C/O 2018 Recruiting

[KUGRDON]

21 minutes ago, All Hail said:

Kid is going to be a baller -- trust me.  He is going to haunt everyone in the conference who didn't offer him. 

Profile: Patrick Nunn

Position: Athlete

Location: San Mateo (Calif.) Serra

Height: 6-3

Weight: 210 pounds

Recruiting: Washington State offered Nunn back in February and the athlete jumped on it Sunday. Surprisingly, the offer from the Cougs was Nunn's only offer out of the Pac-12, joining schools like Fresno State, Hawaii, Nevada and UNLV. He's definitely a Pac-12 level talent and among the most versatile players in the state. Washington State had a built in connection here as Cougar assistant coach Jim Mastro had coached Nunn's head coach at Serra, Patrick Walsh. Add it all up and the Cougs were going to be very tough to beat here.

What to Like: Nunn is a big receiver who really impressed at the Nike Opening Regional in Oakland over the summer. He's a physical kid who uses his size and strength to gain separation, has very good hands and is tough in jump ball situations. He does a nice job high pointing the football, catches the ball through contact and has excellent body control. He has a huge catch radius and is able to catch the football thrown just about anywhere near him. He's not necessarily a burner but can get off the line with a nice burst and already shows advanced route running skills. He has a big frame and shows the versatility to play multiple roles in an offense. He could stay at receiver or if he continues to grow and adds 20-25 pounds to his frame, he could easily transition to a hybrid h-back/tight end type and would cause severe matchup problems for an opposing tight end or safety. 

Areas to improve: Nunn is a good athlete but like all athletes entering college, can improve both his burst and top end speed. He has a big frame so he's never going to be one of those jitterbug type of receivers that is going to make a lot of people miss after the catch. He relies more on power and strength but as his speed and short area quickness improve, we can see him improving his ability after the catch as well as his ability to make plays down the field. 

Overall Analysis: After seeing Nunn up close at the Nike Camp as well as on film, he was a very under-rated recruit who should have been recruited at a much higher level. He's a pure football player, he knows how to play the game, is a smart kid and plays hard. He's a tough, hard nosed competitor and his style player translates very well to the next level. He offers some nice positional versatility as well and we think he fits in very well 

Author

Greg Biggins  @

[KUGRDON]

The Oregon State Beavers hosted 247Sports three-star outside linebacker/strong safety Halid Djibril last week, and it seemed they were in the mix to land his services.

However, on Wednesday morning, the 6-foot-2, 185-pound safety, out of Cathedral High School (Los Angeles, California), announced his commitment to Washington State over fellow finalists Oregon State, USC and Utah:

[All Hail]

Stolen from the Cal Rivals board. from a poster who has an incredible grasp of the recruiting world.  I'm not going to fault you if you decide not to read this novel but it does paint a very accurate picture of Cal's recruiting class.  I disagree a bit on Mafi as he is going to arrive on campus at or near 400 pounds and with a body like that, there is a good chance he is never able to fully recover from his torn ACL.  

 

The Good:

• The OL class. Thank god for ****** Greatwood. Our most valuable assistant for sure, and in a year where he needed to pull his weight on the recruiting trail...he surely did. Will Craig is probably the most important signee in the class as well as the highest ranked. Top to bottom, left to right, this is a really nice group.
• The two JuCos. Both Doughty and Isara should provide the kind of immediate plug and play contributions that Cal will need next season in the front seven. I really like what both will bring to the table from a physical standpoint too.
• Chigozie. If you're only going to maybe sign one DB, a 6'2 athletic corner works fine for me. He's got better physical tools than the guys on our roster, and based on what Alexander did with those guys, this has me excited.
• Tattersall. I really don't know how he projects exactly, but there's a lot to like. He's violent and physical, either with the ball in his hands or in pursuit. But he also has a higher athletic ceiling than your typical try-hard white guy. A true athlete.
• McCallan Castles. We don't have anyone like him on campus. Very underrated part of this class and a key in adding more physical pass-catchers to the offense. He could play early if his listed weight is legit.
• Nick Alftin. Really intriguing combination of size and athleticism. I think the defensive staff could do some cool things with him, though he will need some technical polish. Also nice to see a high-ceiling local kid commit early and just stick (shade).
• The Running backs. "Good", not great. I like both guys fine. But just fine. We needed two, and they could complement each other well. Both guys are good athletes and should have plenty of tread left on their tires. Upside is there, but not sure how high the ceiling is.

