J Michael Sturdivant

Our perspective on the players who have verbally committed to date:Mavin Anderson: (WR) A strongly built burner who can thrive in the slot and occasionally slip wide. Will remind you of a more physical and strongly built Bryce Treggs in style and athleticism. Strong blocker, defeats press coverage with strength. Bastian Swinney : (OT) A jumbo-sized young man. A mauler whose bend and run blocking technique are very advanced. More mauler than 2nd level blocker. Shows good feet so upside as a pass blocker. Plenty of nastinessJermaine Terry: (TE) Another very large person, especially for a TE. A bit of "freak" given his strength and size yet near-elite first-step quickness and body control as a receiver. Built like a truck, drives like a Ferrari. As coveted a prospect as Cal has landed in a long time. Sorry Buckeyes, sorry Tide.Akili Calhoun : (DE) Very gifted pass rusher who can get low and take the edge. Near elite get off and very quick laterally. Great bend, powerful lower body. A bit of a tweener size-wise, will he play SDE or WDE? Kai Millner : (QB) A rapidly physically maturing body screams upside to his arm strength and physicality. Very quick release, near-effortless motion, solid, and improving accuracy. Can already spin the ball at a college level. Good not great mobility. Kaleb Higgins : (S/DB) Long, lanky with very good short-area explosion and quickness. Very good read and react skills, high football IQ. Can cover. Very young looking physically, lots of upside with strength and long speed. Hunter Barth : (S/LB) Another jumbo-sized player for his position. Big hitter, very good acceleration for his size and loves to play with a physical edge. Perhaps less of a cover guy than pure safety. Fatuvalu Iosefa : (CB) Plus length with developing frame. Quick, instinctual, and nimble as a cover corner. Competitive fire and willing tackler. Developing strength and long speed.J Michael Sturdivant : (WR) Prototypical big, outside WR. Smooth with very good top-end speed. Happy to run past you, jump over you or catch a screen and go. Strength and first step quickness will developWill Reed: (OT) Long armed with quick feet, Reed's got the brains and versatility Cal wants along the OL. Basketball player with upside athleticism. Needs more junk in the trunk and some technique refinement Moses Oladejo : (LB) Another XL player at his position with super long arms. Hyperactive, high motor player with good athleticism and the versatility to play inside or out. Not yet super instinctual or fluidDylan Jemtegaard : (OL) Great frame and build with a powerful lower body. Very physical with near-elite second level mobility. Nasty, mauler with upside with added upper body weight and strength.

With the 2021 Class War Rooms' updated, it's time to stick my neck out and do a far too early projection for the class.Quarterback: (1)Kai Millner was rising fast up the QB board based on his athleticism and upside and he had a good connection with Musgrave on his visit to Berkeley. Millner's committed and Cal is likely doneRunning Back: (1-2)Byron Cardwell has got a ton of options but Cal, UW and Utah have risen to the top. He'd like to wait until after his senior season and at this point, the Bears are well positioned. Jordan Hornbeak is not a dissimilar back to Cardwell but is likely to make a decision sooner and Cal's in a strong position with the Fresno productCardwell's commitment after an earlier commitment from another running back is the only way I see Cal taking two backs. Wide Receiver: (2-3)Mavin Anderson - the four-star verbal commitment anchors this offensive class and provides elite speed and explosive athleticism to the WR room. Has tremendous YAC potential with his strong build and he will be a factor in the return game as well.J Michael Sturdivant - The second four-star WR commitment provides another deep threat to compliment Anderson. Lonyatta Alexander - the strong-bodied and strong-handed Alexander is a Geoff MacArthur clone with better speed. While ASU may get his early verbal, I'm predicting on signing day he becomes a BearOffensive Line: (4)Bastian Swinney is already committed and is a perfect book end tackle.Will Reed has a lot of big time football (Tennessee, Michigan State) and academic (Yale, Brown, Dartmouth) offers and in the end will choose the best combination of both with Cal.Noah Pulealii is a mauler with a ton of upside. He really likes the hometown Bears and will finish up this class with power and strengthJordan Moko - The JC All American really likes what Cal is selling but a visit is needed to cement the fit. Assuming that happens, look for him to join a solid OL classTight Ends: (2)Jermaine Terry will end up being the catalyst for a 2021 class with a lot of local flavor. The commit has MVP potential on the field and as a recruiter.Keleki Latu is an athletic and versatile player who could be successful at OLB and TE. We like him at TE with his long levers helping in blocking and a big catch radius.DEFENSEDefensive Tackle/Nose Guard: (1)Jacob Schuster is an underrated beast. Incredibly light on his feet and athletic for a 300lb man. Cal has made him an early priority and in the end that will be the deciding factorDefensive End: (2)Akili Calhoun is the bookend early local commitment alongside his friend Jermaine Terry. Chalk up another explosive pass rusher for Peter Sirmon's defenseDerek Wilkins will not be able to ignore Terry and Calhoun's entreaties and will eschew Stanford, Oregon and Washington to give the Bears his pledgeOutside Linebackers: (2 + Rutchena)Patrick Hisatake - Hisatake has WDE/OLB versatility given his size a la Tevin Paul. Cal projects him as primarily an OLB and this will be a battle with ASU for his services with a signing day pledge going to the Bears.Hunter Barth gives Cal a hard-hitting hybrid Safety/OLB (Star) who can do a bit of everythingInsider Linebacker: (2)Kaleb Elarms-Orr is the top man on the board and he likes what's hearing from Cal. Feels like a preseason decision for the local OLB/DE who will convert inside for the Bears.Moses Oladejo adds more local color to the 2021 class. Man-sized with a high motor, Oladejo's passion for Cal will lead to his signature in DecemberCornerback: (2-3)Fatuvalu Iosefa 's commitment gives Cal a high ceiling and underrated cover man in the secondary. Ceyair Wright will be a great boundary cover guy with his length and good hips. A solid relationship with Yates will result in Cal getting his pledge over Oregon and ASUKaylin Moore the Oaks Christian prospect has Cal as a leader and I believe that solidifies to a commitmentSafety: (2-3)Kaleb Higgins will create a house divided with his brother at Stanford. Look for the Bears to convert him to safety where his physicality and versatility make him a great fitDJ Harvey - The VA Tech pledge is another of the COVID flips late in the process. Cal will stay on him and get a December signature

The Bears pull in their highest-rated recruit since 5 star WR Demetris Robertson in 2016 with the commitment of 6-3/180 Marcus High School WR J Michael Sturdivant today