Cal football JUCO commits sign, to enroll this winter in Berkeley

Cal had four junior college recruits sign yesterday, three of whom just committed to the Bears only a week ago! All four are expected to join the Bears in January in time for spring practice.

Here's some notes on each of these recruits.

• Defensive end Rusty Becker: Becker committed to Cal this summer and the Minnesota defensive end has had a good year. Becker is ranked as a top 15 junior college defensive end.

• Cornerback Marloshawn Franklin: Franklin committed the past week and signed on the dotted line yesterday. Franklin is ranked as a top 15 junior college cornerback.

• Wide receiver Jordan Veasy: Veasy committed this weekend and is considered around a top 30 or so junior college wide receiver.

• Offensive lineman Dwayne Wallace: Wallace also recently committed and is a top ten junior college offensive lineman and player in California.

Cal head coach Sonny Dykes announced Wednesday that four junior college transfers have signed National Letters of Intent to join the Cal football program in January of 2016 with the list including Rusty Becker (DE - Maple Grove, MN/Minnesota State Community and Technical College), Marloshawn Franklin (CB - Detroit, MI/Mesa Community College), Jordan Veasy (WR - Gadsden, AL/Golden West College) and Dwayne Wallace (OL - Riverside, CA/Riverside City College).

All four are ranked among the top 11 junior college players at their respective positions. Wallace, who earned All-American honors as a freshman, leads the way with a No. 4 ranking among junior college offensive guards in the 2016 recruiting class according to 247Sports, 247Sports Composite and ESPN. Veasy is the No. 10 junior college receiver in the 2016 recruiting class according to ESPN, while Becker and Franklin check in as ESPN's No. 11 defensive end and cornerback, respectively.

"The student-athletes we have signed today will help us to continue developing more depth in our program," head coach Sonny Dykes said. "The good thing is that they don't necessarily have to be immediate fixes, but they have the ability to do that and getting them here for spring football gives them a huge opportunity to get on the field and contribute from day one."

"The biggest decisions that we have in recruiting are making sure that the student-athletes we bring into Cal are great fits on the field, academically and within the culture of our program," Dykes added. "The student-athletes that we have signed today have have been productive on the field and also fit our academic profile and culture."

Below is biographical information on the four junior college student-athletes signed by Cal on Wednesday as well as comments on each from Dykes.

Rusty Becker, DE, 6-4, 255, Jr., JC        
Maple Grove, MN (Minnesota State Community and Technical College/Maple Grove HS)

Becker, a three-star recruit according to ESPN, Rivals and 247Sports, ranks as high as the No. 11 junior college defensive end in the 2016 recruiting class according to ESPN while 247Sports has him at No. 13 nationally at his position and the state of Minnesota's No. 2 junior college recruit overall.

Becker racked up 53 tackles, 10.0 sacks and one forced fumble over seven games during a 2015 sophomore season that was highlighted by his performance in a win over Minnesota West Community and Technical College when he registered 14 tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and 3.5 sacks to earn Minnesota College Athletic Conference Western Division Defensive Player of the Week honors.

As a 2014 freshman Becker contributed 24 tackles and 5.5 sacks in eight games.

Becker's final two prep teams at Maple Grove High School combined for a 19-2 overall mark and a 15-0 conference record.

"We think Rusty will develop into a really good player," Dykes said. "He is an excellent athlete with length and size who has really impressed us with the way he can run."

Marloshawn Franklin, CB, 6-0, 180, Jr., JC
Detroit, MI (Mesa Community College/Chandler HS)

Franklin, a three-star recruit according to 247Sports, ESPN and Rivals, is ranked as high as the No. 11 junior college cornerback in the country in the 2016 recruiting class according to ESPN.

Franklin earned first-team All-Western States Football League and second-team All-Arizona Community College Athletic Conference honors as a 2015 sophomore when he recorded 41 tackles and 12 pass breakups (tied for seventh in the nation) to go along with 1.0 tackle for loss and one forced fumble. Franklin had at least one pass breakup in eight of his squad's 10 contests and allowed only four catches on balls thrown to receivers he was covering.

As a 2014 freshman Franklin contributed 20 tackles, 1.0 tackle for loss, one fumble recovery and one interception as a 2014 freshman.

He spent his 2013 senior season of prep football at powerhouse Chandler High School and contributed 55 tackles, two interceptions that he returned 61 yards, six passes defended and two forced fumbles for a squad that finished 10-3 overall and reached the semifinals of the Division I state playoffs after posting a 5-0 record in conference play to win the Section I title.

