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The California Golden Bears are finally doing something on the recruiting trail I wish they'd committed to more seriously in previous years--battle with Stanford for the type of recruits they annually land.
Cal has already flipped four-star cornerback Nygel Edmonds from Stanford to land their best defensive prospect of the class. The Bears are moving fast to try and secure offensive lineman and recent Stanford decommit Nate Herbig with a visit this weekend, although Washington will get the final visit and Herbig did take a visit to Palo Alto last week.
Now, another recent Stanford decommit is very much in play. Linebacker Beau Bisharat reopened his recruitment and is now open to all suitors.
I have decided to decommit from Stanford University and am excited to re-open my recruitment.
— Beau Bisharat (@BBisharat) January 18, 2016
And unlike the usual national recruits that Stanford lands (Herbig is from Hawaii, Edmonds Georgia), Bisharat is local, hailing from Jesuit High in Carmichael in the Sacramento region. This is a very landable prospect if Bisharat decides he wants to play close to home.
Could another former Stanford commit find his way to Berkeley? https://t.co/UlpacbHg78
— Ryan Gorcey (@RGBearTerritory) January 19, 2016
Now the biggest competition for Bisharat is Oregon. The Ducks were supposedly the favorite in the first cycle of his recruitment, but Bisharat chose Stanford because he wanted to play running back, and Oregon wants him at linebacker. Bisharat's father was a prominent running back for the Ducks and you can imagine if dad has any say, he'll be committing to Eugene at the earliest juncture. Other schools that have expressed interest nationally are West Virginia, Pitt, Nevada and Colorado, but you'd have to think that the Ducks would be the major favorite.
Still, Cal has thrown themselves into the race, and if Bisharat is willing to play linebacker, he'd be priority uno. He's a hard hitter that Cal desperately needs.