Allensworth pulls the trigger

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As he sat in the aluminum bleachers set up at Witter Rugby Field before the California football team's first fall practice, three-star cornerback Darius Allensworth wore two things of note - an ear-to-ear grin, and a grey hoodie with the walking bear emblazoned on the front.

When asked if Bears fans would have some good news in the coming days, he smiled and said, "We'll see."

On Thursday, as Cal took the field at California Memorial Stadium for the first time since Sat., Nov. 27, Allensworth stepped to a podium in Romoland, Calif., nearly 450 miles away and picked a blue and gold chapeau off of a table.

"I'm committing to the University of California, Berkeley," Allensworth told BearTerritory on Wednesday night. "The education is the No. 1 public education in America. My friend Cameron Hunt is coming up with me, and we're close friends. It seems like Cal is doing something different in the Pac-12 North, and I feel that we have a chance to win it in the next couple years."

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Allensworth said that as he watched practice that gloomy day on August 3, he didn't quite know that he would commit to the Bears.

"I had a feeling, but I wasn't 100-percent sure," he said.

As he walked around Strawberry Canyon that day, taking in the nearly-complete stadium and the new Simpson High Performance Center, things became clearer and clearer.

"Oh, that was nice," Allensworth said. "It was a nice place. It really surprised me. Even the coaches' offices were really nice. The whole school is a nice place.

"I looked at [the stadium] as I was on my way up to practice, up on the hill. I went up there and looked through the fence a little bit, and it was looking nice. They had a lot of the field in when I saw it. It looks like it's going to be one of the nicest stadiums in America."

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Allensworth spent much of practice intently watching the defensive backs, paying particular attention to the style of coach Ashley Ambrose.

"Coach Ashley Ambrose is just a top-flight coach, and seeing him interact with the guys, how good he was with them, it showed me that I wanted to be there," Allensworth said.

The 5-foot-11, 175-pound cornerback -- who became the third corner to commit in the 2012 class, following Trey Cheek and Shon Akins -- is rated as the No. 43 corner in the nation. His work ethic and the importance of family played a large part in him forming a relationship with head coach Jeff Tedford.

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"When they offered me a few months ago, he was the one talking to me," Allensworth said. "Not even the assistant coaches, or the recruiting coordinator -- the head coach was talking to me, so I knew he was a special man and he really wanted me to come to the university."

Stay tuned throughout the day for more on the Allensworth commitment!