Cal football recruiting commits pitching high school teammate and 4-star CB Elijah Gates

Hey, recruiting! Remember that?

Cal isn’t going after a host of top prospects this recruiting cycle, but there is one in particular the Bears would love to land a commitment with. Consensus four-star cornerback Elijah Gates has the potential to be very special at the next level and has all the makings of a lockdown cornerback on tape.

While Cal did get a lot of cornerbacks this last cycle, given how much the Bears play in nickel and dime, the more the merrier.

Gates is currently ranked as a top 40 cornerback in the nation and a top 30 prospect in California by 247Composite. Oregon, TCU and UCLA are all tracking hard after Gates, but Cal is apparently right in the mix according to Scout’s interest meters.

Cal’s trump card might not be just academics or playing time, but teammates. Cal has already landed the commitment of two Buena Park teammates in athlete Jeremiah Hawkins and wide receiver Taariq Johnson, and it sounds like the pitch is already aggressively being made by both to sway Gates to make it a Golden Buena Trio.

Here’s what Gates had to say about Cal’s recruitment back in April from his first few visits up to Berkeley.

"They're not pressuring me about anything," Gates said. "We're just focusing on the season. "They know they don't need to put much pressure on me. They said they committed because graduating from there and getting your degree, you can go anywhere and get a job anywhere."

Gates currently has a 3.1 GPA, and is being recruited primarily by Jacob Peeler, who, he said, comes to the school to talk to all three of the Buena Park standouts, and that's where the twist comes: The Bears want Gates as an athlete.

"They see me as a receiver a little bit, a corner, doesn't matter -- wherever I can help the team -- but my main position is corner," Gates said.

Gates will take trips up to Oregon the weekend of November 12th, UCLA the weekend of November 19th, and TCU the weekend of December 10th. Nothing has been set yet with Cal, but you have to imagine the longer Gates waits to commit, the better Cal’s chances will be.