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

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 8^th 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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