Hendrickson (TX) OLB Curley Young Jr. Makes the Call for Cal

As the dead period ends, committing season begins anew in Berkeley. About a year since the Bears had a four commit run that upped the 2018 class (in Will Craig, Evan Tattersall, Miles Owens, and Chigozie Anusiem), the Bears landed an outside linebacker in the mold of what Tim DeRuyter wants from the position in Curley Young Jr. The Hendrickson HS (Pflugerville, TX) product committed on a visit to Berkeley for the Bears first ever California Cookout.

DeRuyter had eyes on the Texas native during a Texas State camp earlier in the summer, which led to the offer. Young, who's listed at 6'2" and 210 lbs by Rivals, was pulled aside by DeRuyter (per our Nick Krueger) and was told that the Bears had an eye on him.

Young, who was named 'Mr. Confident' by Rivals Analysts at the Houston edition of the Rivals 3-Star Camps, projects as an outside linebacker for the Bears, and much like his fellow OLB commit Orin Patu, he's played mostly defensive end with his hand down in the dirt. Much like Patu and current starter at OLB Alex Funches (who played with his hand in the dirt exclusively until coming to Cal), he's expected to come out of a two-point stance off the edge, likely at the rush linebacker spot when he adds a bit more weight. Young's strong for his size, with good burst right off his get off.

With his commitment, Young becomes the third Texas high school football player to commit to Cal in this cycle, joining Miles Williams and McKade Mettauer. Young is a 3-star (5.6) OLB, and his commitment puts the Bears at 29th in the Rivals team recruiting rankings.