Best visit yet for Warren

Long Beach Poly (Calif.) defensive back Donovan Warren took his third official visit of the year to Cal this past weekend. The talented cornerback had previously visited Arizona and Michigan but said his trip to Berkeley was his best visit so far.

"I knew I was going to enjoy the visit but I liked it even mroe than I thought I would," Warren said. "I left Saturday morning around 8:00 and got there around 9:00. After I checked in at the hotel, we headed over to the campus. I met with some people in the Business department since that's what I want to major in and then took a tour of the campus.

"We went over the class breakdown, the tutoring program, things like that. I also met up with the coaches and talked to them a little bit and then we all headed over to the stadium. I checked out the weight room and then was down on the field for pre-game.

"Once the game started, we were all up in the stands and the atmosphere was pretty crazy. Everyone was really hyped up and making a lot of noise the entire game. It wasn't quite as loud as it was at Michigan, but Michigan's stadium has a lot more room too. It was louder than any game I've been to at USC and I was really impressed with Cal and especially liked watching their defensive backs.

"I was paying a lot of attention to their schemes and how they run their defense. Their corners play a ton of man and they liked to put those guys on an island and that's how I like to play. They mix things up though, they'll play a lot of man, then play some zone, then go to press, then back off, you never see the same thing twice.

"I was also really impressed with Daymeion Hughes. He's a big time corner and just a great football player. After the game, we went in to the locker room, hung out with the players and coaches and then I went out with my host who was my boy Desean Jackson.

"Desean has always been like a big brother to me so it was cool hanging out with him. He loves it at Cal and was telling me how great it was there but was also saying I have to do what I think is best for me and wasn't really pressuring me or anything to go there. He loves it though and he's definitely the man there, everyone knows who he is.

"Sunday, I met with Coach Tedford and Coach Littlejohn. Both coaches did a nice job of breaking down the depth chart for me and showed me how I would have a great chance to come in and compete right away for playing time. Coach Littlejohn also talked to me more about the defense at Cal and specifically how they use thier DBs.

"Overall, it was a great trip. On a scale from 1-10, I would give the Cal visit a nine. I loved Michigan but I would have to say Cal was the best visit I've had so far. The two schools are actually similar in a lot of ways. Both are strong in football and academically and both have a great coaching staff. Cal is closer to home and that could be a factor.

"My next visit will be to Ohio State (Dec. 1) but if we make it to the CIF finals, I'll have to move it back because I believe the finals are that weekend. I'm going to visit Oregon too but that will be after the season. Then I'll take unofficial visits to USC and UCLA and after all those trips, I should be ready to make my decision."