The future commitment decision of Jaden Rashada has become one of the hot topics this spring. The four-star quarterback recruit from Pittsburg High School has received interest and offers from across the country, and he has been busy taking visits to numerous schools over the last several months.
Rashada has become a top priority for a number of programs, and one of the schools that has remained active in pursuing the No. 63-ranked recruit in the class resides right in his backyard.
Cal wants to keep as much Bay Area talent home as possible, and there is no higher-rated recruit in the region’s 2023 class than Rashada. The Bears remain in the hunt for the fifth-ranked prospect in California after he announced his top seven schools on Tuesday.
Cal is one of just two Pac-12 programs to make the list, along with Oregon, while he will eventually choose from a group of schools that also includes LSU, Florida, Miami, Ole Miss and Texas A&M.
The 6-foot-4 quarterback prospect has also set a commitment date of June 18 meaning the Bears will soon know if their work with the local standout quarterback has paid off.
Cal’s pursuit of Rashada has gone through ebbs and flows. The Bears once looked out of the running earlier in the year, but he has made visits out to campus leading to the program remaining in the picture.
Though they are not purposely planning to attend college together, Cal’s pursuit of Rashada’s teammate, Rashid Williams, has helped build a stronger connection between the school and the four-star quarterback.
There is growing momentum for the Bears with Williams, who is also a four-star recruit in the 2023 class.
That is only part of the appeal of Cal for Rashada, however. The coaching staff has done a good job of building a bond with the rising senior while also selling him on the fit within the Bears’ offense.
“The obviously say they coach to what they have,” Rashada previously said. “If I come in, they’re gonna work their best to my strengths. So that’s what I like.”
Rashada previously said that the communication with Cal increased since the start of the year allowing the Bears to factor more into the process. As he moves forward there will be several elements that play into his final decision.
One of the unknowns is how much or how little his brother’s own recruitment will factor into Rashada’s decision. Roman Rashada, a three-star safety at Diablo Valley CC, is being pursued by several Power Five schools and some of his offers overlap with those of his younger brother.
The older Rashada is a member of the 2022 recruiting class, and there is certainly an appeal to the four-star quarterback being able to play alongside his brother.
Roman Rashada released a final-three list of Miami, Ole Miss and Virginia Tech within the last few days.
“I’m just looking for what’s best for me and my family,” the 2023 quarterback previously said about how the process has changed this spring. “When you’re young going through the recruiting process you put dream schools up and are biased towards them, but as you hit a certain phase in your recruitment you know it’s business.
Rashada visited Oregon over the weekend ahead of the decision to officially trim his list down to seven schools. He has also made recent trips to Ole Miss and LSU as well. Cal hosted him on campus earlier in the spring.
The four-star prospect is currently rated as the seventh-ranked pro-style quarterback in the 2023 class by Rivals. He has over two dozen offers on the table with schools such as Penn State, Washington, Auburn, UCLA, Oklahoma, Arkansas, Arizona, Oregon State and Arizona State being replaced on his reshuffled list after initially trimming his list to 10 schools in the winter.
