Cal Football: Camp in Review, June 22nd

It was another sunny day in Berkeley for Cal's football camps, with the linemen coming in for the morning, and the skill players coming in for an afternoon on the Memorial Stadium turf. This was a big turnout for the skills camp, where it looked like 250 athletes or so descended on Berkeley for the afternoon.

First Impressions

- Cal hosted coaches from San Jose State, Fresno State, UC Davis, Eastern Washington and Columbia among others. Of note, SJSU head man Brett Brennan made an appearance in the morning, along with Bay Area legend and SJSU RB coach Alonzo Carter.

- Lots of local talent, and guys from up and down the west coast, and even guys from as far as St. Louis making the trip into Berkeley.

- The morning session was the lineman camp, but the afternoon skills camp had one offensive lineman, and Steve Greatwood worked with the kid for the better part of two hours. Justin Wilcox pumped him up as they broke the initial huddle.

- Camryn Bynum has a penchant for working after practice. He was hard at work after camp, along with Chigozie Anusiem, working with a couple kids from the camp, including 2021 DB target Ceyair Wright (from Loyola, holding an early Cal offer) and Donte Bowers

Who Stood Out:

Starting with the lineman camp, the first name that comes up is Turlock's Everett Johnson. Johnson, Cal's longest tenured commit, probably gets underrated by those following Cal recruiting. But he showed why he was one of Cal's first offers in the class of 2020 (and committed on the spot). Johnson's an athletic lineman at 6'7" and 280, and his experience playing basketball shows. He moves fluidly from his tackle spot, more than you'd expect of someone his size. In the broad jump, he landed cleanly and balanced. He might end up being a massive steal.

Other names from the OL/DL camp include De La Salle DL Ben Roe (an undersized bulldozer at 5'11" and 260 lbs.), Barlow (Gresham, Oregon) OL Ethan Wallis (moves well for his size, went 5 for 5 in stopping pass rushers in 1 on 1s), Kentwood (WA) OL Wyatt Hansen (won one of the lineman MVP awards), Valley Christian (San Jose) DL Max Dickson Jr. and Liberty (Brentwood) DL Payton Zdroik (very good in 1 on 1s, plays with great leverage)

From the skills camp, a handful of guys stood out, including the aforementioned Wright

- Max Lenzy, younger brother of Notre Dame's Braden Lenzy, took home some DB honors with strong play in 1 on 1 situations. The Tigard (OR) DB is quick, just like his brother, maybe a little undersized at DB, but he could be a solid nickel for someone in the future.

- Nate Rutchena, who holds a Cal offer, also earned some honors for being a versatile swiss army knife of a player, a role that Cal would likely want him to keep in Berkeley.

- Grant Daley, from De La Salle, earned wide receiver honors for strong play. At 6'2", Daley has a great catch radius and speed, and can make contested catches

- Jared Gipson, from St. Mary's in Stockton, made a couple adjustments to his routes while the ball was in the air to make catches. He had another strong camp, following a good performance at an ASU camp last week.

- One of the best names you'll find at quarterback, Whitney (Rocklin, CA) QB Eli Brickhandler won one of the QB MVPs. Brickhandler, who had previously attended the Rivals Camp Series a year ago, hit a growth spurt and looks like a completely different player.

- Zakhari Spears, another big Loyola DB who plays press coverage extremely well. His final rep, where he pressed the receiver off the line, sent Gerald Alexander and a plethora of DBs into a big celebration.

- Brian Kowall, who is Patrick Laird's heir apparent at Mission Prep in Arroyo Grande. Kowall has rushed for over 3000 yards as a varsity RB at Mission Prep

Other Shoutouts

WR Gaven Cooke, from Marin Catholic, earned WR MVP honors along with Daley, Bradley Schlom (from Chase Garbers' Corona del Mar), and Damien Moun (who plays with commit Ender Aguilar at Servite)

DB Hunter Escorcia, who also earned DB MVP offers, a 2020 DB from Vista Murrieta

QBs Ethan Grady (playing for Cal hall of famer Geoff McArthur at St. Monica HS in Santa Monica) and Cooper Wrenn (Andy Alfieri's quarterback at Jesuit in Portland)