First off, let me preface this post by stating that I very rarely post about about recruiting. I actually used to write about it much more so, but it became so unmanageable time-wise, and quite frankly, there are other sites that do a much better job with it, with far more resources.
With that said, I've sense a little hand-wringing lately about the lack of news on the recruiting front. Even more, with the news of RB DJ Martin decommitting, or being dropped by Cal, some have found it necessary to get a bit restless.
I find this to be...a little much.
Granted, this worrying is probably only reflective of a very small, but vocal minority of Cal fans. I'd venture the vast majority of folks are quite content just living their lives in freaking June.
But, just so I can shed a little perspective here.
This time last year the Bears had just two recruits signed on, junior QB Zach Kline who had committed at the beginning of his junior year, and De La Salle linebacker Michael Barton.
The Bears went on to have a Top 25 recruiting class. This was after the whole Lupoi-fiasco, mind you. Of course, one could comment that Lupoi's presence was integral to building the class and his departure only negated what could have been Cal's best class ever, but that's a whole other discussion.
Right now, the Bears have five commits. Jared Goff is a 4 star QB, already considered one of the nation's best and one of the first prospects added to the Elite 11 discussion after dominating at regionals.
They also have a pair of DB recruits in Trey Cheek and Shon Atkins. Both are a bit of under the radar 3 star prospects, but are about as athletically gifted as they come and have been tearing it up in the camp circuits lately. 4 stars for either aren't out of the question.
They also picked up Chad Whitener, a 3 star MLB from the recruiting hotbed of Mansfield, Texas who notched a ridiculous 197 tackles last year.
And after all the worrying about special teams, the Bears coaching staff did exactly what fans have been crying out for for years in offering a kicking specialist in Matt Anderson. A former teammate of Zach Kline at San Ramon Valley High School, some recruiting sites have Anderson as high as the second best kicker in the nation, and he's outshined some of the nation's best in recent camps.
The point point is, relax. It's June. The Bears have built a nice foundation for a class by addressing specific needs.
Almost as important, the players who have jumped aboard the Cal Express seem to be very much on board and appear to be doing their part to recruit quite actively for the Bears. I have a lot of confidence we'll end up with a solid class. And if we don't, let's all agree to start worrying about it, in say, December? A good two months away from National Signing Day, yeah?
Sounds a bit healthier, no?
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