Friday Night Lights - A Quieter Week Across Bear Territory Amidst National Attention: Part XIII
The 2026 commits are officially signed and ready to enroll at the University of California, Berkeley - with 7 players still having games to be covered in our FNL series.
High school football is coming to an end, with the remaining games of the 2025 season coming down to determining the state champions across the nation. The University of California is officially bringing in a new head coach in Tosh Lupoi, and a comment he made in the introductory press conference resonated with me; and that was that they (Ron and Tosh) “missed their window” on the 2026 recruitment cycle, due to not getting the deal finalized before the early signing period began.
Because of this, Coach Lupoi made an emphasis to highlight how Cal will be “aggressive” in the transfer portal when it comes to “talent acquisition.” Lupoi and the Golden Bears’ repeated approach to the transfer portal may come as a bummer to Cal fans and alumni alike, but it is important to consider that the 17 recruited players for the 2026 class were under the Wilcox-led Cal team, and retaining them with a whole new leader at the helm, who did not recruit them, shows a level of trust and devotion to the Blue and Gold.
Of the 17 committed and now signed California Golden Bears, this week’s Friday Night Lights highlights the seven players who either just played or are about to play their final games of high school football - as seasons end through heartbreak, triumph, and pages turned to new chapters, with 11 of the 17 signees enrolling at Berkeley early as Spring admits. (As a fellow spring admit myself (2022) - it’s an adjustment, but the greatest decision I ever made).
As always, let’s get into it: This week’s Friday Night Lights has less action, but plenty of accomplishments and games to highlight and prepare for as fans of The People’s Programs’ future.
Taimane Purcell – TE- 4/5-Star (90 OVR) - Kamehameha (Honolulu, HI) – California’s highest tanked recruit out of the state of Hawaii brought in 4 receptions for 45 yards and a TD while rushing for 32 yards on 2 attempts in the Kamehameha Warriors’ 31-10 win over the Kapolei Hurricanes in the Division I-Open HHSAA Football State Championships. The Warriors move on to take on the Campbell Sabers in the Championship round.
EJ Morgan - WR - 3/5-Star (89 OVR) - Central East (Fresno, CA) – Bye Week! EJ Morgan & the Central East Bengals will take on the Pittsburg Pirates in the Division I-A North CIF Regional Football Championship Bowl Games on Saturday night.
Nemyah Telona - DL – 3/5-Star (88 OVR) - De La Salle (Concord, CA) – Bye Week! The hometown commit, Nemyah Telona, and the De La Salle Spartans will square off against the Santa Margarita Eagles in the 2025 CIF State Football Championship Game Finals.
Kai Meza – WR – 3/5-Star (88 OVR) – Corner Canyon (Draper, UT) – Bye Week! Kai Meza and Corner Canyon return to action on December 10th at Under Armour Stadium in Baltimore, Maryland, to take on St. Frances Academy in the first-ever Overtime Nationals high school football championship, which will see the No. 1 team in Utah go head-to-head against the nation’s No. 2 team and No. 1 team in Maryland.
JD McKinley - LB - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) – Centennial (Corona, CA) – JD McKinley and the Centennial Huskies’ season came to an end in the Division I 2025 CIF Southern Section-Ford Football Championship, as the Huskies dropped the Championship game to the Santa Margarita Eagles by a final score of 7-42. McKinley had 4 total tackles (2 solo and 2 assisted) and a fumble recovery in his final game for the Huskies.
Esaiah Wong - OT - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) - Kailua (Kailua, HI) – Esaiah Wong and the Kailua Surfriders are the 2025 First Hawaiian Bank/HHSAA Football State Champions. Kailua held the Kapaa Warriors to 9 points in their 13-9 victory, with Wong anchoring the offensive line that enabled a limited rushing game of just 70 yards while providing the pass protection for 119 yards and a touchdown.
Lucky Schirmer - DL - 3/5-Star (85 OVR) - Centennial (Corona, CA) – Lucky Schirmer had 3 assisted tackles in the Division I 2025 CIF Southern Section-Ford Football Championship game, where the Huskies lost 7-42 to Santa Margarita.
[OFFICALLY] Golden Bears in Hibernation
The remaining recruits have finished their season and are ready to roll in Bear Territory.
Daniel McMorris – OT – 4/5-Star (94 OVR) – Norman North (Norman, OK)
Victor Santino - RB - 3/5-Star (89 OVR) - Edison (Miami, FL)
Kamo’i Huihui-White - IOL - 3/5-Star (88 OVR) – St. Louis (Honolulu, HI)
Nainoa Lopes - QB - 3/5-Star (88 OVR) – St. Louis (Honolulu, HI)
Tyree Sams - WR - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) - Clovis North (Clovis, CA)
Ernest Nunley – S/WR - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) - Western (Anaheim, CA)
Jaxon Pyatt - LB - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) - Arvada West (Arvada, CO)
Elisha Faamatuainu - IOL - 3/5-Star (87 OVR) - Murrieta Valley (Murrieta, CA)
Frank Fanua - IOL - 3/5-Star (86 OVR) - Mount Miguel (Spring Valley, CA)
Niles Davis – ATH/WR/DB – 3/5-Star (83 OVR) – Westlake (Westlake Village, CA)
Now that Tosh is signed and JKS is definitely returning - praise Oski! - it seems very much on the cards that we're going to see some excellent WRs and RBs via transfer portal.
Isn't there a late signing period as well and haven't some HS players not signed yet so there's still an opportunity to recruit HS players this cycle? In addition to portal? Or is portal all we have left?