Golden Bear Preview: Jeremiah Earby

We may have a slim reaper on our hands

Earby via Calbears.com

After a bit of a break with regards to the previews of the signing class due to Spring ball, its time to get back into it. Round five of my preview series on Cal’s most recent recruiting class brings us to Jeremiah Earby, a nimble defensive back out of East Palo Alto, California.

EPA is well known for producing D1 talent, with the likes of Davante Adams (Fresno State to the Raiders), KeeSean Johnson (Fresno State to the Cardinals), Daniel Heimuli (University of Washington), Noa Ngalu (University of Washington), and Troy Franklin (University of Oregon) just to name a few. Earby is hidden gem out of this small hotbed of talent on the eastside of the peninsula, and figures to have some similar success.

I am very pleased for one that Cal got him because it shows a willingness to recruit more areas within the Bay Area, because having gone to a high school in the peninsula, there’s boatloads of talent down here. But what do we know about him? Well let me indulge you.

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The Bio and Measurables

• 6 foot 2 inches

• 170 LBS

• Menlo Atherton High School (from East Palo Alto, CA)

• Hudl highlights

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What does Earby bring to the table?

Jeremiah Earby is looking to be a big physical corner at the next level. Earby went two ways for most of his time at Menlo Atherton, a good team in a strong Central Coast Section that also contains Bay Area powerhouses Serra and St.Francis. During his senior season, Earby transitioned into a boundary corner, usually tasked with covering the #1 receiver for the opposing teams. Look here at the 1:28 mark of his senior season, where he rides over the top of St.Francis’s go to receiver off play action.

You could think of him playing against Cal’s offense on this play, with St.Francis’s style and Cal’s style not all that different from one another. Earby has long strides once he gets out of his break and uses his hands effectively to bother receivers and actually turn around for the ball, something that even DB’s in the NFL have a hard time doing. Earby clearly has some solid size to develop with, and just needs to put on a few pounds to really round out his conditioning to get to the next level.

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What can Earby improve on?

Earby reminds me of a younger Camryn Bynum who is working on his 1 on 1 coverage, needing to learn to turn his hips with fluidity. He got noticed at a Sac State megacamp, and his story took off from there. I think he needs better acceleration and movement out of his defensive break, as his first half second just seems to be a bit slow, but with how disciplined his eyes are, he could easily become part of the future takers. Acceleration and fluidity can be taught with coach Brown and Watson, and I look forward to what Earby can develop into. Like I mentioned earlier, I see a lot of the younger Camryn Bynum in Earby: He’s fundamentally sound, able to find the football with relative ease, and has a nose for making the right play.

via @JEarby_7 on twitter

Earby can be an elite corner at the D1 level and I’m intrigued to see how Cal uses him, especially with Lu Magia Hearns and Isaiah Young comfortably holding the outside for at least the next two seasons. Earby can break into a CB2 battle with Young maybe, and I certainly am ready for that battle to commence if it ever happens. Frankly, its about time Cal started taking a better look at the talent along the peninsula. Their past efforts along this front have not been good enough in any respect, no matter how you twist it. I’ve seen it with my own eyes. Hopefully Jeremiah Earby can be the first of a new pipeline of talent from the peninsula, because like many others, he possess all the intangibles you want in a player.

Best of luck to Jeremiah as he starts his Cal career in the summer!