Ironically, it was Stanfurd that brought Kaleb Higgins to Cal. Kaleb and his older brother Elijah played for Bowie Bulldogs in Austin TX. When the older 4-star brother went to play for Stanfurd, the Higgins family moved to California to be closer to Elijah, with the younger brother playing his junior year to play for the Folsom Bulldogs. Cal and ‘furd were early on Kaleb’s radar and he visited them both. However, he unofficially visited ‘furd a lot more visits than Cal. And he was on 'furd radar enough to do those dress-up-in-uniform photo shoots. He looks horrible in Cardinal.
Eventually, Kaleb received 14 offers, but ‘furd was not among them. Kaleb picked Cal over USC, Washington, Oregon, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Baylor, BC, Oregon State, Duke, WSU, Arizona, ASU, and Boise State.
Quantitative. You can’t coach height and reach. He’s a self-declared 6’2” and he looks the part. Cal generally lacked tall DBs apart from 6’1” Chigozie Anusiem – so having a taller, longer DB on the roster is something we really need. I couldn’t find any combine camp data and he didn’t do sprint events at Bowie Track & Field. The eyeball test indicates that his is a legitimate P5 recruit fast, but not a burner.
High school program. In Northern California’s central valley, there’s Folsom and then there’s everyone else. Folsom is known to the best athletes and coaching in the area, so consistently produce great talent. Folsom played an interesting defensive scheme, which was primarily a 4-3-0 cover 4 zone defense (ie, quarters). They rotated a lot a stable of players in to play DB, so there are more than four different players at CB and Safety for Folsom. I guess one could call Kaleb a “starter”, but he was part of a stable of guys who played outside CB.
Unlike other positions, the better the CB, the fewer the stats. Kaleb had the fewest tackles of the primary CB on the team. Conversely, the most tackles in the secondary was his 5’9” 155 lb sophomore safety who played next to him who had triple the number of tackles. Through 8 games, Kaleb only had 16 solo tackles and another 6 assists.
So one has to go to his tape to see if he’s any good. Yup. He’s good. The Cover-0 means that there is a lot of tape of him playing zone coverage. The positives are immediately obvious. He is very good at quickly read-react to QB and receivers. I was impressed at how quickly he sniffed out plays and broke on the ball. When he was beat, there was also enough tape of him recovering and ending up with pass defended. His press-man work, while not featured, also seemed very good to me. Good aggressive handwork, fluid hips, very good field awareness, aggressively kept on receivers hips.
What about development areas? Strength, tackling, and footwork. Kaleb is, like other high-school juniors, still growing into his body. He needs to hit the gym, plus work on functional fitness – specifically to improve his initial change-of-direction acceleration. He’s quick because of his brain, not because he’s a sprinter. But he has a big frame, enough where he could potentially be a safety depending on how he matures.
Secondly, his tackling is a work in progress. He too commonly comes in for a submarine tackle at somebody’s knees with his head down. I think when he bulks up, he’ll have more confidence to come in at hip level for a more complete tackle.
Third, Kaleb strides his opening steps. He needs to work on his footwork so he doesn’t lose so much time on his breaks. But he seems to be a serious student of being a CB and I’m confident in Cal’s coaches to take him to the next level.
Ultimately, one has to ask the Gerald Alexander question. Is he a baller? Hell yeah, he is. Tall, long, athletic, coachable, smart. I’m pretty excited for his future at Cal.
His rating isn’t flashy, but this is a sneaky great get for the staff. Kids that size rarely have his ability to change directions. While Rivals and 247 may be slow to rate him, his recruitment has been blowing up lately, and all the heavy hitters are sniffing around.
Interestingly, Stanford did not recruit him, according to Rivals. Wonder if he was hoping to play with his brother, or maybe just as glad not to spend another four years as the "younger Higgins....."
