JuCo WR Jordan Veasy Commits to Cal
Golden West CC wideout Jordan Veasy was offered a scholarship today during his official visit and committed to Cal shortly thereafter. The commitment to the Golden Bears wraps up what's been a bit of a whirlwind recruitment for Veasy.
Veasy accumulated over 15 offers in just the last two months and was receiving heavy additional interest at the time of his Cal pledge. Cal's staff first became aware of him about six weeks ago, thanks to the efforts of Golden West Head Coach Nick Mitchell.
"Coach Mitchell gave Coach Franklin a call to tell him about me. Coach Franklin pulled up my film right then and there. He told Coach Mitchell I'd have a Cal offer as long as I could get admitted to the school."
Both Cal's offensive coordinator and inside receivers coach then tag-teamed Veasy's recruitment.
"I got in contact with Coach Peeler about a month and a half ago. He used to coach at Itawamba Community College, and he talked to the staff there about me. He reached out and very early asked me to save a date to take an official visit. After that, there were day to day talks with Cal. Coach Franklin came down for an in-home about a week ago and that's when we finalized the official visit."
Committed. 🙏🏾 pic.twitter.com/T8lRCfYV1T- Jordan Veasy (@iMarsBlackmon) December 14, 2015
Veasy had an idea that a scholarship offer could be coming, and knew what he would do were it to be extended during his stay in Berkeley.
"I knew going into the visit that I would commit if the offer came. But I wanted to treat it like a business trip. It wasn't that I was worried, I was just focused and anxious for it to come."
And it did, eventually. In the meantime, Veasy had an opportunity to meet the staff, the team, and take in the Cal experience.
"The visit itself was great. I got a feel for Berkeley, got to spend time with the guys. Met Coach Dykes, and got to meet all the strength coaches as well. Those guys and those facilities, I needed to get to know them well. We got to be there for the basketball game too, which was really exciting. It was just a great weekend and great time afterward, even with so many students in finals. I was sold."
And Sunday brought Veasy's one-on-one with Coach Dykes, and the offer he'd been waiting for.
"Coach Dykes and I met around noon. He offered me, then laid out their expectations for me. Cal likes me to play either inside or outside, and he said they'd be disappointed if I didn't come in and start this fall."
This is notable for a couple reasons. It's atypical for Cal's staff to not designate a wideout as an inside or outside guy. While Veasy has the size to play a Y potentially (a la Stephen Anderson or Darius Powe), he has some straight line speed and the length to potentially be a Kenny Lawler type as well. At 6'3" and 225 pounds, he brings both size and versatility.
Veasy's journey from prep star in high school to soon-to-be January enrollee at Cal has been a circuitous one. Primarily a baseball player in high school, his focus turned to football late, and a late growth spurt helped matters. Veasy headed to Faulkner University in Montgomery, Alabama for one year before transferring to Itawamba in Mississippi. Then things got complicated.
"I was set to start at Itawamba and then found out that I couldn't play the 2014 season at Itawamba because my classes from Faulkner hadn't transferred. I had to go to Auburn University-Montgomery to get the credits Itawamba needed. I cam back to ICC that spring, and got cut. The staff at ICC connected me with Golden West. I hada good year out there, but it could have been better."
It was a pretty good season at GWC, indeed. Veasy hauled in 63 receptions for 1036 yards and 11 touchdowns. He averaged over 16 yards per catch. He helped the Rustlers to an 8-3 record and was named an SCFA First Team All-Southern League performer.
"Cal is getting a hard-working player. I have a lot of goals to attain and lots of things I'm looking to do. I'm smart, and I put the team before myself. I'll make the guys around me better. I'm a good person first, and I can be a great player. I believe with the coaching I can receive at Cal, I could become the greatest receiver that's come through there."
Veasy held 15 scholarship offers in total, but was also receiving late interest from Texas Tech, Washington State and Auburn prior to his Cal visit and subsequent commitment. He'll have three years to play two once enrolled at Cal. He's grateful, but also confident.
"It took a lot of perseverance, hard work and want-to for me to get here. I've always wanted this =, and I've seen it coming. It's definitely cool, but it's what I've worked for. I believe my best football is still ahead of me. The best is definitely yet to come."
Veasy becomes the 23rd verbal commitment in Cal's 2016 recruiting class, and will be the seventh expected to enroll this January in Berkeley.