Bears Beat Out Texas, Penn St, UW and BYU For Serra Safety Jeo Henley

The Bears reached across bay to beat out stiff competion for the commitment of 6-0/165 Serra-San Mateo safety Jeovanni Henley‍ this morning as he announced his choice of the Bears over Texas, Washington, Penn State and BYU.

“What made Cal the right fit for me was first Coach Tosh believed in me since my sophomore year and said he’s never going to stop recruiting me till he got me and I had trust in him a lot,” Henley said. “And also the relationship I built with the new staff was incredible and the development they have as a staff is great. A lot of the players they’ve coached have went to the NFL and that’s something I like. I also believe that I can play as a freshman and there’s nothing better than staying home.

“My impression I have with this class is Coach Tosh always says this is the Golden class and he’s letting everyone out there we coming for y’all.”

Henley announced his commitment on Instagram live this morning at 11:30 saying, “I prayed every day for this. I also want to thank my family. They pushed me really hard and they sacrificed big things for me to be able to be here. I also want to thank my friends. They’ve always been there for me. They’ve always pushed me to be the best person that I could be. I also want to thank my coaches...And for the next 3-4 years, I will be playing at Cal.”

The versatile athlete starred on both sides of the ball, totalling 65 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, 5 sacks, 2 interceptions (1 returned for a pick-six) on defense and 425 yards and 8 TDs on the offensive side of the ball.

The newest Bear was impressed on an earlier visit to campus, telling Bear Insider, “My visit to Cal was awesome. One thing that stood out to me was how much experience the coaches have at the highest level. Many of the coaches have coached in the NFL, and Coach Tosh has made it to the national championship multiple times. The environment around the school felt great. The school really impressed me with everything that’s going to happen in the future and the vision they have moving forward.”

The 3 star safety also had offers from UCLA, Utah, Northwestern, Minnesota, Vandy and more.

He becomes the 17th commit of the 2027 class, joining 4 star QB commit Dane Weber‍, WRs Charles Davis III‍ (Westlake) and Blake Gunter‍ (Southlake, TX), RBs Jaxsen Stokes‍ (Sierra Canyon) and AJ Antwon Sanders‍ (CE King/Houston), TE Rahzario Edwards‍, OTs Amaziah Siale‍ (Mission Viejo) and Josh Bunni‍ (Cardinal Newman), DLs Troy Bowens‍ (Sutter), Jaderian Jones‍ (Dallas) and Miles Schirmer‍ (Corona Centennial), edge Giovanni Hodge‍ (Grant Union), LBs Elyjah Staples‍ (Marquez-Huntington Beach)‍ and Gunnar Perry‍ (Notre Dame Prep/Scottsdale, AZ), CB Duvay Williams‍ (Junipero Serra), safety Myles Baker‍ (Sierra Canyon) and IMG Academy kicker Zach Brien‍.