The state of Arizona remains hot for the California Golden Bears, as Charlie Ragle and Burl Toler teamed up to pull in an underrated prospect from the state. Wide receiver Aidan Lee, from Desert Ridge HS in Mesa, AZ, announced his commitment to the Bears. Lee is the 8th Arizona high school recruit to pledge to the Bears in the past two years, and is the 17th commit of the 2020 class for Cal.
Lee, a 6'2", 200 lb wideout pulled the trigger after flying home from Cal's recruiting barbecue, where he'd taken his first unofficial visit to Cal. Lee had noted liking the Cal staff's straightforward approach to recruiting him, after the Bears offered him earlier in the month.
"The thing I like about coach Ragle is that he’s really straightforward," Lee told Golden Bear Report earlier this month, "he doesn’t sugarcoat anything. He’s a really good coach and I’d love to play for him. (Toler)’s a really great person, he’s another person who keeps it straightforward with me, he liked how patient I was in the process."
Lee's a patient player, not only in his approach to recruiting, but on the football field as well. Lee's played in a run heavy offense at Desert Ridge, but will get more opportunities to turn heads at wideout in 2019. He's the kind of big outside receiver that the Bears are coveting in this class, alongside Jeremiah Hunter and Tommy Christakos.
What This Commitment Means:
1. Lee is the fourth wide receiver commitment in the class, joining Hunter, Christakos, and Casey Filkins at the position.
2. He's the 11th commit on the offensive side of the ball, and the 17th overall.
3. Here's how the commits break down by state:
CA: 11
AZ: 2
OR: 2
HI: 2
4. And by position
QB: 1
RB: 2
WR: 4
TE: 2
OL: 2
DL: 1
LB: 2
DB: 3
5. This is the third commitment Charlie Ragle and Burl Toler have teamed up on, as Lee joins Christakos and RB DeCarlos Brooks in that category.
6. Big wideouts on the outside have been a priority in this class, and with Toler back to coaching and recruiting a position he's familiar with, the results have improved from the past two years.
7. Lee also won the Gatorade Award at the Rivals Camp Series in Los Angeles, showing out as one of the best in a loaded group after earning an invitation the week prior at the Rivals Combine in Las Vegas.
8. Lee reportedly runs a 4.57 40, and can be a speed threat in one on one scenarios as he develops.
