DT Ashton Sanders decommits from Cal

Landing a commitment from Los Angeles-Cathedral defensive lineman Ashton Sanders was one of Cal's big early-summer recruiting wins back in June. The Bears battled Wisconsin throughout the process, and they ultimately were able to keep Sanders on the West Coast when he made his decision.

Sunday night, the three-star prospect backed off that commitment to the Pac-12 program and will reopen his recruitment.

"First and foremost I would like to thank Coach [Andrew] Browning, Coach [Justin] Wilcox, Coach AT [Aristotle Thompson], along with the rest of the staff, and fans for accepting me with open arms," Sanders wrote in a message posted to Twitter announcing his decision. "After a long time of consideration about my future, I will be de-committing from the University of California Berkeley. This has nothing to do with the program at Cal nor my relationship with the coaches. I feel this is what's best for me right now and will be re-opening my recruitment."

Cal and Wisconsin emerged as the two frontrunners in Sanders' recruitment in the spring, and both schools eventually hosted him on official visit in June. He made multiple visits to each school before coming to a decision.

Notre Dame, Washington, Utah, Arizona State and Colorado are some of the other programs that offered Sanders earlier in the process.

Ultimately, his relationship with Browning and the rest of the Cal coaching staff plus Sanders family connections to the Bay Area – he has relatives in Antioch – and the West Coast proved to be key in keeping him closer to home.

"I was able to fit in like I was there," he told Golden Bear Report after his recent official visit. "Another key thing, I have experiences with California people and the Bay is a lot more diverse than the Los Angeles area, so I would say I just feel more home -- a home feel."

Now the 6-foot-3 defensive lineman will hit the reset button on his recruitment as he nears the beginning of his senior season, which will kick off this Friday.

The blow that will come from Sanders' decision to back away from his Cal commitment will be lessened for the Bears thanks to a recent string of additions for the 2023 class. Three of the last four commits have come from defensive linemen plus the team is heavily involved in pursuing Gardena-Serra standout defensive lineman Frederick Williams III, who visited Berkeley a couple weeks ago.

Cal now holds commitments from nine prospects in the class with six of those recruits expected to contribute on defense at the next level.

Sanders finished his junior season at Cathedral with 36 tackles, 14 tackles for loss, four sacks and 16 quarterback hurries.