Great interview, really enjoyed talking to him. My gut feel would be that they have a major shot but Oregon State might be the top challenger.

Login to view embedded media
Login to view embedded media
He headlines the list of visitors this week, which I'll post momentarily.

With ASU higher than us, I think it's time we stop praising coaches for APR results:

Muti year scores:

Football

Washington: 993
Utah: 991
Stanford: 985
Arizona State: 983
Cal: 975
USC: 975
Oregon State: 973
Arizona: 965
Oregon: 960
Washington State: 959
Colorado: 954
UCLA: 947

* Basketball

Arizona State: 1000
Stanford: 998
Arizona: 990
USC: 988
Washington: 987
Cal: 970
Washington State: 970
UCLA: 969
Oregon State: 960
Colorado: 956
Utah: 955
Oregon: 948

"Police say 22-year-old Aaron Maldonado shattered a car window with his bare hands, then punched two men and a woman last week, sending one of the men to the hospital.

Maldonado, who is from the Los Angeles area but had moved to Berkeley for school, began at Cal in 2018. But he struggled due to medical issues including injuries, according to news reports.

“He showed promise in his first two seasons with 13 tackles and 3.5 sacks. He was a 3-Star recruit for Cal in the 2018 class out of La Puente (Calif.) Bishop Amat High School,” 247 Sports reported in April. But Maldonado then missed all of the 2020 football season and nearly all of 2021 due to injury, according to the sports news outlet.

A witness to one of last week’s Elmwood attacks described the assailant to Berkeleyside as “gigantic, and out of his mind.” The witness told Berkeleyside that “people tried to intervene but he is really enormous.”

Despite Maldonado’s size, one bystander did succeed in pushing him off of a 65-year-old man he had knocked to the ground and was choking with both hands, according to court papers.

Police were called to the Elmwood neighborhood at about 1:20 p.m. June 6 after Maldonado shattered the window of a woman’s Prius then walked up to a 54-year-old mother and her two young children who were near Gordo Taqueria, at 2989 College Ave. (near Ashby Avenue), according to BPD.

According to court papers, Maldonado “yelled unintelligible words at her” then “hit her face and head causing her to fall on her knees.”

He then walked inside Gordo, saw a man who was in line to order food and punched him several times in the face, according to court papers.

Did he de commit?

Looks like UW didn't include Jackson Sirmon in their last of '22 grads? Not cool. Time for some Cal Twitter trolls to come out.
Login to view embedded media

Login to view embedded media
Full story coming up!

Login to view embedded media
This one is right up there with the Stanford kid who tries to jump up on the table but tips it over and puts himself on the kidney transplant list instead.

Four-star CB Ryan Yaites

Login to view embedded media
Three-star OT Amos Talalele

Login to view embedded media
Three-star ILB Cade Uluave

Login to view embedded media
Three-star TE Chico Holt

Login to view embedded media
Three-star OL Elishah Jackett

Login to view embedded media OL Tobias Raymond

Login to view embedded media

This was mostly just to see where things stand with Cal and whether he had an OV planned, so it's a quick update.

Also says we have the worst WRers in the Pac-12 and 11th best QB situation. Pointed out we were +10 in Turnover margin last year and return little of our 2021 production. No link. Just got the digital version.

Cal has offered two quarterbacks in the last two days changing the look of the recruiting at the position in the 2023 class. The latest offer that went out today to Florida State commit Chris Parson is an intriguing one and one that could pick up some traction thanks to his connection to Bears priority target Mikal Harrison-Pilot. I wrote up an overview of the last couple weeks at the quarterback position in the story above assessing how things have come together heading into the summer.

My opinion is that Cal ends up with one of the four quarterbacks in focus right now, but figuring out who is still a bit TBD at this stage.

after Day 1 of NCAA Decathlon championship. Go Bears!

Here is Jesse's defensive breakdown. If you missed the offensive depth chart projection, it's linked inside here as well:

It's down to Cal and UCLA for the three-star LB from Utah:

Jim and Jenny appear to be taking big hits in the media, seemingly trying to deflect criticism with smoke and mirrors and then being caught in the open with their pants down,

Whoever is advising Jim and Jenny as crisis managers must have previously represented Sandusky.

Tony Gonzalez, Marshawn Lynch and Ron Rivera on the ballot ...

Let's keep a running thread for all announced official visits that are upcoming:

Login to view embedded media

Login to view embedded media
Tampa-based 2023 offensive lineman James Jenkins locked in his first official visit last week. Cal will be hosting the 6-foot-6 tackle recruit in early June as he plans to make the trek across the country to see the Bears in person for the first time. Cal's coaches have done a good job of building a strong relationship with Jenkins where he feels like there hasn't been much of a difference between the recruiting process with the Bears versus the other schools involved that he has been able to see in person. He has an interesting offer list with schools from different levels all in the mix. Duke, Ole Miss, Penn State and USF have emerged as the top contenders, along with Cal, since they have remained in the most consistent contact with him.

He definitely sounds very intrigued by the Bears already as it is a program that checks all the boxes for him. Cal will be in a strong position to land his commitment if the trip goes well with the one potential hurdle being the distance away from home. Jenkins didn't mention it as a possible road block for the Bears, but he is more familiar with the programs closer to home. Duke and Penn State are two other programs that are likely to get an official visit from him, but Cal has done a good job of separating itself among the group of offers he has on the table.

“I’ve never been to the West Coast, so I can’t wait to go see it for myself. It’s beautiful out there. The number one public institution. Then also the coaches. I have pretty much all the coaching staff in my phone, and they talk to me on a daily basis. I feel like they really want me there. So, that’s why I’m going out to see it, and it’s also just a great place to be out there in Berkeley.”

Login to view embedded media

Cal men varsity eight won the IRA national title today. Congratulations, GO BEARS!

One of the all time greats. I absolutely loved watching him dominate at Cal https://www.espn.com/nfl/story/_/id/34031362/center-alex-mack-announces-retirement-13-nfl-seasons

Sadly Cal's run of great nfl talent, brought in my Tedford but not backfilled by subsequent coaches, is fading. I'm sure Desean, Jordan, and Rodgers won't be too far behind.

Login to view embedded media
Very happy for him getting a shot to coach his own team. Cal will need a new ST coordinator now obviously.

Login to view embedded media

Cal forward DJ Thorpe is retiring for medical reasons the team announced today. He is going to remain at Cal and finish his undergrad work but his playing career is over. Thorp missed all of last season because of injury.

"I'm grateful for our entire medical staff and their assistance throughout this process, most specifically Barry Parsons and Dr. Lindsay Huston; their continued support was invaluable during this difficult time," Thorpe said in a statement provided by the program.

Thorpe appeared in 53 games over the course of his career with the Bears.

"I'm heartbroken that D.J. will be unable to continue his basketball career despite his strenuous efforts to battle back from the injury he suffered this past season," Cal head coach Mark Fox said. "However, I'm thrilled that he will continue to work toward earning his degree from Cal and our program looks forward to fully supporting him in that pursuit."