Cal football recruiting commits, Friday Night Lights: Max Gilliam earns athlete of the week

Zion Echols has been one of the most fun prospects to keep up with as he has been electrifying for Covina (Ca.) Charter Oak on a consistent basis this season. Unfortunately, Echols had a bye this week, as did San Diego (Ca.) Mission Bay running back Derrick Clark

Los Angeles (Ca.) Hamilton quarterback Armani Rogers, Baldwin Park (Ca.) Baldwin Park offensive lineman Francisco Perez and Bellflower (Ca.) St. John Bosco cornerback Camryn Bynum also had bye weeks.

Though the dynamic running back duo had byes this week, the show went on for the rest of the Golden Bears' recruiting class. Starting with the offense ...

Jordan Duncan: WR, Hattiesburg (Ms.) Oak Grove (5-1)

Oak Grove defeated Petal (Ms.) Petal 38-14 and Duncan contributed just two catches for 44 receiving yards on the night. Here is the good part, though, both of them went for touchdowns.

Duncan's touchdowns were important on the night as they were the first two touchdowns for Oak Grove after they went down 7-0.

The first touchdown was on a fade to the back of the endzone where Duncan rose high above the defender and tapped both feet inbounds. He is going to be a good redzone target for whoever he takes the field with at quarterback.

The second touchdown was on a basic sideline route which was horribly played by the cornerback. It was an easy pitch and catch for the quarterback and Duncan, who glided down the sidelines for the touchdown.

Max Gilliam: QB, Thousand Oaks (Ca.) Thousand Oaks (6-0)

Gilliam led Thousand Oaks to a 62-34 victory against winless Agoura (Ca.) Agoura. The dual-threat quarterback completed 20 of 24 passes for 391 passing yards with five touchdowns. Gilliam also rushed 10 times for 117 yards and one touchdown.

The future Cal quarterback earned SoCal prep legends male athlete of the week honors for his dominant performance.

I thought the best passing touchdown of the bunch was the third from the video. On this play, Gilliam looks downfield and pump fakes, which causes the safety to step up. The step up provides just enough time for the receiver to gain a few steps on the defensive back and Gilliam throws an absolute dime straight into his path.

Gilliam's other touchdowns were on quick outs to the receiver and the degree of difficulty was a bit low for a player of his caliber (full credit for taking what the defense gives him though).

Drew Kobayashi: WR, Honolulu (Hi.) St. Louis (5-1)

Kobayashi contributed two catches for 68 yards to St. Louis' 51-36 victory against Honolulu (Hi.) Kamehameha.

Jake Curhan: OL, Larkspur (Ca.) Redwood (3-2)

Redwood defeated Novato (Ca.) Novato 46-13 to improve to 3-2 and Currhan was an absolute wrecking ball. I genuinely felt bad for some of the Novato players after watching the highlight video.

There was such a size difference between Curhan and the players he had to block that they all looked like junior varsity players compared to him. Curhan made a ton of pancake blocks and got to the second level quite a bit. I think he must improve his burst once the ball is snapped and footwork, though he certainly has tools to work with once he gets to Cal.

Logan Gamble: WR, Long Beach (Ca.) St. Anthony (3-2)

Gamble tallied eight receptions for 72 yards during St. Anthony's hard-fought 20-17 victory against Cerritos (Ca.) Valley Christian.

Based on the highlight video it appeared as though a big part of the St. Anthony gameplan involved very short curl routes to Gamble. It is just about the only route he runs in the entire video.

Matt Laris: WR, Sammamish (Wa.) Eastside Catholic (5-0)

Laris caught five passes for 58 yards as Eastside Catholic continued its destruction tour of Washington high school football teams with a 54-10 victory against Seattle (Wa.) Seattle Prep.

Camryn Bynum: CB, Corona (Ca.) Centennial (5-0)

Centennial defeated Valencia (Ca.) Valencia 59-7 in the latest example of how much better they are than every team on their schedule. Plus, finally, there is a highlight video of Bynum. It is just one play though.

Josh Drayden: CB, Dallas (Tx.) Bishop Dunne (5-0)

Bishop Dunne defeated Fort Worth (Tx.) Nolan Catholic 35-31 to remain undefeated. Drayden has displayed good press coverage ability all season and it continued against Nolan Catholic. Drayden looks like a good prospect for our Bears.

Cameron Goode: LB, Houston (Tx.) Klein Collins (5-0)

Goode contributed a strip sack and at least one more tackle for loss during Klein Collins' 42-14 victory against Houston (Tx.) Dekaney. Goode is a bit undersized to play linebacker for Cal, so unless he bulks up he might have to convert to safety.

Tevin Paul: DE, Austin (Tx.) Lake Travis (5-0)

Paul and Lake Travis improved to 5-0 by defeating Kyle (Tx.) Lehman 56-0. Paul made a few run stops at the line of scrimmage.

Markus Wright: LB, Columbus (Ga.) Jordan (2-4)

Wright put forth a great performance in helping Jordan to defeat Macon (Ga.) Rutland 35-18. Wright looked good in just his third game back from injury. Wright was a heat seeking missile straight into the Rutland backfield as he consistently shed his blocker to get to the ball carrier.

Evan Weaver: DE, Spokane (Wa.) Gonzaga Prep (5-0)

Weaver did more Weaver things as he frequently disrupted Spokane (Wa.) Shadle Park's offense in the backfield. Gonzaga Prep won the game 48-14.

Which current Cal football commit are you most excited about?