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Photo by Twitter/ J Michael Sturdivant
Cal Football

Bears Snag Highest-Rated Recruit in Last Half Decade in WR Sturdivant

July 4, 2020
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The Bears pulled 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. Sturdivant joins a talented offensive Cal commit class that includes Kennedy-Richmond TE Jermaine Terry‍, whose composite rating and offer list is very comparable to Sturdivant’s, with blueblood offers throughout the country.

The 4 star receiver had 87 receptions for 1125 yards and 10 touchdowns in his junior season for Marcus. He joins fellow 4 star wide receiver commit Mavin Anderson‍ as the second receiver commit for Cal and the ninth overall in the 2021 class.

Sturdivant announced his commitment via Twitter this morning, saying:

“I want to thank God for giving me this amazing gift and blessing me with this opportunity. I want to thank my mom, my dad and both sisters for always pushing me to be the best version of myself every day and supporting me every step of my life.

“I’d like to thank Coach Cowdrey and the Husky football team for believing in me and giving me a chance to showcase my talent at a young age.

“A big thanks to the Delta Lamb Saints for helping me to find my true position and allowing me to begin to develop as a receiver. Thank you to the Kansas City Outlaws and FBU KC team for helping me show my talents all across the country and compete with some of the best.

“Another big thank you to the who Marcus community and football team for taking a kid from Kansas in with open arms and supporting and pushing me every day to become the best man I could become and I will forever be grateful for that. With all that being said, I am extremely excited to say that I will be committing to the University of California Berkeley!! Go Golden Bears!!”

With three receivers departing after this season, Sturdvivant and Anderson will be key additions for the Bears’ wide receiver corps, joining the talented 2020 WR recruiting class competing for early playing time.

Sturdivant’s trainer since 8th grade, Samie Parker -also a former Oregon teammate of Cal head coach Justin Wilcox after starring at Long Beach Poly had glowing reviews for Sturdivant.

“J Michael has developed a whole lot over the years, making the transformation from a talented kid to the dynamic playmaker he is,” said Parker. “The work ethic he has and the determination he has put him on the path to blossom to where he is now.

“He’s a very humble kid and hard worker, not wanting to draw attention about all his offers and everything. It’s not in his dna. He’s kind of like a silent assassin, coming in and doing what he needs to do. He’s always been that way when it comes to workouts and his team.”

As for what makes Sturdivant special, Parker noted that his skill set can turn ordinary plays to big ones with his gamechanging ability.

“I think Cal’s getting a dynamic playmaker, a homerun hitter with a lot of versatility to his game,” said Parker. “You watch his film and he can take a hitch and take it to the house. He takes small plays and makes them bigger and takes big plays and makes them even bigger. He can turn a hitch, slant, go’s to touchdowns. He’s versatile and can play inside or outside equally well. Just get the ball in his hands and watch what happens.

“I’m looking forward to seeing what he’ll do what he’ll do at Cal and being that I played with Coach Wilcox at Oregon back in the day, now I have even more reason to get out to Cal to watch J Michael and catch up with Justin.

“Justin’s a great person. I’ve watched the transformation he’s made since being a coordinator at Boise and USC, Tennessee, Washington and Wisconsin. I’m excited to see what the future holds for him and the program.

“Cal’s loaded on the defensive side, too, and I’m really excited to see what’s going to happen with the program.”

The Bears beat out a who’s who of offerees for the talented reciever, including fellow top four finalists national champ LSU, Oklahoma and UCLA along with Notre Dame, Stanford, Baylor, Florida State, Wisconsin and more for his services.

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Discussion from...

Bears Snag Highest-Rated Recruit in Last Half Decade in WR Sturdivant

31,350 Views | 17 Replies | Last: 3 yr ago by Unit2Sucks
BearoutEast67
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Awesome! Welcome to Cal and go Bears!
Donate to Cal's NIL at https://calegends.com/donation/
91Cal
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Welcome to the family! Go Bears!
dimitrig
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Nice!

"He's a very humble kid and hard worker, not wanting to draw attention about all his offers and everything. It's not in his dna. He's kind of like a silent assassin, coming in and doing what he needs to do. He's always been that way when it comes to workouts and his team."
Bearly Clad
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Current Star. Future Legend.

Most importantly, congratulations to JMike since this is his day. For us fans it's a reason to celebrate and a great day to be a Bear. Welcome to the family Mr. Sturdivant, and Roll on You Bears!

The Longhorns learned the hard way, Texas is Bear Territory. If you don't know, now you know.
YLS Bear
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Wide receivers are ready to contribute earlier than players at other positions too.
Sebastabear
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I've got to find that video feed from the moron who said he'd never pick Cal.
Chapman_is_Gone
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Moraga, a couple questions. What recruiting service and criteria are you using to call Sturdivant a "high" 4 star, and also how is he the "highest ranked recruit in last half decade" when Terry is ranked 20 spots above him on 24/7? Do you mean at the WR position?
Blueblood
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Chapman_is_Gone said:

Moraga, a couple questions. What recruiting service and criteria are you using to call Sturdivant a "high" 4 star, and also how is he the "highest ranked recruit in last half decade" when Terry is ranked 20 spots above him on 24/7? Do you mean at the WR position?

Hey, isn't chapman gone yet?
Chapman_is_Gone
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Blueblood said:

Chapman_is_Gone said:

Moraga, a couple questions. What recruiting service and criteria are you using to call Sturdivant a "high" 4 star, and also how is he the "highest ranked recruit in last half decade" when Terry is ranked 20 spots above him on 24/7? Do you mean at the WR position?

Hey, isn't chapman gone yet?
.

Can you spare a few whippets, Dr. Blue? Our newest recruit is being called "one of the top recruits of all time at Cal" and he is sure to be as good or better than Desean and Keenan, and I just want to join in on the fun!! My edibles aren't doing the job.
76BearsFly
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Wonderful news! Fine looking recruiting class so far. This young man looks like he wants to fully participate in and then utilize his Cal experience to make a difference in the world. Smart guy!!!
LACalFan
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Big time addition! GO BEARS!!!!
tim94501
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Been a while since we've had this much talent catching the ball in Berkeley. Can't wait. Go bears!!
Bearly Clad
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Big time playmaker with a massive offer list from all 5 power conferences. Can't wait to see what Sturdivant, Millner, Terry, Anderson, and the rest of the class do in the new Musgrave offense. That's four 4* guys including an All-American QB. DCs and scoreboard operators are having heart attacks right about now
MoragaBear
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Staff
Chapman_is_Gone said:

Moraga, a couple questions. What recruiting service and criteria are you using to call Sturdivant a "high" 4 star, and also how is he the "highest ranked recruit in last half decade" when Terry is ranked 20 spots above him on 24/7? Do you mean at the WR position?
I'm referencing the 247 composite rating, combining 247, Rivals and ESPN ratings. Terry's is one of the highest in the past half decade but just a bit below Sturdivant's. Sturdivant's composite rating is .9238 and Terry's is .9204. Both great ratings and huge signings for Cal, especially considering the comp for them.
Chapman_is_Gone
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Got it, thanks.
Cal88
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Awesome addition, not only a great prospect but a fine young man and a class act.

This program is going places.
Unit2Sucks
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Congrats to our newest commit! Can't wait to see him breaking ankles in a Cal uniform (if not necessarily the UA one in his announcement).
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