The Bad:

• Current lack of star power in the front seven. Lots of whiffs here. Thought the concentration of coaching acumen at LB (Wilcox/DeRuyter/Tuioti) would be more impactful than it has proven to be thus far. We'll see who they can reel in come NSD 2 but the pool doesn't seem like it'll be too deep. We need bodies AND difference makers.
• Lack of dynamism at the offensive skill positions. Remigio, Adams and Brown are all fine, but none of those dudes are gamebreakers. At least, not yet to my eyes. With guys like Robertson and Stovall shelved, it was painfully apparent that Cal had zero true filed stretching home run threats on offense. Not sure this class has solved that. The need was speed. Still is. Size too, specifically out wide. Would have liked a second receiver in this class. Jury is out on Edwards but I'm not seeing a rainmaker recruiter that we need. Maybe we were spoiled with Peeler. In fact, we absolutely were. Still, this shouldn't be a difficult pitch and there should be plenty of kids amenable to it.
• Using a scholarship for a longsnapper. Sorry, maybe I'm old fashioned but he better be worth it.
• No alpha dog in the class. I hate social media and its relationship with recruiting, but having committed recruits evangelizing a program and actively recruiting other prospects is an impactful thing. The lack of centralized leadership or an active, organized class presence was noticeable, especially late in the cycle. No dude stepped up. That was odd to me. Maybe it says something about them, or maybe it doesn't.

The Ugly:

• Mafi. This is real bad on a couple levels. Regardless of his injury and its impact on his availability next season, this was a dominant local defender at a need position. Great schematic fit, and unlike anyone on the roster. Potential difference maker and foundational piece of a defense. High character, good academics. The staff found him at a camp, offered, and snagged him. He was a model commit for six months. Then UCLA swoops in and away he goes. That is unacceptable. It may be partly symptomatic of the apathy around the program in the Bay Area due to years of mediocrity (or worse), and perhaps sustained success will change that. But **** man, you cannot lose this guy in this way. Its an indictment of the staff as recruiters, or maybe their plan as a whole, that a longtime commit would be so susceptible to a late charge from a conference rival. A local kid, nonetheless. This needs to change. Hiring ****ing McClure. Spend the money. This type of thing makes Cal look small time. This should not happen to a program that intends to become a factor, if not a force, in the conference. This one will chafe me for a while, whether they bring in Maldonado or not. Bad look.
• Kaz Allen. Cal was his dream school. He represented the exact kind of dynamic, home run threat that Cal so badly needs on offense, specifically at the RB spot. He was a silent commit for at least three months, then committed to UCLA within 48 hours of getting an offer, he immediately became an active and outspoken recruiter for the Bruins.Nut punch. Failure to close the kid and lock him in was a bad look. Time to bring in an actual RB coach.
• Shrout and QB recruiting. I don't frankly give a shit about JT Shrout. He was never going to come in and immediately help Cal. High ceiling, low floor. Losing him does not matter in the least to me. He was not the leader the class needed. But again, this was a longtime commit who seemingly bailed as soon as a perceived "bigger" program came calling. That's bad from a perception standpoint. Shrout himself represented a failing of QB recruiting in the 2018 class, as he was pretty far down the list of offerees. Whether the staff can reel in the promising looking Zachary Wilson remains to be seen, but they have painted themselves into a corner and placed a lot of pressure on signing a baller in 2019. Does this staff have it in them? The stink on Tui is appearing to be a real thing. Would love to be proved wrong but the data is piling up at this point.
• Perception. I've alluded to it above, repeatedly. Unfortunately, it overshadows what otherwise could be seen as a pretty good day. 17 out of 19 is nice. But outside of Craig, which solid commits were other programs making a credible run at? Any? Two of the more prominent and important (in Mafi's case, anyway) commits in Mafi and Shrout ditched their longtime commitments to Cal on the eve of Signing Day in favor or perceived "bigger" programs. Bad look, that makes Cal look less like a program on the rise and more like a stepping stone. This has to change. I will be anxiously awaiting the hires of the new defensive assistant and 10th coach, likely a RB coach, in the coming month or so. This staff needs more closers. Getting pantsed for recruits is tired, and I've had enough of it.

Grade: C+ so far. Some highs and some lows. As you can probably tell I have a bitter taste in my mouth, despite how much I like certain pieces of this class. Retaining key pieces should be seen as a failure at this juncture though, and that will temper my view of the class come February barring some real pleasant surprises down the stretch.This class does not push Cal towards the upper echelon of the conference yet. 

[KUGRDON]

Stanford taking a run at Max Borghi.

[MrBug708]

Was hoping we could pull on of Cals OT, but couldn't pull them from greatwood

[glduck]

i probably can't say as much about our class as rogue or dtd could, but i think things went about as well as could be expected today. we signed a nice base, weathered the expected number of decommits that accompany a coaching change (especially when the old coach was pulling kids from across the country) and hopefully now we can focus in on the remaining targets over the next six weeks. 

i think a serviceable jc quarterback is a must. there are rumblings that burmeister might transfer, which would leave us herbert, the true frosh signed today, and the scout team guy who they praised for mimicking khalil tate that one week of practice but yet could not sniff actual playing time. even if burmeister doesn't transfer, i want another qb on the depth chart.

[All Hail]

12 minutes ago, MrBug708 said:

Was hoping we could pull on of Cals OT, but couldn't pull them from greatwood

Well, you got Kaz Allen, who is more valuable than any of our OL save for Craig.  Greatwood is the one coach on the roster who can close and that's a problem. 

[MrBug708]

Did Spencer Webb sign with Oregon?

