Coleman Makes it Three For Cal This Week

After receiving a pair of commitments Tuesday, the Bears stayed on a recruiting roll today, receiving a commitment from Linfield Christian (Temecula, CA) High School offensive lineman Ben Coleman‍ .

The 6-4/300 Coleman played offensive and defensive tackle for Linfield but is likely to play inside at offensive guard for the Bears, though he'll get a look on the DL, too, with the potential to play both ways. On defense, Coleman racked up 79 tackles, 10.5 sacks, 25 tackles for loss and 14 quarterback hurries for Linfield in just 10 games. And on O, Coleman had 62 pancakes and knockdowns on the season.

"The coaching staff definitely played a big role in my decision," said Coleman. "Coach Greatwood first, Coach Wilcox, Coach Becton, and of course, my guy, Miguel (special teams assistant Miguel Reveles), same thing. For months, just checking on my all the time, making sure how I'm doing and building the relationship.

"Cal's on the rise. That's what I was looking for. I trust Coach Wilcox and everything that he's doing and I'm really excited to building it back up to what it should be at Cal. And of course, the degree -I don't even have to explain the value there. There's no denying it.

"I was really patient after having a great visit back in February, telling myself not to rush and to make the right decision for me and my family. A lot of prayer and conversations with my family went into this decision and Cal was really where my heart was."

"Off the field, he's wise beyond his years," said Linfield Christian coach DeChon Burns. "He's a product of his environment. He has great parental support. The standards in his home are integrity, hard work and achievement in the classroom first, before sports.

"That carries over to his life on the campus, where he's well-liked and well-respected and he's been given a lot of responsibility, which allows him to lead. That carries over to his leadership on the football field, where he can put the team on his shoulders and he can carry the weight."

On the field, Coleman's just as impressive.

"He's a high IQ player, so he understands the game and understands his position. He's always learning and evolving, doing all the behind-the-scenes work that pays off on the field.

"Despite his size, he's a real athlete. He was an AAU basketball player. He's not just a big body who leans on you and posts you up. I'm talking a real basketball player. HIs dad was a basketball player at Wake Forrest, too.

"In football, he hasn't given up a sack in 2 1/2 years, playing either guard or tackle, and he has an 82-inch wingspan. He can run, too. He'll pancake a guy then get up to go find someone else to hit. He's really explosive. He's durable, too. He played over 1,000 snaps and never came off the field, playing both offense and defense. He's even blocked a couple field goals on special teams. They're all quality snaps, too. He never takes a play off, never losing ground."

Watching Coleman's film and considering his frame, his play is somewhat reminiscent of Cal fullback Malik McMorris, who also excelled at defensive tackle in high school at Mater Dei, though McMorris is shorter.

"Number 99? I saw him play against Arizona, where my son plays, Lorenzo Burns. "I remember seeing big boy coming around the corner on those blocks. He reminds me of Ben, very much so. We had a heavy package for Ben as the lead blocker and he can catch, too. He's a very athletic guy."

Coleman visited in February with his family and was especially impressed, putting Cal in strong early contention with the 3 star OL.

"The visit up to Cal was great," said Coleman. "I was very shocked and surprised how perfect everything was.

"I came up with my mom, dad and cousin. I'd never been up to the bay since I was really little and the weather's way better than in Temecula.

"I didn't expect campus to be so beautiful and for everything to be so green. We loved it up there.

"I came up there with a checklist of everything I want to see in a program and Cal checked off every box."

Coleman also excels in the classroom, earning a 4.0 last semester and boasting offers from high academic programs like Columbia, Princeton, Yale and Brown. He'd like to study business or communications at Cal.

Much like jumbo size Cal fullback Malik McMorris, Coleman is a surprisingly nimble and athletic player, also playing basketball and track and field for Linfield.

"One thing about our family is, a commitment is a commitment for us," said Ben Coleman, Sr, who also serves as an assistant coach at Linfield. "That's one of the things we really talked about. The reality is, you see so any decommitments going on, a trend. So we prepare him as a mom and dad to prepare you and make sure you know what you're doing. And one thing you can count on, Ben Coleman will not be decommitting. He's committed and he's looking forward to putting on that Cal t-shirt every day and going to work every day to do the things he needs to do to get ready for Cal and for the season.

"We're super excited he chose Cal and his mom's really happy, too. Her facebook's about to blow up. It's one of the biggest decisions he'll make in life. And most of the major decisions he'll make in life will start with the school he's chosen. And he's chosen well."

Coleman became the ninth commit of the 2019 class, joining recent commit Brian Driscoll (Torrey Pines HS/San Diego, CA) as OL commits for the Bears.

After visiting Oregon, Arizona and Utah, the Bears beat out Florida, Nebraska, Oregon, Utah, Arizona, Arizona State, Washington State and more for Coleman's services.