Cal Football

4 Star Texas DB Ryan Yaites Impressed by What Bears Have to Offer

By Jim McGill

June 7, 2022

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In their first big official visit weekend o the year, the Bears hosted six recruits on official visits, including 6-2/185 Guyer (Denton, TX) High School DB Ryan Yaites‍.

The 4-star corner and his family had a standout visit and left with a great impression of the program in their first visit to California and the Bay Area.

“It was great going out there,” said Yaites. “It was my first time being in California. It was crazy to see on one side from the top of the stadium, you could see the mountains and look to the other way and you see the ocean so it was pretty special. And talking to Coach AB (defensive QC coach Allen Brown), Coach Tre, the head coach -Coach Wilcox- all those guys - was great. They’re a strong group and you can see that they can do big things this year with just the way they bring that energy. And off the field, they keep it real and they’ll always be honest with you.”

“I got to spend time with Kaleb Higgins, who’s a corner there,” said Yaites. “I got to spend time with Ben Coleman, who’s an O-lineman there and with the QB and some other guys. All the guys I was with were really cool, going over to Kaleb’s house and hanging out with those guys. At Cal, they talk about not only being a family on the field but off the field, too. You can tell they do a really good job of that. And even being a young recruit, they kind of let me into their family, too.

“You can definitely how happy the guys are to be there. Even talking about their season last year which wasn’t the best, they’ve really bought into the program and believe in it.”

The family was clearly impressed, as well.

“The staff was amazing!” said Yaites’ father, Ryan Sr. “I would feel extremely comfortable with Ryan in their hands.

“We were able to spend time with each coach. From Coach Wilcox, the position coaches - TB (Terrance Brown), Tre and AB, Marshall (Cherrington), Ben (Gaus) and Coach Coach (Ron Coccimiglio). But the man of the hour was Benji. Professional but extremely personable.

“The players we met fit my son's personality well. Kaleb Higgins was very respectful and reminded me of Ryan the way he spoke and carried himself. The campus was beautiful. The 8th floor view looking out over the bay and the mountains behind us was like no other. My wife and I will be back for sure.”

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Though he committed earlier this year to LSU, Yaites noted that the program encouraged him to take some visits to be sure of his decision and the versatile DB is taking the opportunity to compare programs and drill down on what exactly would be the best fit for him.

“I’m looking for a program that fits best for my needs,” said Yaites. “Being one of those hybrids, I call myself a hybrid DB, with Tre and AB and Terrance Brown, they all work together in the DB room. It’s not corners, safeties, nickel. They’re all in the same room and that’s something I’m really looking for.

“Programs I’m looking at are all going to have great facilities, best weight rooms and strength coaches. So it’s about how do I fit in with the coaches and with how they run things?”

Though the Bears are coming off a disappointing 5-7 season, Yaites sees big things in the Bears near term future.

“I think this summer and fall, they’re going to do some big things and make a strong run for the Pac-12 and maybe even win the championship this year, to be honest,” said Yaites. “Even when they lost last year, they were all such close games. I can totally see them closing that gap and turning things around.”

Yaites has an official visit lined up for Michigan State this weekend and will likely visit LSU at the end of June or in the fall.