Several new offers were handed up front this past Junior Day weekend, with the Bears looking both locally and nationally for new talent.
3-star lineman Roger Alderman (6-5, 275 pounds) from Sonora, CA
Offers: Cal, Colorado, Fresno State, Nevada, Utah State, Washington State
Highlights: Hudl
Alderman could potentially play on either side of the offensive front—with Angus McClure being the one offering him, it might be Cal looking on the offensive side. More from the BarkBoard:
“My game as a lineman is that I am mentally and physically strong. I can explode off the line to defend my quarterback and open holes for our runners. I like to make big hits and pancake the opposing team,” Alderman said.
3-star wide receiver Grant Gray (6-3, 180 pounds) from Norco, CA
Offers: Arizona, Boise State, Colorado, Fresno State, Rice, San Diego State, UCLA, UNLV
Highlights: Hudl
Gray is arguably one of the top Southern California wideouts this cycle. He performed very well at the recent Under Armour camp. Greg Biggins with 247Sports has more:
Gray is so smooth and one of the most polished receivers in the West. Like we said with Matthews, Gray has made a nice jump in his overall athleticism as well. He can get deep, does a great job adjusting to the football and made several jump ball catches over smaller defensive backs. He’s close to 6-3 now, putting on good weight and is playing with a ton of confidence
Gray is a potential two-sport athlete as well—he plays baseball and plans to double sport in college. This will be a heated competition.
3-star defensive tackle Amos Talalele (6-5, 330 pounds) from Santa Clara, CA
Offers: Cal, Nevada, USC, Washington
Highlights: Hudl
Talalele’s recruitment has been picking up steam as of late, and he looks like he’ll be a major target for the Bears. He can play on either the offensive or defensive side of the line. He enjoyed his time on his Junior Day visit and would be one of Cal’s biggest prospects in some time.
3-star offensive tackle Charlie Symonds (6-7 265 pounds) from Waterton, CT
Offers: Boston College, Duke, Maryland, Michigan State, NC State, Vanderbilt, Virginia, Wake Forest
Highlights: Hudl
Cal achieved some solid results in line recruiting out-of-state the previous few cycles, so it makes sense they’d look outside their usual wheelhouse for talent. Charlie Symonds. Symonds has taken numerous visits to East Coast programs, but this is the first major West Coast offer, so we’ll see if he’s that interested.
4-star wide receiver Joshua Manning (6-3, 190 pounds) from Lee's Summit, MO
Major offers: 15 in all, including Arkansas, Cincinnati, Iowa, Iowa State, Kansas State, Missouri, Nebraska, Northwestern, Washington, Wisconsin
Highlights: Hudl
3-star tight end Collins Acheampong (6-7, 230 pounds) from Anaheim, CA
Major offers: Cal, Colorado, Oregon, UCLA, USC, Utah, Washington
Highlights: Twitter
Acheampong is one of the most coveted tight ends/athlete prospects in California in the 2023 cycle. It’s possible he could project to defensive end as well if he rounds into form—Acheampong racked 51 tackles, 15 tackles for loss and 9 sacks, and forced a fumble back in 2020.
Defensive lineman Jaren Woods (6-4, 280 pounds) from La Grange, TX
Major offers: Baylor, Cal, Houston, TCU, Texas, Texas Tech
Highlights: Hudl
Andrew Browning is looking to land his first major win, and Woods would be quite a talent to land. Woods is already being highly pursued by Texas programs so this will be a tough get, but recruiting is looking good. Woods racked up 53 tackles (six TFL) and one sack last season.
Edge Armel Mukam (6-4, 250 pounds) from Woodberry Forrest, VA
Major offers: Colorado, Vanderbilt, Ivy Leagues like Brown and Penn
Highlights: Hudl
Fun fact: Murkam used to play hockey before switching to football as his full-time sport. The son of parents from Cameroon and Chad, Murkam appears to be the first major offer new Cal edge coach Vic So’oto has handed out.
In Murkam’s junior season, he racked up 41 tackles (eight TFL), six sacks, and a fumble recovery. More in this profile:
“I think I’m a hybrid defensive end. I definitely am more of a pass rusher, but I can still make some plays in the run game,” Mukam said. “My favorite position to play is defensive end, because you have to be an all-around athlete. You need to be able to take on blocks from 300-pound lineman and be quick enough to get to the quarterback before he throws the ball.”
2024 cornerback Dakoda Fields (6-3, 175 pounds) from Gardena, CA
Major offers: Arizona, Cal, Colorado, San Jose State, Utah State
Highlights: Hudl
The Junior Olympian is already catching eyes early. Fields is already looking like one of Serra’s top defenders as a sophomore, making plays everywhere, and the offers are begining to pour in. More on his overall track talent:
I had been to the Junior Olympics since I was about five years old. I do all events really; the 800, 400, long jump, all the relays, and the high jump. I won the triathlon, that’s the 800, 200, long jump, and the shotput. I won that at nine and 10-years-old.
Expect Fields to be participating in both football and track at the next level.
2025 wide receiver Phillip Bell III (6-1, 185 pounds) from Sacramento, CA
Offers: Cal, Florida Atlantic, Oklahoma State, Oregon, Oregon State, Utah State
Highlights: YouTube
The offers are pouring in early for the future high school sophomore. He’s already making state teams and getting Power 5 offers early. But still a long way to go.
Thanks much. Time for football! I just imagine the players in Memorial practicing and getting ready. Go Bears!