Friday Night Lights – A Look Into the Future of Cal Football Part VIII
The end of the regular season of high school football nears, and the post season is on the horizon
Sometimes, Cal football leaves me feeling numb. I imagine you know the feeling. As a seasoned veteran and all-time great couch QB, I felt a sense of doom and gloom after Cal could not stop one single QB-run play against Virginia Tech last Friday. This Friday Night Lights series in particular, has made me more cautious of the play calling (or lack thereof) and general optics surrounding the University of California’s football team, because I am invested now more in the stories and 2026 senior season(s) of these future Golden Bears, and I just hope they do not see blunders and mistakes as a reason to no longer be invested in the program and their futures here.
So, as I was doom-scrolling all week about the JKS helmet coming off play-calling ignorance, Cal’s defense not being able to catch a cold. The nightmares of Kyron Drones running through a *insert Marshawn Lynch quote* face, I see Cal picked up two recruits who believe in the vision and potential that this team can build. Both players, an OT and a WR, are crucial young weapons that Cal, Cal fans, and Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele need to feel a sense of security and hope that help is on the way for our generational-talent QB.
With that said, this week’s Friday Night Lights is a welcome to Daniel McMorris and Kai Meza, as well as a continued spotlight on our future Golden Bears who remain committed to the vision and process of the 40-year decision by coming to UC Berkeley. I, for one, can’t wait to welcome them all equally.
Daniel McMorris – OT – 4/5-Star (90 OVR) – Norman North (Norman, OK) – To the surprise of all following the No. 1 OT in the state of Oklahoma, Cal was able to land the 6’6 blocker in a shocking change of commitment after Daniel McMorris announced his decommitment from Minnesota and left his options up to Oklahoma, Texas Tech, Stanford, ASU, and the Golden Bears to name a few.
McMorris immediately becomes tied with Purcell as the highest-ranked Cal-commit in the 2026 class and adds some sense of hope to the future of JKS’ protection, as the OT ranks 23rd overall in the class of 2026 according to 24/7 Sports. In his last game with the Norman North Timberwolves, McMorris and the o-line were able to create enough pass protection for their QB to throw for 348 yards and 5 TDs, while helping the rush game produce 145 yards on 27 carries in the team’s 40-48 loss to the Yukon Millers.
Taimane Purcell – TE- 4/5-Star (90 OVR) - Kamehameha (Honolulu, HI) – The Kamehameha Warriors defeated the Punahou Buffanblu by a score of 24-10 with TE Cal-commit Taimane Purcell bringing in 5 catches for 39 yards receiving, as well as rushing for 2 yards and a TD on 1 attempt in the 4th quarter on offense, and recording 2 tackles and an INT on defense as he got it done on both sides of the ball for the Warriors.
Victor Santino - RB - 3/5-Star (89 OVR) - Bishop Montgomery (Torrance, CA) – DNP: Season Forfeited.
Nemyah Telona - DL - De La Salle (Concord, CA) – “Choose the lesser of two evils.” I will. De La Salle did the lord’s work and demolished San Ramon Valley High School by a score of 56-7, with Nemyah Telona having a productive night defensively as the senior defensive linemen picked up 5 total tackles (2 solo and 3 assisted) as the Spartans improved to 8-0 and jumped up a spot in the California rankings to No. 5. With my SRVHS-rivalry aside, let’s not look at the final score between De La Salle and my beloved Cal High Grizzlies for the following week, okay?
Cam Brooks - EDGE - 3/5-Star (88 OVR) - Thomas County Central (Thomasville, GA) – Cam Brooks and the Thomas County Central Yellow Jackets just continue to put on a show in Thomasville, as the Yellowjackets defeated the Houston County Bears by a score of 31-7 with the 6’3 230 lb EDGE rusher picking up 4 total tackles (3 solo and 1 assisted), 1 TFL, 1 sack for -7 yards, and 6 QB hurries in the 9th consecutive Yellowjackets victory.
Kamo’i Huihui-White - IOL - 3/5-Star (88 OVR) - Saint. Louis (Honolulu, HI) – Bye Week!
Nainoa Lopes - QB - 3/5-Star (88 OVR) - St. Louis (Honolulu, HI) – Bye Week!
EJ Morgan - WR - 3/5-Star (88 OVR) - Central East (Fresno, CA) – The Central East Bengals’ winning streak continues to 9 games as Clovis High School came to Centra East and was handed a 61-49 loss, with EJ Morgan bringing in 3 receptions for 49 yards on offense and returning a kickoff for 35 yards as the Bengals improved to 8-1 on the season.
Tyree Sams - WR - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) - Clovis North (Clovis, CA) – Clovis North continues to struggle in conference play as they dropped their 4th game in a row, this time to Clovis West with a 24-30 OT loss on the road. Tyree Sams did not play in this game for the Broncos.
