New Bears

National Signing Day was Wednesday and Cal added 25 new football players.

Max Gilliam, QB, 6'2" 205, Thousand Oaks High, Thousand Oaks, CA
Jake Curhan, OL, 6'7" 320, Redwood High, Larkspur, CA
Jordan Duncan, WR, 6'3" 195, Oak Grove High, Hattiesburg, MS
Derrick Clark, RB, 5'11" 195, Mission Bay High, San Diego, CA
Dwayne Wallace, OL, 6'5" 340, Riverside City College, Riverside, CA
Jordan Veasy, WR, 6'3" 215, Golden West College, Gadsden, AL
Rusty Becker, DL, 6'4" 265, Minnesota St. C&T College, Maple Grove, MN
Melquise Stovall, RB/WR 5'9" 185, Paraclete High, Lancaster, CA
Marloshawn Franklin, CB, 6'0" 180, Mesa Community College, Detroit, MI
Nygel Edmonds, DB, 6'0" 195, McCallie High, Smyrna, GA
Cameron Goode, LB, 6'4" 200, Klein Collins High, Spring, TX
Tevin Paul, DL, 6'5" 270, Lake Travis High, Austin, TX
Gentle Williams, OL, 6'4" 280, Florence High, Florence, MS
Logan Gamble, WR, 6'6" 190, St. Anthony High, Seal Beach, CA
Chinedu Udeogu, DL, 6'5" 255, Georgetown Prep, Inverness, IL
Matt Laris, WR, 6'4" 220, Eastside Catholic High, Renton, WA
Daniel Juarez, OL, 6'6" 305, Centennial High, Corona, CA
Chris Yaghi, DL, 6'5" 270, Foothill, Santa Anna, CA
Camryn Bynum, DB, 6'1" 180, Centennial High, Corona, CA
Traveon Beck, DB, 5'10" 165, St. John Bosco High, Paramount, CA
Evan Weaver, DL, 6'3" 245, Gonzaga Prep, Spokane, WA
Drew Kobayashi, WR, 6'3" 200, St. Louis High, Honolulu, HI
Josh Drayden, DB, 5'11" 175, Bishop Dunne High, DeSoto, TX
Zion Echols, RB, 5'10" 175, Charter Oak High, Glendora, CA
Victor Viramontes, QB, 6'1" 240, Norco High, Norco, CA

Max Gilliam, Jake Curhan, Jordan Duncan, Derrick Clark, Dwayne Wallace, Jordan Veasy, Rusty Becker, and Marquise Stovall signed up early and are already taking classes. All will be on the field for spring practices already used to life as a Berkeley student. That's especially important for the quarterback Gilliam. With Jared Goff on his way to the NFL there will be a wide open quarterback competition and Gilliam will be a part of it. Every year there are a few recruits that show up on campus early but I've never seen as many as eight.

Cal lost nearly all of their top receivers to graduation and, hopefully, the NFL. This class includes five receivers and the remarkable thing about the five is that each is at least 6'3". Logan Gamble tops the class at 6'6". That size completely changes the look of Cal's offense. Melquise Stovall doesn't quite fit this change but he adds something else. Speed. Breakaway speed. He'll supply that from various spots in the offense.

Cal also added some nice size to the offensive line. Jake Curhan at 6'7" 320 lbs and Dwayne Wallace at 6'5" 340 lbs stand out. Wallace, as a junior college transfer, has a chance to contribute early. While a little lighter than Curhan and Wallace, Daniel Juarez at 6'6" 305 lbs also adds some terrific size. Cal's offensive line has to improve. Especially with a new quarterback behind them.

The always suspect recruiting rankings didn't look too favorably on Cal's class. Scout.com has the Bears at #39 nationally and the middle of the Pac-12 conference. That's fairly average and really means nothing. I find this an intriguing class. I really like the influx of  height at receiver and offensive line. I'm excited to see how the five new defensive backs develop.

No one really knows how a high school football player is going to develop as a college football. Their character, maturity, and how they handle being away from home for the first time is probably as important as their football ability. No one has figured out a way to place stars on those qualities.