Cal Football

Los Gatos LB Will Schweitzer Talks Recruiting

By Joshua Morgan

April 22, 2020

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As we’ve said before, one of the biggest downfalls of an otherwise solid 2020 recruiting class for Cal was the lack of pass rushers. This year, this is something that Cal will surely want to correct. They already have a commitment from Akili Calhoun‍, and are in a great position to get another one in Los Gatos High School outside linebacker Will Schweitzer‍

Schweitzer, at 6’4” 210 pounds, is a consensus three-star recruit. One of the most interesting things that stands out about him from a Cal perspective is that he went to the same high school as current Cal linebacker Kyle Smith. Smith’s recruitment was an easy way for Schweitzer to initially get in contact with the Cal staff.

“I got in contact [with the Cal staff] right after my sophomore year,” said Schweitzer. “In my sophomore year, I played next to Kyle Smith, a linebacker who’s at Cal at the moment, and near the end of my sophomore year Coach Toler hit me up and since then I’ve formed a relationship with him, Coach DeRuyter, Coach Wilcox, and Coach Sirmon.”

“Kyle was definitely a guy I looked up to in high school. He was always “the guy” on varsity, and that’s always what I wanted to be. When I got pulled up sophomore year, he was a guy who I looked at as someone to mold my game after. He was always a close buddy of mine and I would love to play with him again at some point.”

In terms of what schools stand out for Schweitzer at the moment, he said Cal is definitely one of his top schools, although he is also being recruiting hard by San Diego State, TCU, Nebraska, and Virginia.

“On my list of schools right now, Cal is pretty much at the top with a couple of others,” said Schweitzer. “Cal is definitely a school that I’m considering committing to, and I’ve been there multiple times, so I feel like I’ve formed a relationship with the Cal staff more than some of the schools I have offers from.”

As a great student, Schweitzer is a natural fit for Cal and says that academics are one of the main reasons why he is considering Cal.

“What stands out to me most about Cal is that it’s the number one public school in the country,” said Schweitzer. “You can’t ask for a better education to set yourself up for life after football, so after football ends, Cal is a great place to have a degree from going into the business world. I’ve talked to my parents and with my college choice I definitely want to be making a 40-year decision and not a 4-year decision, and I think Cal is a great place for that.

“There are a lot of schools that you can go to for four years and then never be affiliated with again, but I feel like Cal will help you out for the rest of your life.”

As a football player, Schweitzer brings exactly what Cal likes to the table. He has the pass-rushing ability that they need and is also a player who prides himself on versatility and hustle, which are two things that Cal greatly values.

“I think that my biggest strength is my versatility,” said Schweitzer. “I started my career as a defensive end and then as my pass rush evolved, I started playing more outside linebacker. Last year, I played inside linebacker and my overall linebacker skills evolved even more. I’m definitely a sideline-to-sideline player; I’m never giving up on plays and if someone knocks me down I’m getting back up, so I think hustle is another big part of my game.”

In terms of how the coronavirus has effected his recruitment, he said that it actually could cause him to make his decision sooner.

“Timeline wise, I had always been thinking about taking all my official visits and committing in December, but with not being able to take visits because of the coronavirus, I might even push that sooner, but I don’t know yet.”

Regardless, Schweitzer is staying in shape and Cal looks to be in a great position to land him when he does make his decision.

“I’ve just been running and I’ve been lifting at a friend’s house, so that’s been good, and recruiting has been crazy but I’m just keeping my head down,” said Schweitzer. “Cal’s been one of my go-to’s throughout this whole process and they still are.”

As a junior, Schweitzer led Los Gatos with 130 tackles and three interceptions for the CCS champs.