Patrick Hisatake Breaks Down Cal Commitment

Patrick Hisatake committed to Cal a couple weeks ago, though like a handful in the class, he hadn't visited Berkeley. He relied on his relationship with the Cal coaches, namely Andrew Browning, in order to get to a point where Cal felt like home.

"I had known for a while that Cal was home for me, just the relationship that I built with the coaches," Hisatake noted, "that was the main reason. I’d never visited before, so I relied on the relationship with the coaches. The long talks that we had, and with how they can use me on defense. We’ve been talking since January almost daily, so it’s been good talking with coach Browning, coach DeRuyter, and the other coaches on the recruiting staff. Coach Browning and coach DeRuyter have been the main ones recruiting me, telling me how they can use me, they really emphasized how much of a priority I am to the program, how I can come in and make an impact from day one. It’s really exciting for me"

In the leadup to his August 2nd commitment, Hisatake had been hearing from the man he's going to play for, Justin Wilcox, more and more.

"Coach Wilcox is a really great dude," Hisatake noted, "really genuine, and I really can feel that connection between us, it has been a great time with him, such a down to earth coach and person."

Like a handful of other players in the class, with the postponement of football until the spring, Hisatake will be joining the Bears in the spring

"I plan on enrolling early, coming down in January," Hisatake said, "I’m just excited to get down there early, get ready for the season, and to have all those months training and practicing, learning the defense, so when the season starts, I’ll be ready."

And he'll have familiarity when he gets there, not only with the members of the class he's been talking to in the commit groupchat, but with friends from back home. Hisatake played his freshman year at Mililani in Hawaii, before moving to the continental US, so he has a couple friends already at or heading to Cal.

"Muelu Iosefa is one of my best friends along with (Fatuvalu) Iosefa," Hisatake noted, "it’s great that I get to go to school for the next three or four years with them."

Now, the next five months are about getting in top condition from a mental and physical standpoint for Hisatake, as he'll learn the defense, the outside linebacker position he'll be manning, as well as the expectations he'll have.

"I’m starting to learn the defense with coach Browning, coach DeRuyter and coach Sirmon," Hisatake noted. "I’m training, trying to be the best version of me that I can be, so when I get to Cal, I’ll be ready. They plan on using me as a boundry/rush outside linebacker, so I’ll be rushing the QB most of the time."