ESPN West recruiting Blog

Posted by Greg Biggins

It's an absolute huge recruiting weekend for Cal this weekend as more and more impact players are taking official and unofficial visits.

On hand will be several Golden Bears' commitments, including Elite 11 quarterback Austin Hinder (Steamboat Springs, Colo./Steamboat Springs), speed receiver Tevin Carter (Los Angeles, Calif./Santee), stud linebackers Nick Forbes (Frederick, Md./Governor Thomas Johnson), David Wilkerson (Danville, Calif./Monte Vista) and Cecil Whiteside (Newport Harbor, Calif./Newport Harbor), offensive lineman Alex Crosthwaite (San Diego, Calif./Cathedral Catholic) and receivers Davon Dunn (San Diego, Calif./Abraham Lincoln) and Josh Harper (Stockton, Calif./St. Mary's).

Making a return trip to the Bay Area is former Oakland standout and current Notre Dame commit Chris Martin (Aurora Colo./Grandview).

"I'm intrigued with Cal," Martin said. "They're recruiting me as an outside linebacker in their 3-4 scheme and I'm curious how I would fit in there. I've lost a lot of weight since the summer when I was slow and out of shape.

"I'm down to about 225 pounds and I was as high as 250 in the summer. Right now, I feel so much quicker and explosive and I like the idea of playing linebacker in college, it has always been my natural position."

Oregon's top player, Owamagbe Odighizuwa (Portland, Ore./David Douglas), will be in attendance and the Bears have long been thought to be no worse than a co-leader. Like Martin, Odighizuwa has the size and athleticism to play defensive end or outside linebacker in college depending on the scheme and a strong visit could really put the Bears in the driver's seat.

Big defensive tackle Cassius Marsh (Westlake Village, Calif./Oaks Christian) was an early commit to Cal before backing off, saying he wanted to take his official visits. The Bears are still in a very good position for Marsh and most close to the tackle feel if signing day was today, he would be signing with Cal. Marsh will take a handful of official visits in successive weeks to LSU, ASU and Oklahoma later this month.

Another standout defensive lineman Gabe King (Eugene, Ore./South Eugene), has been one of the most intriguing players to follow this year. King was considered a Cal lock just a few months ago ,but it seems Oregon and Alabama have crept up to make this race interesting. In fact, King recently moved from North Carolina to Oregon and is now playing at South Eugene High School -- a stones throw from the Ducks' campus. Can the Bears overtake the Ducks and Tide? This weekend could go a long way to determine that.

Another lineman that seemed on the verge of making a commitment multiple times is offensive lineman Chris Ward (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei). He has been flip-flopping between Cal and UCLA since the spring and seemed close to committing to the Bruins before scheduling this official visit to Berkeley just a few weeks ago. Going in to the visit, word on the street is UCLA may have a slight edge, but Ward has always loved his time in Berkeley and every time he returned home from a visit there, had the Bears back on top.

Another Bears-Bruins battle is shaping up for athlete Anthony Jefferson (Los Angeles, Calif./Cathedral). He's a talented athlete at receiver and cornerback, who was thought to be an early USC lean, but said he hasn't been hearing from the Trojans much as of late. Jefferson has already visited Oregon and will take a few trips outside the region, but many close to him feel he will eventually chose one of the in-state programs.

A pair of big time, national running backs will be in attendance, but both appear to be long shots at the moment. Lache Seastrunk (Temple, Texas/Temple) and Jordon James (Corona, Calif./Corona) are big-play running backs capable of scoring from anywhere on the field and few schools have done a better job churning out high level backs than the Bears over the last few years.

Seastrunk's recruitment has always been a big mystery and will likely go down to the wire, but it will take a lot to pull the athlete away from the South and Southwest programs. James has already visited Washington and will also check out Notre Dame, Arizona and UCLA. The Bruins have led for some time, but Cal is high on the list as well. James will make his choice in early January at the Under Armour All-American game.