Gamble Turns His Dreams to Reality With His Commitment to Cal

The Bears added a talented fourth DB to their 2020 class, beating out Notre Dame, Michigan, Ole Miss and more for Liberty Christian (Argyle, Texas) High School cornerback Collin Gamble weeks after his official visit to Berkeley.

The 5-11/185 Gamble made the decision to commit on his visit but in true Justin Wilcox style, the head coach advised the Texas DB to refect on his decision to make sure he made the right choice before announcing.

Three weeks later, the 3 star DB made it official with today’s commitment video on Twitter.

“Coach Wilcox was definitely excited,” said Gamble. “He was happy for me to have made my decision. But he just told me he wanted me to go back home and talk it over with my family so I wasn’t just reacting to emotion based off of the official visit. He just wanted to make sure I was really sincere about the decision I was trying to make.

“Coach Gerald was ecstatic, too. He was happy to have me be a part of the team.”

As to what stood out to Gamble  on his visit, he echoed what he said after his visit about his trip to Cal:

“It went good,” said Gamble. “Everything about the campus and facilities were really strong. Everyone had told me if I went out there to Cal’s campus that I’d fall in love with it and I was just assuming it wouldn’t live up to the hype, but I love the campus. It’s really nice and the facilities are top tier, for sure.”

The speedy Gamble (4.37 forty), who had 45 tackles, four interceptions, 22 pass breakups, two defensive td’s and a pair of kick and punt returns for touchdowns as a junior, was hosted by another former Dallas-area player on the visit.

Fellow Texan Craig Woodson, who’s made a strong first impression by getting into the DB rotation right away as a true frosh helped Woodson feel more comfortable with the decision to step into a new environment after high school..

“I got to talk a lot with Craig Woodson,” noted Gamble “He was really able to give me some insight on how he was able to go about his transition and change of scenery from Dallas to California. He gave me some good words about that.”

Cal defensive backs coach Gerald Alexander has built as strong reputation for his work in developing the Bears’ defensive backfield into one of the top units in the nation and Gamble was impressed by the young coach’s vision for player developmient.

“Coach Gerald, he sat me down in the film room and talked to me a little bit about his whole philosophy in how he works with his DB’s,” said Gamble. “I like way he goes about it rather than the way some other coaches go about it. And I just fell in love with all of that.”

The uniqueness of Cal’s facilities were also another plus for Gamble and helped the Bears stand out versus some of the other programs he visited.

“The facilities were really nice,” said Gamble. “It was different from all the other ones, with campus being so close to the stadium and how their facilities are set up. I love the underground performance center and how they have the sleep pods set up since players often don’t have the time to go back home and get some rest between practice, meetings and school.”

Coming from an academically-oriented family, Cal’s academic reputation was important to Gamble and his family and was an element that helped his family’s comfort level in sending their son off to the West Coast to pursue his degree.

“My parents raised me to be academic first,” said Gamble. “Everybody knows Cal’s a top-notch school and that was a big factor for me that played a big role in my decision to commit to Cal.

“They completely support my decision. They know that this recruiting process has been long and they know that I’m going to be the one that’s going to be out there putting in all the work so they just helped me along the path to get to this point. They know that this college decision is our decision, but at the same time, I’m going to be the one out there so they let me really pick what school I’d go to and where I’d feel most comfortable.”

Though he didn’t have a chance to see his future program’s big victory yesterday over SEC opponent Ole Miss in Oxford, Mississippi, he was nevertheless impressed by what the Bears were able to accomplish.

“I was away from my house so I didn’t have a chance to watch the game live but I heard about it,” said Gamble. “That’s a very impressive win right there. I’m glad to know my team’s out there doing big things and I can’t wait to be a part of it next year.”

Gamble will join fellow DB commits Isaiah Thomas (Corona Centennial), Dejuan Butler (Antioch) and Trey Paster (Buhach Colony) in the Bears’ stellar 2020 DB class.

Other stories:

What Cal’s Big Road Win Over Ole Miss Means to the Program

Bear Insider Video: Cal-Ole Miss Final Minutes and Postgame Celebration