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Cal Football

Arizona RB Stevie Rocker Likes What Cal Has to Offer

February 25, 2020
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Under Jeff Tedford, Cal having a 1,000-yard running back was almost a guarantee. However, Cal’s success in developing running backs took a big step back with Sonny Dykes’ Bear Raid offense. With Justin Wilcox now in charge, it seems that Cal is trying to once again establish a successful running game. Patrick Laird had over 1,000 yards in Wilcox’s first year and came just 39 yards short as a senior. Chris Brown was just 86 yards short of 1,000 in his sophomore season last year.

It is clear that Cal wants to develop and use running backs again, and this should remain the case under new offensive coordinator Bill Musgrave. However, a big part of getting good running back production on the field comes with recruiting talented players at the position, and Stevie Rocker Jr.‍ from Arizona is one of Cal’s top targets at running back for the class of 2021.

Rocker, who attends Canyon Del Oro High School in Tucson, AZ is a consensus 3-star prospect who is consistently ranked as a top-15 overall prospect in the state.

“I came in contact with [the Cal staff] my freshman year and I started talking to them more around the middle of my sophomore year,” said Rocker. “By the time the year ended, I think that’s when they offered me.

“Now I have been in contact with coach [Aristotle] Thompson more, but the one I’ve been in contact with most is coach [Charlie] Ragle.”

Rocker is just 25 minutes away from the University of Arizona, but Charlie Ragle’s recruiting success in Arizona should play a crucial factor in keeping Cal in the mix. In fact, Rocker currently names Cal as his number one school.

“Right now, I see Cal as my top school, '' said Rocker. “Other schools that have shown interest include mainly Pac-12 schools like UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Arizona, Utah, Oregon, Oregon State and also Notre Dame and Boise State.”

Rocker had the chance to visit campus for Junior Day earlier this month and liked what he saw.

“I loved it up there,” Rocker said about visiting Cal. “It’s a great place and a great atmosphere. I really like how everything is so close together and how the staff also focuses on life after football. Not a lot of programs really focus on trying to have a career after football.”

Rocker, at 6’0” 185 pounds, says that his field vision is his biggest strength as a player. He also says that he will be making his commitment roughly around the end of his senior football season.

While that decision is a long time away, it seems that Cal should be in a very favorable position to make a run at landing him.

“After going to their Junior Day, I noticed that the program is starting to come up now. I’ve seen a lot of big improvements and I know there’s a lot more to come. The chances that I come over there and get good playing time while competing for championships is very high because everything is changing and growing over there.”

Other stories:

Bears Add a Future Hometown Hero in 4 Star Richmond TE Jermaine Terry

5 Star 2021 WR Troy Franklin Talks Cal Offer and Recruiting

Discussion from...

Arizona RB Stevie Rocker Likes What Cal Has to Offer

9,732 Views | 10 Replies | Last: 4 yr ago by 01Bear
burritos
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Is it better to have one back crush it and have 1500 yds per season with the rest getting 500 yards? Or to have a stable of 3 backs each one getting 700 yds per season?
MoragaBear
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Staff
burritos said:

Is it better to have one back crush it and have 1500 yds per season with the rest getting 500 yards? Or to have a stable of 3 backs each one getting 700 yds per season?
The former's good for PR but the latter for practicality, keeping each healthier and mitigating the risk of significant dropoff if your top RB gets knocked out with injury.
Ncsf
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MoragaBear said:

burritos said:

Is it better to have one back crush it and have 1500 yds per season with the rest getting 500 yards? Or to have a stable of 3 backs each one getting 700 yds per season?
The former's good for PR but the latter for practicality, keeping each healthier and mitigating the risk of significant dropoff if your top RB gets knocked out with injury.
I think I would prefer a feature back if we had a Jahvid or Marshawn because they are game or program changers. The three headed monster the 49ers used was effective. How good is the kid from San Diego and what are our chances?
calumnus
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Our RB rushing yardage under Baldwin was not greater than under Dykes (QB rushing, yes). Moreover Khalfani Muhammad and Daniel Lasco (and others) were highly productive backs for us and great Golden Bears. No need to denigrate them because we don't like the coach they played for.

That said, I agree that our RB and TE recruiting has taken a big step up.
dimitrig
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burritos said:

Is it better to have one back crush it and have 1500 yds per season with the rest getting 500 yards? Or to have a stable of 3 backs each one getting 700 yds per season?

It really depends, but if I have Barry Sanders I want to run Barry Sanders every play.

Sebastabear
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So great to have a kid with an offer list like that come out and say Cal is his top choice right now. Quite an impressive list we are leading.
Eastern Oregon Bear
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MoragaBear said:

burritos said:

Is it better to have one back crush it and have 1500 yds per season with the rest getting 500 yards? Or to have a stable of 3 backs each one getting 700 yds per season?
The former's good for PR but the latter for practicality, keeping each healthier and mitigating the risk of significant dropoff if your top RB gets knocked out with injury.
Also, 2100 yds > 2000 yds.
PtownBear1
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Sebastabear said:

So great to have a kid with an offer list like that come out and say Cal is his top choice right now. Quite an impressive list we are leading.


I thought that at first when I read the article but the schools mentioned are only "showing interest". His only other offers are BYU, AZ, and Nevada.
Sebastabear
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PtownBear1 said:

Sebastabear said:

So great to have a kid with an offer list like that come out and say Cal is his top choice right now. Quite an impressive list we are leading.


I thought that at first when I read the article but the schools mentioned are only "showing interest". His only other offers are BYU, AZ, and Nevada.
Oh thanks for the correction.
01Bear
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dimitrig said:

burritos said:

Is it better to have one back crush it and have 1500 yds per season with the rest getting 500 yards? Or to have a stable of 3 backs each one getting 700 yds per season?

It really depends, but if I have Barry Sanders I want to run Barry Sanders every play.



Barry Sanders is the greatest RB I've seen. His balance and ability to change direction at full speed was mind-blowing. I often wondered if the laws of physics just didn't apply to him. If Cal had a Barry Sanders, it would be malpractice not to have him playing as many offensive snaps as possible.
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