A tradition continued Monday with the commitment of JT Shrout. The Hart HS signal-caller will join a couple of Cal legends in Kyle Boller and Joe Kapp in coming to Berkeley, as he announced his commitment to the Bears Monday morning after a weekend visit to Berkeley. Cal offered him at the end of May after QB coach Marques Tuiasosopo observed him throwing in person at the tail end of the observation period.
Shrout is listed as a three star QB (5.5) who chose the Bears over offers from Fresno State and San Diego State among others. When he was offered a few weeks ago, he had this to say about the offer.
"It was a dream come true," Shrout said about the offer, "I’ve always dreamed of playing Pac-12 football, and to have that as a possibility now, it’s really humbling and it’s a blessing."
That possibility is a little closer to becoming a reality after this commitment.
Our Nam Le had a few thoughts on Shrout a couple weeks ago, comparing him with Cal's other QB offer from around the same time (and North Carolina commit) Tyler Shough:
"Shrout does demonstrate (in extremely limited glimpses) a few game skills Shough doesn’t, in terms of pocket presence and a stronger arm.
JT Shrout:
· Also thin and growing
· First throw on the tape is a beauty – back shoulder bomb
· Can run a little bit but not as quick in the open field as Shough; both guys are mobile and we should expect to see that more under Baldwin
· Shows more pocket mobility at this point than Shough because he faces pressure more often – Shough’s tape is almost all clean, which is how he gets a lot of good matchup throws
· Easy throws to get receivers into space can be a shade inaccurate at times – dumpoffs high, slant routes bobbled, etc.
· Think his arm is stronger than Shough’s though, in my opinion"
Shrout spent last season backing up Eastern Washington signee Nick Moore, so his limited exposure against varsity competition hasn't helped his recruiting profile, but his work in offseason 7 on 7 tournaments has helped to build him up, showing some fluidity and the ability to make throws that he hasn't had the opportunity to show quite yet. He'll have the chance this year.
Shrout is ranked as the 91st best player in the state of California, and becomes the 9th player to commit to Cal in the 2018 cycle, joining Nikko Remigio, Jasper Friis, and McCallan Castles on offense in the class so far.
