The Hotline is delighted to provide West Coast fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports.
He submitted the following report on June 5 …
And. Here. We. Go.
Following the first post-Memorial Day weekend for official visits, commitments flew in.
It will only get busier in the coming weeks.
For all of the gnashing of teeth about the impact of realignment, what if we said … the Bay Area schools had the most positivity?
Let’s dive in.
Here come the Cardinal
The Andrew Luck effect is in, well, full effect.
Stanford’s finest player of the 21st century-turned-general manager has been as hands-on as any GM in college football since his hiring late last year.
So naturally, the Cardinal made the most of the first official visit weekend by securing five commitments, including a flip of a longtime Baylor pledge Ryelan Morris, a four-star receiver out of the Lone Star state.
Stanford also landed a commitment from Arizona receiver Daylen Sharper, whose father, Darren, played in the NFL; New Jersey safety Zaiden McDonald; California cornerback Jason Hill Jr., who spurned his father’s alma mater, Washington State; and Texas cornerback Jack Duckworth.
Bears back in business
The transfer portal crushed Cal this spring. But high school recruiting has been another story.
This might have been the greatest week of Justin Wilcox’s tenure in Berkeley, in fact, and that includes when he landed quarterback Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele last summer.
It started on Saturday with offensive lineman Elisha Faamatuainu, from Southern California, committing to the Bears.
It continued on Sunday, when De La Salle High School standout Nemyah Telona announced he was staying in the East Bay and playing for Cal. (He spurned an offer from Oregon defensive coordinator Tosh Lupoi.).
Then Southern California running back Victor Santino said he, too, was staying in-state.
The week crescendoed on Tuesday when the top-rated prospect from the Bay Area, San Francisco offensive lineman Tommy Tofi, also spurned Oregon (along with Tennessee) and chose to play for the Bears.
His brother, John, signed with Cal in December, but the younger Tofi was a more coveted prospect: He’s a Top 100 recruit nationally in the class and a huge win for Wilcox.
But the Bears didn’t stop there. They went back to Hawaii — Sagapolutele’s home terrain — to land the No. 3 recruit in the state: tight end Taimane Purcell, who picked Cal over USC and North Carolina.
Huge week for Broncos
Boise State had a big weekend of visitors. And a bigger week of commitments.
Four new pledges, from four different states, chose the Broncos.
Nevada offensive lineman Kole Cronin was the highest rated, as the Reno prospect chose Boise State over Arizona, Cal, Nevada and Oregon State.
Then California receiver Jacob Arbuckle picked the Broncos over several future Pac-12 schools.
Arizona edge Corey Webb did the same, choosing Boise State from his double digit offers.
And for good measure, Washington offensive lineman Hakeim Smalls did the same.
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