Has committed to Cal.

say hello to a future starting inside WR:cheer

I have seen him play, and he is good.

MoragaBear;842307567 said:

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Here's the story: http://bearinsider.com/news/story.php?article=1091

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He is putting together quite the offensive pieces for the future. I just hope the defense can do it's part.

p.s. Napa High colors are blue and gold too and their band patterns themselves after the Cal Band!

MoragaBear;842307588 said:

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Lots of comments from Aaron tonight on his commitment added to the story, including my favorite line:

"I already bleed blue and gold."

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emanbears24;842307552 said:

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Has committed to Cal.

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Offers from Harvard, Yale, and Brown to boot.

Nice decision, Austin. Welcome to Cal!

StillNoStanfurdium;842307605 said:

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Offers from Harvard, Yale, and Brown to boot.

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Do those offers mean he got into those colleges or that if he were to go to those colleges he would get a spot on the football team?

Here's his junior highlight reel. Link

He reminds me of Chase Lyman with that size and speed.

Welcome Austin, glad to see a fellow "Napkin" on board. Now ignore this board until after graduation <grin>

StillNoStanfurdium;842307605 said:

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Offers from Harvard, Yale, and Brown to boot.

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And Penn. (University of Pennsylvania = Ivy League)
Bright kid.

Big kid. Size and hands and will get bigger and stronger.
Very nice first get !!!

staygolden2001;842307636 said:

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Here's his junior highlight reel. Link

He reminds me of Chase Lyman with that size and speed.

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He does. And time under Harrington in S&C will make him more formidable.
BUT
He'll have to compete for playing time, which is great.
When Lyman went down, there wasn't much in back of him.

A lot of his catches were on bad throws ... great hands and great body control. One on one he is a nightmare on jump balls!

I graduated from Napa High, and I can tell you that they have been a running football team forever. The fact that he had 50 catches in an offense that is centered around a run first quarterback, is pretty good. His dad is a few years older than me, and he was a great athlete there as well.

Here is what ESPN Insider says about Aaron:

STRENGTHS: Possesses a very nice blend of height, size and athleticism. Flashes the ability to create good initial surge off the line for a long strider. Tracks the ball well over his shoulder on deep throws. Can adjust to a high or low throw, snatching the ball out of the air when off balance. ... AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: May not have the home run speed to consistently pull away from defenders. Will need to continue to gain experience as a route runner. ... BOTTOM LINE: Austin is a physical receiver who is tough to bring down on initial contact. Flashes some quickness and ability to get out of break for a taller prospect. A potential Division I BCS level player.

ESPN has him at three stars, the #61 WR prospect overall, but outside the Top 300 Overall.

Chapman_is_Gone;842307875 said:

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Here is what ESPN Insider says about Aaron:

STRENGTHS: Possesses a very nice blend of height, size and athleticism. Flashes the ability to create good initial surge off the line for a long strider. Tracks the ball well over his shoulder on deep throws. Can adjust to a high or low throw, snatching the ball out of the air when off balance. ... AREAS OF IMPROVEMENT: May not have the home run speed to consistently pull away from defenders. Will need to continue to gain experience as a route runner. ... BOTTOM LINE: Austin is a physical receiver who is tough to bring down on initial contact. Flashes some quickness and ability to get out of break for a taller prospect. A potential Division I BCS level player.

ESPN has him at three stars, the #61 WR prospect overall, but outside the Top 300 Overall.

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interesting assessment, thanks for sharing.

fwiw, 247 sports has said that he's got good speed, size, hands, and route-running abilities, but needs to work on agility, and yards after catch.

i tend to agree with that. from his tapes, his big catches are almost always when matched up 1v1 against a corner, with no safety help--or very late help. he's fast enough to create separation, but his change of direction won't be enough to shake off defenders. and i don't think ESPN's "tough to bring down" is quite accurate. from the highlights, he seems to be shrugging off the occasional undersized DB, not not evenly matched LBs.

still, a great pickup nonetheless. hope he has a tre watson-like senior season.

Catches the ball well but "can't pull away from defenders" ... sounds like what used to be called a "possession receiver" and Cal has had some good ones, almost guaranteed first downs within 15 yards ... guys who can prevent 3 and outs and can burn defenses that stack the box or DBs that have him 1 on 1 and don't tackle him ... a guy who makes hard catches look easy.
A great get because ... Bryce Treggs, Kenny Lawler, Trevor Davis, and Chris Harper are all draft eligible after this season and we'll probably lose at least one. Hope they all stick around for 2015.

SonOfCalVa;842307893 said:

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A great get because ... Bryce Treggs, Kenny Lawler, Trevor Davis, and Chris Harper are all draft eligible after this season and we'll probably lose at least one. Hope they all stick around for 2015.

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Powe and Harris will also be eligible. it's actually good for balance if 1-2 leave. and of course the seniors will free up 2 scholarships: Whitehurst (yay!) and Grisom. don't think McGovern's on scholarship...?

Austin is a great pickup for the Football program
AND
from his photographs, it would seem the ladies are thrilled, also.

Reports from today's Nike NFTC in Eugene have Austin Aaron killing it. Big, smooth and fast!

LACalFan;842323057 said:

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Reports from today's Nike NFTC in Eugene have Austin Aaron killing it. Big, smooth and fast!

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Great to hear. The kid looks good, underrated because of the area he plays in. I think you will see a boost in his ratings if he really is killing it up there.

StillNoStanfurdium;842307605 said:

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Offers from Harvard, Yale, and Brown to boot.

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smart student. any offers from big time football schools?

edg64;842308015 said:

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Austin is a great pickup for the Football program
AND
from his photographs, it would seem the ladies are thrilled, also.

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Hmmmmmmmm.........

LodeBear;842323094 said:

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smart student. any offers from big time football schools?

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yes, offer from big time school: [SIZE="7"][COLOR="Navy"]CAL[/COLOR][/SIZE]

MaximusArelliusDaBearius;842323107 said:

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Hmmmmmmmm.........

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Don't even start!...

staygolden2001;842307636 said:

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Here's his junior highlight reel. Link

He reminds me of Chase Lyman with that size and speed.

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I agree he is a good recruit.
I hope he can avoid the Chase-Lyman-like injuries.

One of the problems I noticed with some tall, thin college kids is that their muscle mass does not catch up to their height in time to help them avoid injuries.

I doubt that he has the wheels that Chase did but this kid looks like a solid pick up.