So I thought I’d try to get a discussion going. I took a shot at rating each group on a scale from 1-5, with 5 being in the top of the country, 4 top half of the conference, 3 middle of the pack in the conference, 2 being in the bottom half of the conference, and 1 gawd awful.

QBs - 2.5, could swing up or down depending on how good Jackson is
OL - 3, maybe this is more hopeful than reality, but I like some of the additions they’ve made
TE - 2, this appears to be one of the weaker groups on the team IMO
RB - 4, one of the strengths of the team. Ott is a dominant player, I’m hoping Cardwell can play, and I’m intrigued by JWT.
WR - 3.5, this could be higher, but there are some unknowns for backups. I hope that Hunter will be one of the best in the conference, but there are a lot of good WRs in the PAC.
ST - 1.5, new K and P (which is almost never good), overly conservative returning has been a hallmark for Wilcox, and coverage has never been great in his tenure. I do like Hunter as a PR if he is allowed to do something other than fair catch. I will be pleasantly surprised to be wrong here.
DL - 3, this depends a lot on how well Brett J comes back. I like Saunders a lot. Depth is a concern.
LB - 3.5, I’m a big Carlton fan and I hope he turns a corner this year. Sirmon is very good albeit not very exciting. I also like Jernigan. WILL side has some unknowns with Elarms-Orr and Allen. The potential is here for this to be an outstanding unit, but we are also an injury away from being average IMO. Blitzing capabilities will be key for generating some semblance of a pass rush.
DB - 4, I’m very high on our secondary (and the coaching there). I love Earby and Hearns and am a fan of Woodie and Woodson. Lots of good depth, too. This unit has a chance to be one of the best in the country, and they may need to be if we don’t create a pass rush.
Coaching - 3, this could go up if Wilcox gives Spavital the freedom to be aggressive and if Sirmon junks the bend-but-don’t-break philosophy. But I just haven’t seen Wilcox teams make adjustments or game plan as well as others in the conference (e.g., Smith), so I fear the coaching will always be mediocre in this reign.

Team - 3, I think we have a chance to be decent and maybe even finish with a winning record in the Pac, but we aren’t going to challenge for the championship. We might be a bit better than average, but also could be a lot worse. I’m thinking a 3 is about right here.

Thoughts?

Here ya go!

Hey everybody, as teased previously, I spent more than a half hour talking with Justin Wilcox a couple weeks ago for a wide-ranging Q+A. I'm breaking it into two parts -- here's Part 1 and the Part 2 will run tomorrow.


This is the last lull before we go non-stop for seven months through February signing day, so I do apologize that my communication has been a little quiet this last week, but I went from a work trip in Texas straight to a wedding in Florida and now up in Maryland seeing my family the last five days.

I'll have stories for you every day this week, though, from the interviews I did with Wilcox, Spavital and Sirmon before I left town. So this is just the kickoff ...

This board has been pretty quiet. Hope everyone is doing well.

Found a cool interview that Ott did. Kid is going to be a star with us. Really hope we can hold onto him for his whole college career.

not precise numbers, but at a glance, we offered some 170+ 2024 HS recruits. CA and TX each represent about 30% of those offers.

i don't think i've ever seen Cal offer that many OOS kids, especially this many in Texas, even under Sonny Dykes. the TX angle makes sense given the staff's connections while working at UNT, but just surprised me.

let's hope this strategy pans out?

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Just as a reminder, today is the day for Seattle-Garfield DB Rahshawn Clark to announce his commitment. Cal is the frontrunner heading into it with Washington, Oregon, Oregon State, Louisville and Michigan State being in the picture as well. I spoke with Clark last night, and he has already let everyone behind the scenes know of his decision and all that is left is to announce. He spoke highly of Washington, but his relationship with Terrence Brown has been vital throughout the process and is important to him.

Clark says he will have a decision announced this afternoon around 3 p.m.

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Right here:

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I caught up with Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney to discuss what Cal fans can expect with new quarterback commit EJ Caminong now that he is headed to play for the Bears. I also asked him about the impact the decision could have for the program moving forward this cycle since he has connections to other Cal targets. You can read the full evaluation at the link up top, and I've also included clips of Caminong in action this spring at the Under Armour NEXT camp in Mission Viejo.

Progress finally
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I flew to Florida for a wedding on Friday and I’m on a mini vacation until July 5. At which point I’ll have my Wilcox summer Q+A and start rolling out the other stories on that list.

Matt remains on top of any recruiting matters in the meantime.

Hope everyone here has a fun Fourth of July!

With the portal additions, my assessment is we’ve improved from (possibly) the worst OL in the p12, to about average. That’s a big improvement. My (current) grades for each player is the following:

Note my scale is 10=AA, 9=1st Team P12, 8=Honors P12, 5-7=from average to well above average P12 starter, 3-4=solid P12 backup, 1-2=Not P12 caliber player (yet, at least)

Presumed top 7 battling to start:
Wyckoff 6
Cindric 6
Vatikani 6
Miller 5
Session 4
Driscoll 4
Rohme 4

Next group of players:
Aguilar 3
Swinney 3
Johnson 2
Jemtegaard 1

Impossible to grade but assume 1s and 2s until there’s more data.
Ramsey
Tine
Morrow
Roberts

These grades don’t reflect ceilings. I’m expecting Vatikani to be a 7 or 8 next year for example.

For comparison and sense of improvement, last year I would have given Coleman a 6 and maybe Cindric and Vatikani 5’s.

This is the BIG recruiting weekend ...

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Wonder if MM would be interested…

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Cal adds a commitment from one of its top targets overall and its lone quarterback target in the cycle. Former Washington commit EJ Caminong is headed to the Bears after his weekend official visit. Texas A&M, Oregon State and BYU had been the other top schools in play as of late. Cal and Jake Spavital identified the Seattle-area prospect as the one target he wanted most at the position, and the Bears focused their attention on him and him only. The gamble pays off and now he is going to be a key part of the recruiting class moving forward.

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Hey now! A nice late addition up front for the Bears.

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That's 2 of the 4 teased commitments from the weekend ...

I would have pegged Washington State as the favorite for three-star TE Charlie Crowell entering the week, but it sounds like Cal put itself right in contention with his official visit experience this weekend.

Here’s what Caminong said coming off his official visit …

Priority QB EJ Caminong talks impact of Cal visit, upcoming decision

CP3 coming to the Dubs for Jordan Poole and picks. Thoughts?

Giving this its own thread!

Wiley is a big 6-foot-1, 215-pound running back out of Stafford, Texas, who averaged 5.0 yards per carry last season while rushing for 600 yards and 11 touchdowns while sharing the backfield with a senior RB.

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Cal picks up its second running back commitment for the 2025 class as former Granite Bay (now Folsom) recruit Carter Jackson has announced his pledge while on his latest unofficial visit with the Bears.


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3 star from Sac. Only other P5 offers are Arizona, Utah, WSU, and Syracuse (they are p5 right?). Super early though and things could change. Im cool with locking in 2025 players for RB. Here's hoping this kid blows up even more AND if so, the staff manages to hold onto him.

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