Ogunbanjo Chooses Cal on Signing Day

He was perhaps the Bears' biggest defensive target in the 2018 recruiting class with his unique combination of size and speed, and down to the wire on national signing day, 6-3/225 Alief Taylor (Houston, TX) High School outside linebacker Joey Ogunbanjo committed to Cal -one of his two Bears finalists- choosing Cal over Baylor.

The Houston native will be walking into a situation with an abundance of linebacking and defensive expertise with head coach Justin Wilcox, defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter and new outside linebackers coach Peter Sirmon all having played and coached linebackers and all with coordinator experience. Add defensive line coach Tony Tuioti, who coached outside linebackers last year for the Bears and you have a wealth of experience for the new Bear to draw on at Cal.

Twitter / Joey Ogunbanjo

"The coaching staff was definitely a big reason why I decided to go to Cal," said Ogunbanjo. "I really felt a family-type bond among the coaches. And to be honest, when I went out to California on my official visit, it was really great to be out there.

"I'm really excited to be out there for the next four years. I can go to California and come back to Texas later sometimes. But it's the right place for me on my journey to becoming a man.

"You cant really beat the Bay. It was my first time going out there and it was amazing.

"And with the coaches there with a lot of expertise at my position, it made a lot of sense for me to pick Cal."

With his elite combination of length and 4.43 forty speed, the 3 star Ogunbanjo will give the Bears a unique pass-rushing option on the edge. He describes himself as a high-motor player that can play every snap.

"I'm going to really go after the quarterback hard and give my team the best chance they can to win," said Ogunbanjo.

"I know if I work hard, I can play early. My goal is to be on the field on the first snap for the North Carolina game opening the season and then I'll keep going."

The fact that Cal felt like home for Ogunbanjo went a long way towards helping him feel like the Bears were the right fit for him, as the speedy OLB opted to skip several subsequent official visits after his trip to Berkeley last month.

"I went to a meeting with a lot of players there and spent a lot of time with my host Russ Ude," said Ogunbanjo. "The same family feeling I had with the coaches, I also had with the team, so that was great."

The decision to choose Cal wasn't strictly a location, coaching or comfort decision in the end, as Cal's stellar academics played a big role, as well. A 3.9 student, Ogunbanjo hopes to study engineering as a Cal student.

"Education was huge for me," said Ogunbanjo. "The number one public school in the world -you can't really compete with that. That played a big role."