Profile

Andy Alfieri is a 6’3”, 230-pound Linebacker from Portland, Oregon, a product of Jesuit Highschool. He is rated as a consensus three-star recruit. Alfieri committed to Cal on May 11, 2019.

As the number two ranked Outside Linebacker in Oregon, Alfieri’s recruiting experience was largely dominated by Pac-12 schools, receiving offers from Oregon, Oregon State, Utah, and Airforce, with interest also expressed by Stanford; however, Stanford did not end up extending an offer. Alfieri was initially expected to sign with Oregon State before selecting Cal in what was a surprising decision.

Alfieri has not yet posted forty-yard dash, high jump, or shuffle statistics. It’s safe to say; however, that he is exceptionally athletic based on the available tape, and he is the second member of his sibling group to play college football, with his brother Joey Alfieri being Oregon’s number one player in Oregon’s class of 2014.

Alfieri will enter a fairly deep and very well coached linebacking corps when he arrives at Cal (presumably in the Spring). Alfieri will add critical depth, a key team facet which Cal has noticeably lacked during the 2019 season, and has the opportunity to learn from veterans such as Tevin Paul, Cameron Goode, Kuony Deng.

Scouting Report

Alfieri has been touted as the state’s number one recruit, and for good reason. He has great agility and athleticism with a high work rate, intensity, and an ability to come off of blocks while keeping his head up to find the ball. His speed is arguably his greatest strength, which enables him to come off of the ball and get into the backfield, as he is especially effective in edge-blitz packages, but can also drop into coverage. Alfieri can play inside and stuff the run, or be used as a versatile, traditional outside linebacker. He also plays running back, and can be a multiple carry back while also being an effective fullback. He is comparable to a more intelligent version of Kiko Alonso and, as it seems, without the dirty hits on his tape.

The proverbial elephant in the room surrounding Alfieri is an injury sustained during a week one victory of his senior season. A twinge in his back that only became a serious concern after the game, when scans revealed a transverse process fracture on the L3 Vertebrae, a season-ending “freak injury” in the words of Alfieri. Alfieri has seen a specialist and has begun physical therapy, with the usual healing time for a transverse process fracture being 4-6 weeks. As NFL quarterbacks Tony Romo, Cam Newton and Derek Carr can attest, this type of injury usually does not result in career-ending complications. In an interview with the Oregonian in September, Alfieri commented, “Once we meet with the specialist, we’ll have a better understanding of what we’re working with… I want to attack physical therapy and get back to 100 percent, however long it takes to heal and not be in pain – to be myself again.”

Alfieri by all accounts will be a great fit for the Cal football program, and it is a testament to the strength of this coaching staff that they were able to draw a top talent out of the state of Oregon. He could very well be one of the first two-way players Cal has had in recent memory, and it could even be interesting to see Alfieri team up with his former rival Casey Filkins from Lake Oswego.