Cal Football

Arizona RB Stevie Rocker Likes What Cal Has to Offer

By Joshua Morgan

February 25, 2020

11,273

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.”