Garnett talks Cal junior day

Joshua Garnett is considered one of the top offensive linemen in the country and so his junior day visit to Cal was important last weekend so he could get a feel for new offensive line coach Jim Michalczik and everything else the Golden Bears offer.

The 6-foot-5, 275-pound offensive tackle from Puyallup, Wash., left Berkeley more than impressed and said Cal is definitely in the running for his services.

"I definitely liked it," Garnett said. "They have a new facility which was really nice and I got to sit down with the offensive line coach and a strength trainer and we got to pick their brains a little bit about their scheme and their technique. I really like what they're doing and it fits the character mold I put on myself as an offensive lineman in high school.

"It definitely was a lot about feeling (Michalczik) out, how he responds to you, how he talks to you, how he views you as a player and where the interest level is. It really helped me a lot. Coach M is a really cool guy and he knows a lot about his craft. I could tell just by talking to him he's a really good coach."

Garnett was shown the new football facilities, he talked to the coaching staff and got a good understanding of the athletics. Talking to some academic people was also an important part of his Cal trip and that happened as well. He said the Golden Bears impressed him in many ways during Saturday's trip.

"It definitely helped out Cal a lot," Garnett said. "It definitely made me think a lot about my decision since I came down to Cal and had a great experience talking to some guys and getting a lot of questions answered, looking at their academic facilities and talking to some sports medicine people. It really boosted their stock a little bit."

Next up for Garnett is going to Oregon's junior day in early April and he also plans to visit Washington. With so many programs involved, Garnett said he might not be done with recruiting until National Signing Day but he wants to get a good gauge on schools so he can narrow down his list.

After those two unofficial visits, Garnett plans to attend the Eugene and Seattle NIKE Camps.

"The next step is going to be Oregon's junior day," Garnett said. "I haven't been down there since last year so I definitely want to feel them out and then I'm going to UW.

"After Oregon's junior day I'm going to focus a lot on going to the NIKE camps at UW and Oregon and then after that it will come down to recruiting, making my list and narrowing it down to a select few schools."

So far on Garnett's offer list are Auburn, Cal, Nebraska, Notre Dame, Oregon, Stanford, UCLA, USC, Washington and Washington State. Many more offers could come soon.