3*/4* 2022 DL Nate Burrell Commits to Cal
Coveted St. John Bosco DL joins Damonic as a SDE for the Golden Bears
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Looks like the first set of official visits has made its first impact with the commitment of the 3*(247 Sports)/4*(Rivals) DL out of SoCal (and first Bosco player since fan-favorite Trey Beck).
The 6’2” 285 lbs SDE looks to join the already loaded group of players from the 2021 class as well as the current DL Damonic Williams. Per DC Sirmon Cal will always recruit the DL, the need for depth in this position reared its head during the Covid 2020 season and was addressed by adding many more players in the last two recruiting classes.
Welcome to Cal!
PS. Pay Browning, please and thank you.
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At least for me, I'm not going to count him as a hard commit. Sure, the seven recruits gave rave reviews of Cal's first Official Visit weekend and he's already recruiting others via Twitter. However, Burrell committed after just doing one of his five allotted OVs. He previously planned to also visit Oregon, Boise State, Washington State, and Washington. Unless he publicly shuts down his recruiting, he's still got a long way to go. Young men can be fickle and the last OV usually has the statistical advantage of landing a recruit.
First of all, it is a lot of fun watching St. John Bosco tape. It is fun to watch elite talent that is well coached. The first thing I noticed is that SJB plays a similar defense to Cal – a 3-4 base, moving the D-line around both in sequence (NG to DT) and technique (0-5) and has an advanced portfolio of moves (eg, stunts, shifts, delays) and responsibilities (1 or 2 gaps). https://www.hudl.com/video/3/12331226/608d04835eeca409e4e7ac1b
SJB’s fearsome D-line includes Burrell (3 star, c/o ’22, 11 P5 offers), Jarius Satele (3 star, c/o ’22, 2 P5 offers), Ieremia "Iela" Moore (3 star, c/o ’21, Cal commit). The D-line also has great substitutes, including Matayo Uiagalelei who is a borderline 5-star player and has been mentioned as consideration for the #1 c/o 2023 player in the country.
Burrell and Moore are a similar 3-technique type of linemen like James Looney – the low 6-foot guy who weighs around 280 pounds that relies on quickness and leverage to beat defenders on pass plays and occupy one and a half blockers on a run play.
Burrell and Moore are very similar – very quick off the line for 260-285 pound guys and good footwork. If they’re 1-gap responsible, you can see they attack a gap, seeking to avoid contact altogether with quickness rather than get tied up and be at a disadvantage with their shorter arms and lighter weight. If they’re 2-gap responsible, they both have violent hands to disrupt and shed the engaging block. As a result, Burrell and Moore have similar statistics 3-4 tackles per game and a sack every other game against high-level competition.
Someone should give Browning a massive raise because he is a beast of a recruiter – far and away the best on the coaching staff.