2015 Foothill corner eyes Cal
Meet Isaiah Langley.
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Because the Cal coaches sure have.
The 6-foot, 170-pound cornerback-in-progress attended the Bears' Sonny Dykes Football Camp in June -- the second of two instructional sessions at Pac-12 programs for the 2015 Foothill Pleasanton prospect, who also made a trip to Eugene.
And while taking part in Cal's three-day full contact affair, the sophomore got "Hello, nice to meet yous" from virtually every member of the Cal staff, including two from head coach Sonny Dykes.
So why all the attention?
Well, this:
And also this:
When asked if any non-El Cerrito High players impressed him at the camp, 4-star linebacker and USC commit Derik Calhoun had this to say: "I would say Isaiah Langley. He goes to Foothill, he plays corner, he's an incoming junior, he looked nice."
Calhoun and the Bears aren't the only ones to notice how "nice" Langley has looked.
Georgia, Michigan, Utah, and Boise State were four of the first five programs to reach out to Langley along with California.
Oklahoma is the latest to show interest, and has been one of the most influential in Langley's recruitment: the Sooners unknowingly convinced Langley he needed to camp with the Bears at corner.
"They looked at my highlights, they did their homework and they like me better at corner than wide receiver. Wide receiver is actually what I wanted to play in college, but I'm actually reconsidering that.
"Cal was the first place I camped as a defensive back," Langley told GoldenBearReport at Witter Field following Day 2 of the three-day camp.
Langley played both ways last season and three different positions: WR, RB, and DB, plus did double duty as the Falcons kick and punt returner.
He started half the season at corner, splitting time with Jamirr Holland, a junior cornerback who has made two trips to Cal himself, plus has received interest from Oregon State, Boise State, Oregon, SDSU and Utah, but has yet to receive a DI offer.
"I think I can take his spot this year," Langley said.
And he'll have plenty of help: Langley will spend the summer training with Fresno-based defensive backs guru Tony Perry, plus continues to work with a mixed martial arts trainer who has helped the talented underclassmen with this hands.
And then there's Cal defensive backs coach Randy Stewart, who spent plenty of time with Langley at the Bears' camp.
"Coach Stewart taught me so much in these first two days," he said. "I know this is a new coaching staff from Louisiana Tech, they're just awesome, positive. Coach Stewart, Coach Likens -- those are very firey guys, energetic.
"I didn't meet Coach Stewart until today, and I actually met Coach (Andy) Buh yesterday and he was very thrilled to meet me, excited about my potential on the field as a corner."
Assistant head coach and outside wide receivers coach Rob Likens and Langley actually go (sorta) way back -- all the way to the Spring. Langley attended Cal's Junior Day and sat in on a wide receivers meeting with Likens.
And while the camp didn't end quite as Langley would've hoped, the Bears seem to have made quite the impact on the rising soph.
"I was hoping to get an offer, but man I've learned a lot. Building this relationship is great, especially only going into my junior year, it's great these coaches are seeing my potential.
"Coach Dykes talked to me two times exactly this camp, I'm just hoping they have a pretty good season and I'll be out here next year."
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