Ernest Nunley – S/WR - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) - Western (Anaheim, CA) – Nunley was unable to get anything going on defense as the hybrid player only picked up 2 receptions for a total of 31 yards on offense as the Western Pioneers dropped their Thursday night conference matchup against the Tustin Tillers.
Jonathan McKinley II - LB - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) – Centennial (Corona, CA) – McKinley II did not record any stats in Centennial’s 59-49 win over the Norco Cougars.
Esaiah Wong - OT - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) - Kailua (Kailua, HI) – Bye Week!
Jaxon Pyatt - LB - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) - Arvada West (Arvada, CO) – With under a minute left in regulation, the Chatfield Chargers mounted a comeback against the Arvada West Wildcats and needed a single PAT to tie it up and send the game to overtime. Instead, a missed PAT sent the Wildcats home with their 9th straight win of the season, as Cal-commit Jaxon Pyatt was a monster on defense as usual, picking up 8 total tackles (4 solo and 4 assisted) in the game, keeping his team energized for every snap.
Elisha Faamatuainu - IOL - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) - Murrieta Valley (Murrieta, CA) – Murrieta Valley lost heartbreakingly as the Nighthawks were storming down the field with less than 1 minute left in the 4th quarter and down 35-36 as Vista Murrieta got a 65-yard Pick 6 to close the door on this conference rivalry game with a final score of 42-35. The Offensive line struggled to protect in this game as MV’s QBs threw for 255 yards, 3 TDs, and 4 INTs, with the rush doing much better, generating 295 yards and 2 TDs.
Brady Palmer - QB - 3/5-Star (86 OVR) - Cathedral Catholic (San Diego, CA) – Brady Palmer did not play for a 3rd consecutive game as the Cal-commit QB continues to heal from an arm injury sustained against De La Salle. The Cathedral Catholic Dons did go on to defeat the Lincoln (San Diego) Hornets 42-33 on the road.
Artem Korchagin - IOL - 3/5-Star (86 OVR) - Thomas County Central (Thomasville, GA) – Korchagin and the offensive line stayed sturdy against the Houston County Bears, generating 218 rushing yards for 2 TDs and creating enough pass protection for 198 yards and 2 TDs with 1 INT.
Kai Meza – WR – 3/5-Star (86 OVR) – Corner Canyon (Draper, UT) – 3-Star WR Kai Meza decommitted from Minnesota on September 28th, and announced on Thursday that he has committed to the California Golden Bears over Colorado and Kansas State. The Utahn WR has had a breakout junior and senior season, bringing in 42 receptions for 784 yards and 8 TDs this year, and 46 receptions for 944 yards and 13 TDs last year.
Corner Canyon High School ranked No. 1 in the state of Utah and No. 32 nationwide and had a bye week last week, as Meza now joins the weekly schedule for Friday Night Lights. Meza is the 3rd true WR in the 2026 recruitment class for Wilcox and Cherrington.
Rocky Cummings: LB – Carlsbad (CA) (3/5 Star, 86 OVR) – The No. 12-ranked team in the state of California, the Carlsbad Lancers, lost their first game of the season to La Costa Canyon last Friday by a final score of 22-50. Rocky Cummings did not suit up for the Lancers for a second straight week.
Frank Fanua - IOL - 3/5-Star (86 OVR) - Mount Miguel (Spring Valley, CA) – Bye Week!
Deon Jackson - CB - 3/5-Star (85 OVR) - Long Beach Poly (Long Beach, CA) – After losing a nailbiter to Woodrow Wilson High, the Jackrabbits bounced back with a 72-0 demolition of the Cabrillo Jaguars at home. Jackson had a really solid game, picking 8 pass deflections, 1 INT, and 1 solo tackle (which was a TFL) on the evening as the Jackrabbits scored 8 touchdowns on offense to flat-out steamroll Cabrillo.
Luca Wolf - TE - 3/5-Star (85 OVR) - NFL Academy (London, EN) – Bye Week!
Kingston “Lucky” Schirmer - DL - 3/5-Star (85 OVR) - Centennial (Corona, CA) – Lucky Schirmer was able to add to the very spread out defensive contributions by the Centennial Huskies in their 59-49 win over the Norco Cougars, as Schirmer recorded 2 total tackles (1 solo and 1 assisted) and 1 pass deflection as the Huskies improved to 8-1 on the season and jumped to No. 2 in the California rankings.
Mcmorris Commitment is huge
Considering how badly we have been playing and with the likelihood of Wilcox being gone by the end of this month at 99.99999%, I wonder how many of these guys will stick with their committments to Cal. Sigh.........