Would Lupoi be right fit at Cal?

Top Alabama recruiter friends with Bears new coach: has Blues baggage

Tosh Lupoi hasn’t played a down for Cal in more than a decade and hasn’t been associated with the school in years.

But the potential for him to join new coach Justin Wilcox’s staff is perhaps the hottest of hot-button issues among Old and Young Blues as the new regime coalesces.

Wherever Lupoi goes, controversy follows. So does talent. Known as a brilliant recruiter and sound defensive coach, Lupoi has spent the past three seasons working for the top program in the country, Alabama, where he is compensated handsomely. (Lupoi earned $550,000 last season, according to USA Today.)

Can Wilcox lure his friend and former co-worker to Berkeley?

Can Cal afford him?

Would the administration even approve of Lupoi’s return?

His departure in 2012 left such a bitter taste that the California Golden Blogs website published this headline: “Tosh the Traitor Backstabs Jeff Tedford, Backstabs Cal.”

Oh, and then there’s the small matter of Lupoi’s alleged NCAA violations.

But Lupoi’s reputation as a recruiter is such that the Bears might consider taking the risk.

“Big key would be if (Wilcox) brings Tosh with him,” said Greg Biggins, the National recruiting Director for Scout.com. “One of the best there is.”

Lupoi knows the Bay Area recruiting scene like few others. He played for De La Salle High and was a defensive lineman for the Bears.

He coached the position during the Jeff Tedford era, experiencing highs and lows. A driving force behind some stellar recruiting classes, he was the Rivals recruiting service’s 2010 recruiter of the year.

That same season, he instructed players to fake injuries against Oregon and was suspended for one game as a result. (Several Cal sources believe Lupoi was unfairly targeted by the scapegoat-seeking administration.)

He left Cal for Washington in the winter of 2012 in controversial fashion: Lupoi was recruiting top prospect Shaq Thompson to Berkeley while in talks with the Huskies. He switched employers, Thompson switched schools, and many Cal fans called foul.

While at Washington, Lupoi was accused of paying $4,500 for a recruit to take online classes.

According to the Seattle Times: The NCAA “stopped short of clearing Lupoi or UW of wrongdoing but after a six-week investigation noted that ‘the enforcement staff does not believe that further action is warranted.’ ”

When Chris Petersen became the Huskies coach, he did not retain Lupoi.

Alabama scooped him up, installing Lupoi first as a defensive analyst, then as outside linebackers coach.

Will he remain in Tuscaloosa, or return to his alma mater?

The answer should come in the next few hours and days. Contact Jon Wilner at jwilner@bayareanewsgroup.com or 408-920-5716.