[trickydlck]

All 18 of UW's known commits signed and announced today. *yawn*

Sounds like we may be in on a couple more possibles.

[PapaG]

26 minutes ago, glduck said:

i probably can't say as much about our class as rogue or dtd could, but i think things went about as well as could be expected today. we signed a nice base, weathered the expected number of decommits that accompany a coaching change (especially when the old coach was pulling kids from across the country) and hopefully now we can focus in on the remaining targets over the next six weeks. 

i think a serviceable jc quarterback is a must. there are rumblings that burmeister might transfer, which would leave us herbert, the true frosh signed today, and the scout team guy who they praised for mimicking khalil tate that one week of practice but yet could not sniff actual playing time. even if burmeister doesn't transfer, i want another qb on the depth chart.

Running update of Oregon's class at the link.  12 signed so far including Stephens and Adrian Jackson, both of which are huge gets on defense for the back 7.  Burneister may as well transfer I suppose, but it can't be a lateral move.  FCS perhaps?  I just don't see him as an FBS starting QB.  I appreciate how he stepped in, but he was in way over his head and was the worst QB I saw play in FBS this season.  

 

http://www.oregonlive.com/recruiting/index.ssf/2017/12/oregon_ducks_early_signing_per.html

[KUGRDON]

1 hour ago, KUGRDON said:

Stanford taking a run at Max Borghi.

Probably just making sure they can get him in before he announces.

[MrBug708]

On 12/19/2017 at 1:38 PM, All Hail said:

Cal is going to "lose" JT Shrout (28 TDs 25 INT's) to Tennessee and is probably going to gain the commitment of Zach Wilson, who I like much better.  This will be the 2nd QB Cal has lost to Tennessee this recruiting class haha.  I am much sadder about losing Adrian Martinez than Shrout.  

UCLA really wanted Wilson and he was going to commit, but DTR pulled the I'm the only QB commit you guys are taking 

[Scscsc89]

Hail — what happened to the highly rated kid that USC and Cal we’re competing over last year — I think he was from Lancaster or Palmdale & he picked cal because the bears were willing to play him as a (RB?).

[Scscsc89]

If I’m reading rivals spreadsheet correctly, USC has 16 remaining open slots, with 3 of them ‘committed’.

Early enrollees:
OL Justin Dedich
LB Kana'i Mauga
LB Raymond Scott
DB Chase WIlliams 

Fall enrollees:
OL Liam Douglass
LB Palaie Gaoteote 
LB Abdul-Malik McClain
RB Markese Stepp

[KUGRDON]

7 hours ago, KUGRDON said:

Updated

OFFICIALLY SIGNED AND ANNOUNCED:

*WR Rodrick Fisher (6-3 204)

*DT Jonathan Lolohea (6-3, 210)
S/LB Halid Djibril (6-2, 185)
WR Drue Jackson (6-1, 190)
RUSH RJ Stone (6-4, 215)
WR Kassidy Woods (6-3, 200)
Safety D’Angelo McKenzie (5-11, 185)
DT Ahmir Crowder (6-3, 280)
CB Myles Green-Richards (5-11, 180)
LB Kedron Williams (6-1, 205)
OG Syr Riley (6-4, 323)
ATH Patrick Nunn (6-3, 206)
OT Jarrett Kingston (6-5, 260)
DE Brennan Jackson (6-4, 240)
OT Cade Beresford (6-7, 290)
*QB Cammon Cooper (6-4, 210)
*LB Kendrick Catis (6-1, 225)
WR Brandon Gray  (6-5, 190

STILL PROJECTED TO SIGN WITH WSU IN EARLY SIGNING PERIOD:

*RB Max Borghi
*WR Calvin Jackson
*Expected to enroll early at Washington State in January

____________________________________________________________

PROJECTED TO SIGN WITH WSU IN FEBRUARY SIGNING PERIOD:

OT Nick Lewis  
CB Erick Hallett 
DB Gatlin Grisso

 

 

[KUGRDON]

https://www.rachaelrayshow.com/lifestyle/23914_rodrick_jackson_spokane_washington_blind_side_interview/

[MrBug708]

https://articles.oregonlive.com/recruiting/index.ssf/2017/12/willie_taggart_chip_kelly_lead.amp?__twitter_impression=true

 

Some sour grapes haha

[glduck]

i’m not a nemac fan, but he didn’t write that article.

[Scscsc89]

6 hours ago, Scscsc89 said:

If I’m reading rivals spreadsheet correctly, USC has 16 remaining open slots, with 3 of them ‘committed’.

Only half right.  They have 16 open slots in this class but since they’re already at 84 (out of a maximum of 85) scholarships, they’ll only be able to sign one more than whatever number of players declare early for the draft, retire or transfer.

it makes you wonder if coaches are going to leave X number of spots open for last-minute Summer transfers to fill last minute needs

[MrBug708]

The LA schools did have the fewest amount of signees yeaterday, which is kind of interesting. Based on Chip's history, I wonder if he does that no visits for committed guys as hr dorsnt always chase the highly regarded ones but recruits for his system