OL Dylan Jemtegaard Becomes Latest to Choose Cal

Some commitments come far down the line after an offer. In the case of Yelm offensive lineman Dylan Jemtegaard, a commitment came near immediately after the offer came from Cal Sunday, as the 6'4", 295 lb offensive lineman announced his commitment to the Bears Monday.

"I think from the beginning," Jemtegaard noted, "my dream was to play in the Pac-12, and the second part to come with that was to have a nice balance of high academics and high football (success), and I think Cal is one of the best, if not the best example of high football and high academic excellence. Even as a person, I fit into the mold that they’re looking for in that way, that’s why Cal has stood out to me, in being the perfect fit."

This has been a process over a couple of months for Jemtegaard and Cal, as the Yelm lineman committed to Justin Wilcox over the phone Monday. He received the offer Sunday after a virtual visit with offensive line coach Angus McClure, director of recruiting strategy Marshall Cherrington, and director of on-campus recruiting Benji Palu. Offensive line graduate assistant Will Heck has also played a role in his recruitment.

"It has been a pretty long process with Cal, I know they like to look into the student-athletes they offer. It started off pretty slow, having them get to know me, getting through my transcripts and watching film," Jemtegaard said. "Eventually when they felt comfortable, which was now, the timeline moved on and they were able to forward an offer to me. They actually gave it to me at the end of the virtual tour, right as I thought we were going to log off, they dropped the bomb on me and gave me the big surprise. I had a bit of an emotional meltdown (in receiving the offer), it has been quite an emotional roller-coaster of a day, but it has been great to tell everybody the news."

Cal is bringing in Jemtegaard in a similar role to fellow Washington state native Matthew Cindric, as a lineman who can line up nearly anywhere among the five man group to be successful.

"They said they like my tenacity and my ability to be versatile on the field. They’re recruiting me to play most of the positions up front," Jemtegaard said, "and they think I can play that sort of ‘flex’ offensive line position. That’s one of the qualities they like in me the most, along with (the fact that) Cal is a great academic institution, and I have the grades to support that as well (with a reported 3.95 GPA)."

Jemtegaard, unlike the rest of his 2021 classmates, hasn't had the opportunity to visit Berkeley outside of the virtual visit. That wasn't a stumbling block for the Yelm standout.

"It doesn’t worry me at all," Jemtegaard said about committing without visiting, "I don’t think there would be a better option honestly. When I think about my recruiting process, I don’t think I’ve ever had the gut feeling that I have about this school, and that’s what I’ve been waiting for in terms of a decision, just to kinda feel that. It’s not like I’m walking into the abyss, I’m going to the Bay Area and I feel like I’ll be in pretty good hands."

With his commitment, Jemtegaard joins William Reed (a friend of his and fellow Ford Sports Performance product) and Bastian Swinney on the offensive line in the 2021 class so far. The commitment is a source of relief now for Jemtegaard, with a decision that he feels is well thought out.

"Honestly, it’s really nice, the weight is off my shoulders with the need to talk to everybody and keep everybody in the loop," Jemtegaard noted, "I feel like I’ve got a lot less on my plate. I feel good to have it in such good hands as well, it’s not like I made a snappy decision to get it out of the nice, it’s nice to have made a decision that’s well thought out."

Overall, Jemtegaard is the 12th commitment in the 2021 class for the Bears, the seventh on the offensive side of the ball.

1. WR Mavin Anderson, Mission Viejo, CA (February 1st, 2020)

2. OL Bastian Swinney, Edina, MN (February 8th, 2020)

3. TE Jermaine Terry, Richmond, CA (February 24th, 2020)

4. DE Akili Calhoun, Brentwood, CA (March 7th, 2020)

5. QB Kai Millner, Gilbert, AZ (April 9th, 2020)

6. CB Kaleb Higgins, Folsom, CA (April 14th, 2020)

7. S Hunter Barth, Queen Creek, AZ (April 23rd, 2020)

8. DB Fatuvalu Iosefa, Mililani, HI (June 12th, 2020)

9. WR J. Michael Sturdivant, Flower Mound, TX (July 4th, 2020)

10. OL William Reed, Sammamish, WA (July 15th, 2020)

11. ILB Moses Oladejo, Elk Grove, CA (July 19th, 2020)

12. OL Dylan Jemtegaard, Yelm, WA (July 20th, 2020)

By Position

QB - 1

WR - 2

TE - 1

OL - 3

DE - 1

LB - 1

DB - 3

By State

CA - 5

AZ - 2

WA - 2

HI - 1

MN - 1

TX - 1