Source: His twitter account - @CarsonOConnell. Committed as a preferred walk-on.

Learn to call plays, and shotgun snap. You could be playin.'

You are right for centers looking for a challenge or to be a more integral part of an offense cal will be extremely attractive.

Welcome to Cal, young man. Perhaps you will become an under-the-radar success story on the football field.

Welcome to Bear raid and the rise of the phoenix.

http://www.ncsasports.org/football-recruiting/ca/chico/pleasant-valley-high-school/carson-oconnell1

One recruiting service rates him 2 stars. I am impressed with his 3 AP classes.

http://247sports.com/Player/Carson-OConnell-21121

He's a preferred walk-on, according to the above site.

http://new.berecruited.com/athletes/1370517

This site says he is a 16-year old senior.

Smart kid and only 16 in his junior year. Pretty unusual these days

Welcome Carson!!!

The Chico/Redding area is very lightly scouted, lightly regarded, and pretty much an afterthought in recruiting. It would not be improbable for a D1 level player from that area to slip through the cracks - so maybe THE University of California can score another sleeper from Chico.

MathTeacherMike;842037974 said:

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The Chico/Redding area is very lightly scouted, lightly regarded, and pretty much an afterthought in recruiting. It would not be improbable for a D1 level player from that area to slip through the cracks - so maybe THE University of California can score another sleeper from Chico.

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Paradise H.S. is another very competitive program in the area; check out their win/loss record:

http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/paradise-bobcats-(paradise,ca)/football/schedule.htm

from Scout:
O'Connell looks like a natural center, and has good strength and keeps his feet chopping. He is more of a waist-bender than a knee bender and needs a little more flexibility, but he still plays relatively low and is very technically sound, doing a good job with his hands. -Huffman

"Currently I am ranked by ESPN as the #15 Center in the country. The other scouting sites are waiting for senior film before they rank me. I am a 16 year old senior which baffles them, but my parents started me early because I was a GATE student and needed to be in school."

Things are happening ... coaching on technique and work in the weight room should pay off. A gifted and talented, motivated young man who chose THE University of California.

manus;842037984 said:

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Paradise H.S. is another very competitive program in the area; check out their win/loss record:

http://www.maxpreps.com/high-schools/paradise-bobcats-(paradise,ca)/football/schedule.htm

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Having played in the EAL, and Butte, and coached at PV for a few years, I can say their have been tons of undiscovered talent, especially in the trenches. When you get into those farm towns like COrning, Red Bluff, Oroville, Gridley, Sutter, and the Redding high schools, they get some big corn fed boys up there.

Paradise has been a Wing T team since I can remember. The kids in that town who play youth football will begin running the WingT at an early age, so by the time they get to high school, they run it to perfection.

However, you wont find anyone running faster than 4.7-4.9 40 at best, so they'll just grind it out against most team, but every once in a while you'll get a gem like Jeff Maehl. And I remember a few years back they had a few QBs move onto D1 at NOrthwestern and Utah.

Although you wont find a whole lot of speed in the NOrth State area, they'll never be a shortage of quality D1 OLmen, and QBs throughout the area, whether they qualify academically or not is another discussion.

Big boy.

Why preferred walk on and not just offer him a scholarship? We should take all the OL and DL that we can get.

GB54;842037967 said:

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Smart kid and only 16 in his junior year. Pretty unusual these days

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He says 16 year old senior. Very few of them.

Wasn't there an All American DT that graduated from Louisville at 19 a few years ago?

ayetee11;842043288 said:

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Wasn't there an All American DT that graduated from Louisville at 19 a few years ago?

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Yup, amobi okoye.

cal98;842043255 said:

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Big boy.

Why preferred walk on and not just offer him a scholarship? We should take all the OL and DL that we can get.

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As a 16 year old GATE student with 3 AP classes--maybe he gray shirts one or even two years building up his strength while still growing then goes on scholarship to play four years and ends up with a graduate degree from Cal paid for?

calumnus;842043296 said:

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As a 16 year old GATE student with 3 AP classes--maybe he gray shirts one or even two years building up his strength while still growing then goes on scholarship to play four years and ends up with a graduate degree from Cal paid for?

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Sees that he has been working out according to his bio info linked above.
Carson has put himself in the perfect position at the perfect time.

Damn ... a real student and athlete, under the radar, playing what is now a very key position, Center. Depth at Center, totally needed and a bit unexpected.
As he said, even another grad from his HS couldn't get noticed - guy named Aaron Rodgers.

/edit/ enter his name in YouTube Carson O’Connell and there are several videos there from his camp work going without pads against highly rated DL
this guy looks impressive, size and technique, ready for more coaching
I hope he's definitely in.
:woohoo

This is exactly the kind of young man I like to see join the program. Personally, I would rather see young men who "fly under the radar" and can be coached up, than the 4 star player who feels "entitled" and is always pounding his chest instead of pointing to the guys surrounding him. These guys get it, and they are motivated. We should never lose a NoCal player to any other program. Keep 'em close to home, let 'em build a closeness to Cal at a young age, and let them play with some real pride instead of real ego.

The guy I think of is former Rice center Courtney Hall. He enrolled at Rice when he was 16. ( January admit I think), graduated at 20 and played several years in the NFL - Chargers. Hall was extremely smart and just had great technique. He was from S. California.

Alex Mack # 2

SonOfCalVa;842043367 said:

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Sees that he has been working out according to his bio info linked above.
Carson has put himself in the perfect position at the perfect time.

Damn ... a real student and athlete, under the radar, playing what is now a very key position, Center. Depth at Center, totally needed and a bit unexpected.
As he said, even another grad from his HS couldn't get noticed - guy named Aaron Rodgers.

/edit/ enter his name in YouTube Carson O'Connell and there are several videos there from his camp work going without pads against highly rated DL
this guy looks impressive, size and technique, ready for more coaching
I hope he's definitely in.
:woohoo

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You said it. Hope you matriculate here and have a nice career here, Mr. O'Connell.

mcd59;842043431 said:

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Alex Mack # 2

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Yeah, I went to the same hs as Alex Mack and I flew under the radar too; Cal didn't admit me despite a 4.45 gpa, I had to do two years at a jc and transfered in! Lol