Cal Pads O-Line with 4 Star Commit Isaiah Bertola
Last weekend’s official visit marked Isaiah Bertola’s second time on Cal campus, and it was all he needed to see. The Bears’s newest commit at offensive line is an imposing 6’5” 259 pound tackle from Ewe Beach, HI. He is a former teammate of Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele, having put in time for the Campbell Sabers before transferring to his current school, Farrington, where he was a standout on a stacked line.
Bertola’s recruitment was lead by Offensive Line coach Famikae Anae. Anae’s Hawaiian roots, as well as the Polynesian on the roster, helped the recruit feel at home quickly, telling Rivals; “I have so many great relationships in place at Cal so it was so easy to bond and connect. I know a lot of guys from the Islands, a lot of Poly’s (Polynesian) including my old quarterback (Jaron Keawe Sagapolutele) so I feel great about my decision.”
Bertola was scheduled to visit Texas and BYU, but is shutting down all further visits after announcing his commitment to play for the Golden Bears.
While almost all high-school o-line recruits are development projects, Coaches Tosh and Anae are attracting some guys who are next-level large and athletic. While the former Pac-12 had better offensive skill players than the current ACC, the ACC seems to attract better defensive linemen. Under Wilcox, we saw Cal's oline get not just out-executed - but physically overwhelmed - against certain opponents. Size and quickness are things you can't out-prepare, out-coach, out-train, or out-execute. So, yeah, I'll take the freakishly physical specimen who never played football before. And I'll take the Baby Huey, who tosses camp opponents around like nothing before he gets P4 strength, conditioning, and nutrition. The future is bright, fellas.
Hawaii connection is really paying off for the Bears, bringing in another massive, refrigerator-size recruit for the OL. Tosh has developed a well oiled recruiting machine that will hopefully feed a whole new, winning era for Cal football.