Early 2018 NorCal Targets
Early in the 2018 cycle, Cal has their eye on a few Northern California targets, something Justin Wilcox stressed in his introductory press conference. Cal had missed out on a number of name recruits in the Bay Area in the past, and they've been working to solidify efforts in the Bay, the Sacramento area and the Central Valley. They already have one of the higher rated Bay Area players committed in Antioch LB Omari Harris, but with the 2018 class hoped to be a massive one (in quantity and quality), the Bears have a number of targets in the area.
Jevon Holland - DB - Bishop O'Dowd
Holland, who was recently offered by head coach Justin Wilcox during a visit to Berkeley, is in the mold of the larger defensive back that the Bears lost in fellow Bishop O'Dowd DB Je'Quari Godfrey from the class of 2017. Holland has a plethora of offers, and his favorites included Cal, UCLA, Arizona, and Boise State last week, but recent Utah and Louisville offers could join those. Holland is a versatile defensive back, playing both corner and safety for a state title winning O'Dowd team, playing corner in place of Godfrey.
Will Craig - OL - Granite Bay
Craig, from Granite Bay outside of Sacramento, was offered last fall by the previous staff, but has been in contact with offensive line coach Steve Greatwood recently. He has offers from five other Pac-12 schools, as the Arizona schools, Colorado, UCLA and Washington State have all offered him. UCLA looks like the early competition for Cal with Craig. Cal's looking for a number of offensive linemen in the 2018 class, after losing six scholarship linemen from the 2016 roster and getting only two in with the class of 2017. They're set to lose only one after 2017, RG Dwayne Wallace, but this is the class to reload on offensive linemen, with Craig and a number of local recruits. Craig fits the athletic lineman mold that Greatwood recruited at Oregon, playing left tackle, but could shift around a number of spots, considering the Bears need more depth in the interior of the line.
Max Barth - OL - St. Mary's (Stockton)
Barth, coming from a team that won a state title in the fall, has a concrete visit date set, visiting the Bears on March 11th before a visit to UCLA on March 18th. Barth was offered last fall by the Bears, and holds offers from the Bruins, along with Oregon and Utah, which he received within the last week. Barth plays tackle for St. Mary's, but again, could move inside to play guard with how well he gets to the second level and pulls across the formation.
Blake McDonald - OL- San Ramon Valley
McDonald received his first offer from Cal in the fall, attending a number of Cal games in 2016, but his recruitment is heating up now after a couple strong performances in the camp circuit. A first team all-conference lineman, McDonald has more of the tackle build, being a solid blocker downfield while not necessarily being as mobile as Craig or Barth. He looks to be a more fundamentally sounds run blocker, with a big frame to build off of.
Isaah Crocker - WR - Inderkum
Crocker has blown up in the recruiting game recently, receiving a Notre Dame offer along with offers from the LA schools, the Oregon schools, and a couple other Pac-12 teams. Crocker, who grew up as a Cal fan in Sacramento, would be one of only a couple WR takes for Cal if he chooses to come (due to the depth of talent at the position), but projects well on the outside receiver spot, especially on end zone fades. The clip below is from a seven on seven competition at Skyline in Oakland a couple weeks ago.
Recruiting Crocker also signals a return to recruiting the Sacramento area, something that fell off in recent years. Guys like Gavin Reinwald and Jordan Kunaszyk provide a start, but getting guys like Crocker and Craig would help solidify ties with high schools in the area.
Tuli Letuligasenoa - DT - De La Salle
Currently the top rated player in the Bay Area by Rivals, the De La Salle DT would fill an immediate need for the Bears as a big, space eating defensive tackle. He visited Cal during the Utah game last season. The Bears have a lot of work to put in with Tuli, who called an offer from USC his dream offer, and plans on visiting the LA schools in the spring and deciding on a school after his senior season.
Tyler Manoa - DT - St. Francis (Mountain View)
Manoa, from the same school as Cyrus Habibi-Likio, has blown up recently as well, though he doesn't currently hold a Cal offer. He visited Cal last weekend, along with teammate Viliami Fehoko. He was committed to BYU before decommitting and receiving offers from Arizona, Minnesota, and San Jose State recently.
Manoa, a 1st team all-Bay Area performer, would also fill a position of need, as the defensive line will lose standouts James Looney and Tony Mekari in 2017, and Manoa has the size to immediately fit in.
Miles Owens - OT - Bishop O'Dowd
A big local lineman without a Cal offer at this point in time. Owens, another member of the state title winners, has the size to play at the next level, and is getting the offers to follow, receiving Oregon State and UCLA offers with more to come. Owens is a much more raw prospect than the other offensive linemen on this list, but you can't teach size, and Owens has that in spades, and can develop into a solid offensive lineman.