Cal’s 2021 class ranks No. 20 in nation
BERKELEY >> Only four of the 19 football players Cal signed Wednesday were able to play their high school senior seasons this fall. None of them were permitted to make campus visits.
Yet against that COVID-19 backdrop, the Bears came away with a 2021 recruiting class that has a strong Bay Area base, adds size and versatility to the roster and earned a No. 20 national ranking by ESPN.
“Overall, a very good class,” Cal coach Justin Wilcox said. “I think the physical traits are there, the want-to and the character are there, and the academic profile is there. We are really, really encouraged by this group.”
The Bears experienced “no drama” on early signing day,
Wilcox noted, with every player who had previously committed finalizing paperwork by early afternoon.
The recruiting website 247Sports ranked the Bears’ class at No. 25 nationally ( behind only Oregon and USC in the Pac-12) and Rivals listed Cal at No. 41.
Wilcox credited the program’s support staff for having the technical know-how to create virtual tours of the Cal campus and football facilities, allowing prospects and their parents to get a close-up look at what the program had to offer.
With the pandemic restricting face-to-face interaction, Wilcox said Cal’s recruits became heavily engaged with one another and the coaching staff on Zoom and FaceTime.
“We’ve got some big personalities in this group, which is great,” he said. “I don’t know if it’s that or if it’s that they’re at home and they’re using Zoom for their classes and that’s how they’re talking to their friends. They are really connected as a group.”
Continuing to solidify
their recruiting base in the Bay Area was again a priority. And Cal got several of the top local talents, led by tight end Jermaine Terry of Kennedy High in Richmond and defensive end Akili Calhoun of Liberty High in Brentwood.
They are among six East Bay prospects headed to Cal, along with eight from Northern California and 11 from within the state.
“We’re always going to start here,” Wilcox said. “We are really fortunate this year — there’s great players in the
Bay Area and they’re great fits for us. We want to keep all these guys home.”
Among the top players the Bears landed from outside the area were four-star wide receivers J. Michael Sturdivant from Flower Mound, Texas, and Mavin Anderson from Mission Viejo. The Bears hope they provide some deep-threat capability that has been largely absent.
Quarterback Kai Millner of Gilbert, Arizona, was among the four Cal signees who had fall seasons. He passed and ran for nearly 5,400 yards and accounted for 59 touchdowns in two varsity seasons.
Cal signed almost an entire starting defense — three linemen, four linebackers and four defensive backs. Seven of those players stand at least 6-foot-3 and a couple of them — defensive lineman Derek Wilkins of Irvine and linebacker Patrick Hisatake — measure 6-foot-5.
“Absolutely,” Wilcox said when asked whether adding length and height was by design. “When all things are equal, the bigger guys usually beat the little guys.”
Eight of the newcomers plan to enroll in January, including Terry and Calhoun.