Cal DL commit Ashton Sanders reopens recruitment
Cal will need to look elsewhere for interior talent.
Cal will need to find a new defensive lineman for the 2023 class, as Cathedral defensive tackle Ashton Sanders is going to test the waters elsewhere after a two month commitment to the Bears.
Sanders originally committed to Cal in June after a strong battle with Wisconsin. You’d have to figure the Badgers are the leaders now for him. Sanders was very enthusiastic about his Cal commitment so this is a bit of a bummer.
Cal does have three defensive line commitments from Ryan McCulloch, Tiumalu Afalava, and Zurich Ashford, so the Bears aren’t lacking for talent upfront. It would still be nice for the Bears to get a pure interior tackle who can make the 3-4 as versatile as possible in future iterations. You’d have to imagine the transfer portal is the likeliest place to find an immediate talent infusion.
With Sanders’s decommitment, the Bears fall to nine commits and 71st in the 2023 247Sports Composite recruiting rankings, situating them at 10th in the Pac-12.
How much money is a 3* DT getting from NIL? The decision is probably more based on not wanting to risk holding the bag 3 years later when the Pac is no longer a power conference and he's playing in front of 15,000 people.
It is never fun when somebody de-commits but don't panic. The transfer portal is the new reality of college football, and he could very well re-commit down the road (like Jayden Ott did).