Hoffpauir headed to Pac-12

Zach Hoffpauir visited Cal over the summer and loved everything about the trip so the Golden Bears had been one of his favorites throughout his recruitment.

The possibility to play both baseball and football in college was also a big attraction and one the Peoria (Ariz.) Centennial safety decided was too much to give up. Hoffpauir, a three-star prospect by Rivals.com, decided to commit Tuesday night.

"I had taken an unofficial visit in the summer," Hoffpauir said. "I went to one of their camps and I worked out a little bit there and I got to see all their stuff and I really liked it a lot. I liked the coaches, I actually love the coaches, and I love everything about it.

"The baseball worked out too because I'm looking to play both. I got to talk to some of the baseball coaches and I loved everything about my chances there. That's the plan (to play both sports)."

Hoffpauir, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound prospect who's rated No. 22 at safety in the 2012 class and No. 11 in the Arizona state rankings by Rivals.com, said he didn't want to give up either football or baseball yet so having the chance to play both at Cal was a big selling point in his decision.

"I could've gone to college and played one or the other but I wanted to play both," Hoffpauir said. "It was a pretty big deal for me."

Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Duke, Northwestern, Stanford, UCLA, Utah State, Washington and others had offered Hoffpauir but he said he found everything he wanted in Berkeley.

Plus, he feels he'll have a good chance to get on the field early so everything seemed to fit.

"It's really exciting," Hoffpauir said. "The new facilities they're getting there are the best I've ever seen and the best I've ever heard of. Playing for coach (Clancy) Pendergast, he's a big-time NFL guy and a great defensive coordinator and he just works a lot with the safeties. That played a big role in me going there.

"I think I have a pretty good chance of coming in and competing for a spot early. We have a pretty good recruiting class coming in, too."