DL Ricky Correia Breaks Down his Cal Commitment
It didn't take Ricky Correia long to make his call for the Bears.
Eleven days after the Central nose tackle received his offer from the Bears, he decided that Berkeley was where he wanted to be, joining teammate Jeremiah Hunter as a part of Cal's 2020 class.
"I’ve been talking to coach Browning and coach Wilcox since I got the offer," Correia said, "on the visits I’ve talked to them face to face, and they told me if they offer me and this is a place I want to go, they want me to jump on board. I thought about it, I felt it was the best place for me, so I jumped on board."
Correia gave the Bears something they didn't have in the current class, a potential nose guard. He also continued a trend in the class, which is the Bears having success in Central California. Correia joined Hunter, Everett Johnson, and Trey Paster in the class from the central part of the state, a place where Cal hadn't had as much recruiting success in recent years.
"It’s good to see that that area is not as slept on," Correia said, "because we’ve always had some talent coming through here. We can see that we’re on the rise and we’re going to get better as we go on."
Hunter, Johnson, and Paster have been the main guys congratulating Correia in the class, along with running back commit Chris Street. Correia's also been hearing from Zeandae Johnson since the announcement as well.
"Yeah I talked to him and Zach Angellilo (another Fresno guy) since I committed," Correia noted, "they were excited, they were pumped up, telling me nothing but good things, same as before."
A December official visit is next on the docket for Correia, something that'll give him more time to get to know Andrew Browning a little bit better off the field. The Central defensive lineman already likes the energy that Browning brings on the field.
"I think he’s gonna be a good coach," Correia said, "he has great energy on the field, as I can tell watching him through the pregame warmups and hearing from coaches. I think I’ll be able to do well under him and learn a lot."
He'll also get more time to learn about the academic aspect of Cal, something that drew him to committing as well.
"That was a big part of why I chose Cal, the life after football," Correia said, "there’s so many opportunities that that gives you."
With all that in mind, Correia's got a single focus for his Central squad, one that sits at 8-0 right now and is one of the top teams in the state.
"I’m feeling great, our team is making a great run," Correia said, "we’re undefeated right now, and hopefully we can get to the state title."
Per Maxpreps, Correia has recorded 44 tackles, with 9.5 tackles for loss and 2.5 sacks.