Cal Football National Signing Day Central

The Bears got out of the gate quickly, signing 11 of their 14 commits in the first hour along with a new commitment from 247’s #1 JC edge in the country early this morning.

The first signing to roll in was from Stoney Point (Round Rock, TX) DB Kaden Cook‍ who we had the chance to stop by and interview on Monday. The 6-0/195 had 54 tackles and a pair of interceptions as a senior along with 47 tackles and two forced fumbles as a junior. He was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals and also had offers from ASU and Texas State before his early commitment to Cal in June. Cook will be an early enrollee this spring.

Next was Mountain View HS (Mesa, AZ) linebacker Beckham Barney‍. The 6-1/215 LB had 74 tackles, 10 TFL and 1 sack along with 327 yards and scored six rushing touchdowns, with three receiving touchdowns as a senior after a big junior season with 145 tackles 13 TFL and 4 sacks. Barney was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals

Third up was Skyridge High School (Lehi, UT) offensive guard Ben Howard‍. The 6-3/330 OG helped Skyridge to a 10-3 overall record, (5-0 region) and No. 3 state ranking. Howard was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals and also had offers from Arizona, Arizona State and Penn State among others.

Next up was Edina HS (Edina, MN) wide receiver Meyer Swinney‍. The 6-3/210 WR had 80 catches for 1,263 yards and 17 touchdowns as a senior and helped Edina HS to a 9-3 overall record this season. He added 54 catches for 900 yards and 11 touchdowns as a junior. The younger brother of Cal offensive lineman Bastian Swinney was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals and also had offers from Miami, Iowa State and Kansas State among others. Swinney will be an early enrollee this spring.

Fifth to sign was Serra HS (Gardena, CA) defensive back Trey Harrison. The 6-0/180 DB pulled 3 interceptions and added 78 total tackles as a senior, helping lead Serra to an 8-4 record. Harrison added 78 tackles and three interceptions as a junior and was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals. He also had offers from Notre Dame, Washington State and Boston College, among others

Next up was the first new commit of the day, College of San Mateo edge defender Odera Okaka. The 6-4/240 edge prepped at Pittsburg high school before competing at JC powerhouse CSM. Okaka was rated the nation's #1 JUCO edge player according to 247 JUCO composite. He had 41 tackles and 3 sacks in his first year at College of San Mateo along with 1 pass breakup and 1 forced fumble as a freshman., helping CSM to a 10-1 record in 2024. He was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals and also had offers from Penn State, West Virginia and Mississippi State, among others. Okaka will be an early enrollee this spring.

Seventh to sign was Millikan HS (Long Beach, CA) running back Anthony League‍. The 6-0/210 RB rushed for 1,546 yards and 22 TDs as a senior in 2024, averaging 154 ypg and 10.6 ypc adding 14 passes for 379 yards and 4 TDs in 2024, helping Millikan to an 8-3 overall record and 6-0 league mark in 2024. The 2024 Moore League Player of the Year also ran for 1,694 yards and 20 TDs at Los Alamitos HS from 2021-23 and was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals he also had offers from Arizona, BYU, Colorado and Colorado State among others

Next up was Sierra Canyon defensive back Jae’on Young. The 5-11/170 DB had 5 interceptions for 215 yards and 38 total tackles as a senior, helping lead Sierra Canyon to 8-4 overall record (5-0 conference) with 29 tackles, 1 interception and 1 fumble recovery as a junior. Young was rated a 4-star recruit by 247, 3-star recruit according to On3, ESPN and Rivals. He also had offers from ASU, BYU, Stanford, Arizona and Boston College, among others. Young will be an early enrollee this spring.

Ninth to sign was Archbishop Riordan (San Francisco, CA) edge player John Tofi Jr‍. The 6-4/210 edge totaled 48 tackles and 2 TFL as a senior in 2024 along with one interception and a forced fumble. The versatile new addition also plays safety and tight end in high school and played basketball for the Oakland Soldiers AAU squad. Tofi was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals. The newest Bear comes from a large family so expect him to continue to grow into his 6’4 frame.

Next up was Fortuna Union HS (Fortuna, CA) tight end Jacob Houseworth‍. The 6-3/225 TE is a multisport athlete (football/basketball/baseball) who played both offense and defense at running back and tight end along with linebacker, running for 778 yards (8.4 ypc) and adding 13 passes as a junior in 2023. Houseworth was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals and also had offers from Oregon State, Washington State and Nevada among others.

Eleventh to sign was Liberty High School (Brentwood, CA) offensive tackle Mike Klisiewicz‍. The big 6-6/315 OT started all 12 games this season helping lead Liberty to an 8-4 record. Klisiewics was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals and also had offers from Washington State, Fresno State and San Diego State among others

Next to sign was Alief Hasting HS (Houston, TX) defensive lineman Ike Okafor‍. The 6-3/280 DL had 30 tackles, 5 sacks, 1 forced fumble and 1 fumble recovery as a senior. Okafor also competes in track & field, throwing the discus and shot put and was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals. He also had offers from Houston, Texas Tech and Pittsburgh among others

The most recent to sign was Kahuku HS (Kahuku, HA) defensive lineman Lebron Williams‍.

The 6-2/260 DL had 16 tackles and 2 sacks as a senior in 2024 at Kahuku and also added 4 sacks, 6 tackles for loss and 3 forced fumbles as a junior in 2023, helping lead Kahuku to the 2023 state championship game. Williams was rated a consensus 3-star recruit according to On3, 247, ESPN and Rivals and also had offers from UCLA, San Diego State and Washington State among others

Last up of the Bears’ publicly-committed signees was Kahuku HS (Kahuku, HA) defensive back Aiden Manutai‍. The 5-11/205 DB had 23 tackles, 5 pass breakups and 1 interception returned for a touchdown as a senior, helping Kahuku to a 9-5 record and a #2 state ranking in 2024. He also added 17 tackles and 3 interceptions as a junior. Manutai was rated a 4-star recruit according to ESPN, 3-star by On3, 247 and Rivals. He also had offers from Oregon, Tennessee, Miami, Washington and Nebraska, among others. Manutai will be an early entry in January.

The Bears also got bad news today as they fell short to Oregon in their battle for QB Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele‍. Head coach Justin Wilcox was non-committal on whether or not they’d add another prep QB or portal QB to the class. 

In total, the Bears will have six early enrollees this spring from the currently announced signees including five of the Bears six highest-rated signees.

Stay tuned for more on Cal’s NSD today.