A Cal football recruiting Christmas list for 2017

Cal football still has a bit of a small recruiting class as we cross into January. The Bears sit on 14 commits, two JUCOs signed, and perhaps a few early entry players coming our way in the next month (you should hear some news on them in early January).

The Bears have their own holiday shopping list when it comes to the recruiting trail. For those wondering who are the likeliest to commit for Cal, here’s a short list of the recruits in play to commit next to Cal.

Luckily, all these potential commits are at positions of need.

Victor Jones: Inderkum defensive end from Sacramento

Jones currently holds offers from Oregon State and Utah in the Pac-12 along with Nevada, Colorado State and Hawaii from the MWC. But Jones has had only nice things to say about Cal from his previous visits, and it’s the best offer in terms of overall proximity. I expect if Cal were to land another defensive lineman, it would be Jones.

Jones will take his officials into January and make a decision soon after. I feel good about Cal’s chances.

Cyrus Habibi-Likio, Mountain View (Ca.) St. Francis athlete (LB/running back)

We addressed Habibi-Likio yesterday, but considering Cal is recruiting him as a linebacker/safety, he is probably one of the top priorities for the Bears.

There is currently zero buzz from any recruiting sites regarding Cal recruiting any major linebackers. Colin Schooler was the only name that popped up in December, but he appears to be locked into a UNLV-Arizona battle at the moment. Cal definitely wants probably three or four linebackers in this class, but are currently sitting on only two. There is work to be done here.

Habibi-Likio has to be a top priority among all the remaining prospects available. He would be in the rotation immediately next season.

Nick Ford, San Pedro (Ca.) offensive lineman

More on Ford later this week, but he’s the offensive lineman most likely to become a Bear that’s still available on this board. Ford has the Cal bloodlines and really liked what he saw on his official trip. He has several other Pac-12 offers from Arizona, Oregon State, Utah and Washington State, but Cal seems to stand tall.

Obviously, the Bears are going to go after other players as well, but those are the three most prominent names left from the 2017 class that I feel Cal has the best chance at receiving as late Christmas gifts!