BELLFLOWER, California — Whether he ends up as the highest-rated prospect in Cal’s 2023 class or not, safety commit RJ Jones could be the most important recruit of the cycle for the Bears. The junior defensive back from Southern California powerhouse program St. John Bosco (Bellflower, California) jumped on the opportunity to make an early decision in favor of the Bears.

He committed to the program in early February over offers from programs such as USC, Oregon, Ohio State, Baylor, Ole Miss, Washington and Michigan among many others. Since that time he has been doing his part to get any other top Cal targets to join him up in Berkeley.

Jones was recently on campus for Cal’s big junior day, and he had many of his closest friends by his side. The four-star recruit has made it a priority for other top-level prospects to join him at Cal, and that is where his focus is at right now.

“It was a fun experience having all my guys out there,” he said after a workout at his school Thursday afternoon. “You want to play with the guys that you played with through high school. Having all my guys up there and me wanting them to come up there just shows my respect for these guys. I play with this guys, and I know they can play with me at the next level.

“I want them at the same school as me, and I know they have an opportunity to play early well.”

Ty Lee, Chris Snyder and Maliki Crawford are just a few of the prospects Cal hosted earlier in the month when Jones was on campus, and he continues to make those three defensive backs plus others his priority.