"We expect Marloshawn to be able to come in and compete for a starting job from day one," Dykes said. "He is a big corner who is a really good athlete and a competitive player. We really like a lot of the things he does in terms of both tackling and pass coverage."

Jordan Veasy, WR, 6-3, 215, Jr., JC
Gadsden, AL (Golden West College/Gadsden City HS)

Veasy, a three-star recruit according to 247Sports, ESPN and Scout, is listed as high as the No. 10 junior college wide receiver in nation in the 2016 recruiting class according to ESPN, while he is Scout's No. 56 junior college player overall.

Veasy earned first-team all-conference honors as an all-purpose player in the National Division of the Southern League in the Southern California Football Association as a 2015 sophomore after compiling 1,552 all-purpose yards (141.1 ypg) for a squad that finished 8-3 overall and earned a spot in the Patriotic Bowl. Veasy had 63 receptions for 1,036 yards and 11 touchdown catches, ranking among the state's top junior college players in receiving yards (#13), touchdown catches (#15), receptions (#16) and receiving yards per game (#16, 94.2 ypg). He added 473 yards on 20 kick returns, 32 yards on two punt returns and 11 yards on a single rush.

"Jordan is a receiver with excellent size and strength who is versatile enough to play either inside or outside," Dykes said. "He was a very productive receiver this season but he is also definitely one of those guys who has his best football in front of him. He was overlooked early but got really hot late in the recruiting process and we were able to hang on to him when he had an opportunity to go lots of different places."

Dwayne Wallace, OL, 6-5, 340, Jr., JC   
Riverside, CA (Riverside City College/King HS)

Wallace, a consensus three-star recruit, is listed as high as the No. 4 junior college offensive guard in the nation in the 2016 recruiting class according to 247Sports, 247Sports Composite and ESPN. He is also California's No. 9 player overall as well as No. 57 nationally according to 247Sports.

Wallace helped Riverside City College to a combined 18-5 record during his two seasons most recently as a 2015 sophomore for an 8-3 squad offense that reached the first round of the CCCAA Southern California playoffs featuring an offense that ranked in the top 20 in the state in 19 offensive categories including rushing offense (#12, 204.2 ypg), total offense (#14, 443.5 ypg) and scoring offense (#16, 34.3 ppg).

Wallace earned All-American and All-State honors as a freshman in 2014 when he helped the rushing offense rank 18th in the state with an average of 184.9 yards per game for a squad that finished 10-2 overall, registered a 6-0 record in National Division of the Southern League in Southern California Football Association action to win a conference title and reached the Southern California Regional final before falling as the No. 1 seed with a loss that snapped a 31-game home win streak dating back to 2010.

Wallace spent his senior prep season at King High School in Riverside.

"We want to create more competition for playing time on the offensive line and we think Dwayne will come in right away and push for playing time," Dykes said. "He is a big, physical and versatile offensive lineman with a bright future who can play both guard and tackle and is going to help us get bigger up front."

With the addition of the four junior college signees the Bears have now announced eight members of their 2016 recruiting class with all expected to enroll at Cal in January of 2016.

2016 Cal Football Recruiting Class (as of December 16, 2015)

NAME - POS - HT - WT - YR - EXP - HOMETOWN (LAST SCHOOLS)
Rusty Becker% - DE - 6-4 - 255 - Jr. - JC - Maple Grove, MN (Minnesota State Community and Technical College/Maple Grove HS)
Derrick Clark* - RB - 5-11 - 195 - Fr. - HS - San Diego, CA (Mission Bay HS)
Jake Curhan^ - OT - 6-6 - 305 - Fr. - HS - Larkspur, CA (Redwood HS)
Jordan Duncan# - WR - 6-2 - 195 - Fr. - HS - Hattiesburg, MS (Oak Grove HS)
Marloshawn Franklin% - CB - 6-0 - 180 - Jr. - JC - Detroit, MI (Mesa Community College/Chandler HS)
Max Gilliam+ - QB - 6-2 - 195 - Fr. - HS - Thousand Oaks, CA (Thousand Oaks HS)
Jordan Veasy% - WR - 6-3 - 215 - Jr. - JC - Gadsden, AL (Golden West College/Gadsden City HS)
Dwayne Wallace% - OL - 6-5 - 340 - Jr. - JC - Riverside, CA (Riverside City College/King HS)
+Announced September 10, 2015; ^announced September 16, 2015; #announced September 17, 2015; *announced December 4, 2015; %announced December 16, 2015