De La Salle ATH Lu-Magia Hearns Commits to Cal

The offer from Cal to De La Salle (Concord, CA) two-way star Lu-Magia Hearns was a big deal Wednesday.

"It’s great," Hearns told Golden Bear Report Wednesday, "it’s pretty much a dream come true."

It didn't take long for Hearns to turn that dream into a reality, committing Thursday to the Bears and joining Cal's 2021 class. Hearns is the 16th commit of the class, and the sixth northern California athlete to join the group, alongside Akili Calhoun, Ryan Lange, Jermaine Terry, Kaleb Higgins, and Moses Oladejo.

Hearns, who plays receiver and defensive back for De La Salle, was quick to accept the Cal offer, as the Bears check all the boxes for what he's looking for in a school.

"Everything Cal offers, with diversity," Hearns said, "we’re in the Bay Area, there are all types of people in the Bay Area, they have high academics, and they play big-time football. I’ve got an opportunity that I want. I definitely feel like all my hard work has paid off."

That hard work over the past few months helped to earn him a Cal offer in the first place, as Hearns physically grew and put in a ton of work during a global pandemic.

"Really, just between my hard work and the coaching staff I have (at De La Salle), my coach, coach (Justin) Alumbaugh put in a good word for me," Hearns noted, "and also my defensive coach, coach Ken (Nate Kenion) has been talking to coach Yates a lot and has talked to coach Wilcox. Between working out on my own, being able to work out with a few guys in my neighborhood, and being able to work out with people all over the area with KT Prep, we’ve been having 1 on 1 sessions on Saturdays, there’s a lot of talent out there staying out and competing with the best, which makes me better."

The main recruiter for the three-star athlete was defensive backs coach Marcel Yates, who Hearns had talked to at length during Cal's January junior day, and throughout the recruiting process, which led to the Wednesday offer.

"I’ve been more in contact with coach Yates than coach Wilcox," Hearns said, "it has been good, during the junior day I had a chance to have a great conversation with coach Yates, I feel like I got to know what type of guy he is, what type of coach he is. Coach Yates called me (Wednesday) just to congratulate me and offer me the scholarship, and from there I posted it on Twitter, I was getting calls left and right all day."

Cal will start him out on defense, likely at cornerback, as Hearns shows an aggressiveness on film that Yates liked.

"My aggressiveness and my versatility because I play both sides of the ball," Hearns noted on what Yates liked about him, "I don’t have any film returning kicks, but I return kicks as well, and he likes that I’m an all around player."

Hearns will be reunited with Ryan Lange, who he played youth football with, and will join a four-man defensive back class which includes Kaleb Higgins, Fatuvalu Iosefa, and Hunter Barth.

1. WR Mavin Anderson, Mission Viejo, CA (February 1st, 2020)

2. OL Bastian Swinney, Edina, MN (February 8th, 2020)

3. TE Jermaine Terry, Richmond, CA (February 24th, 2020)

4. DE Akili Calhoun, Brentwood, CA (March 7th, 2020)

5. QB Kai Millner, Gilbert, AZ (April 9th, 2020)

6. CB Kaleb Higgins, Folsom, CA (April 14th, 2020)

7. S Hunter Barth, Queen Creek, AZ (April 23rd, 2020)

8. DB Fatuvalu Iosefa, Mililani, HI (June 12th, 2020)

9. WR J. Michael Sturdivant, Flower Mound, TX (July 4th, 2020)

10. OL William Reed, Sammamish, WA (July 15th, 2020)

11. ILB Moses Oladejo, Elk Grove, CA (July 19th, 2020)

12. OL Dylan Jemtegaard, Yelm, WA (July 20th, 2020)

13. OL Ryan Lange, Pittsburg, CA (July 25th, 2020)

14. DL Myles Williams, Mission Hills, CA (July 31st, 2020)

15. OLB Patrick Hisatake, Portland, OR (August 2nd, 2020)

16. DB Lu-Magia Hearns, Pittsburg, CA (August 6th, 2020)

By Position

QB - 1

WR - 2

TE - 1

OL - 4

DL - 2

LB - 2

DB - 4

By State

CA - 8

AZ - 2

WA - 2

HI - 1

MN - 1

OR - 1

TX - 1