Kaleb Higgins
CB
Folsom HS (Folsom, CA)
6’2” 175 lbs
c/o 2021
Hudl highlights: http://www.hudl.com/v/2CbSjF
Ironically, it was Stanfurd that brought Kaleb Higgins to Cal. Kaleb and his older brother Elijah played for Bowie Bulldogs in Austin TX. When the older 4-star brother went to play for Stanfurd, the Higgins family moved to California to be closer to Elijah, with the younger brother playing his junior year to play for the Folsom Bulldogs. Cal and ‘furd were early on Kaleb’s radar and he visited them both. However, he unofficially visited ‘furd a lot more visits than Cal. And he was on 'furd radar enough to do those dress-up-in-uniform photo shoots. He looks horrible in Cardinal.
Eventually, Kaleb received 14 offers, but ‘furd was not among them. Kaleb picked Cal over USC, Washington, Oregon, Nebraska, Texas A&M, Baylor, BC, Oregon State, Duke, WSU, Arizona, ASU, and Boise State.
Quantitative. You can’t coach height and reach. He’s a self-declared 6’2” and he looks the part. Cal generally lacked tall DBs apart from 6’1” Chigozie Anusiem – so having a taller, longer DB on the roster is something we really need. I couldn’t find any combine camp data and he didn’t do sprint events at Bowie Track & Field. The eyeball test indicates that his is a legitimate P5 recruit fast, but not a burner.
High school program. In Northern California’s central valley, there’s Folsom and then there’s everyone else. Folsom is known to the best athletes and coaching in the area, so consistently produce great talent. Folsom played an interesting defensive scheme, which was primarily a 4-3-0 cover 4 zone defense (ie, quarters). They rotated a lot a stable of players in to play DB, so there are more than four different players at CB and Safety for Folsom. I guess one could call Kaleb a “starter”, but he was part of a stable of guys who played outside CB.
Unlike other positions, the better the CB, the fewer the stats. Kaleb had the fewest tackles of the primary CB on the team. Conversely, the most tackles in the secondary was his 5’9” 155 lb sophomore safety who played next to him who had triple the number of tackles. Through 8 games, Kaleb only had 16 solo tackles and another 6 assists.
So one has to go to his tape to see if he’s any good. Yup. He’s good. The Cover-0 means that there is a lot of tape of him playing zone coverage. The positives are immediately obvious. He is very good at quickly read-react to QB and receivers. I was impressed at how quickly he sniffed out plays and broke on the ball. When he was beat, there was also enough tape of him recovering and ending up with pass defended. His press-man work, while not featured, also seemed very good to me. Good aggressive handwork, fluid hips, very good field awareness, aggressively kept on receivers hips.
What about development areas? Strength, tackling, and footwork. Kaleb is, like other high-school juniors, still growing into his body. He needs to hit the gym, plus work on functional fitness – specifically to improve his initial change-of-direction acceleration. He’s quick because of his brain, not because he’s a sprinter. But he has a big frame, enough where he could potentially be a safety depending on how he matures.
Secondly, his tackling is a work in progress. He too commonly comes in for a submarine tackle at somebody’s knees with his head down. I think when he bulks up, he’ll have more confidence to come in at hip level for a more complete tackle.
Third, Kaleb strides his opening steps. He needs to work on his footwork so he doesn’t lose so much time on his breaks. But he seems to be a serious student of being a CB and I’m confident in Cal’s coaches to take him to the next level.
Ultimately, one has to ask the Gerald Alexander question. Is he a baller? Hell yeah, he is. Tall, long, athletic, coachable, smart. I’m pretty excited for his future at Cal.
His rating isn’t flashy, but this is a sneaky great get for the staff. Kids that size rarely have his ability to change directions. While Rivals and 247 may be slow to rate him, his recruitment has been blowing up lately, and all the heavy hitters are sniffing around.
Look at that offer list. This kid will be no lower than a high 3 star when it's all said and done.
Great news....love his size as a DB, or a WR....keep these good young players coming!
Go Bears!
Interestingly, Stanford did not recruit him, according to Rivals. Wonder if he was hoping to play with his brother, or maybe just as glad not to spend another four years as the "younger Higgins....."
Excellent