he's capable of!
Welcome to Cal Lonny! GO BEARS!