Sting Factor: RJ Jones' decommitment from Cal
When a major program loses a key recruit, Rivals.com takes a look at how big of a blow it is to the respective school, analyzing it from a local and national level. To quantify the “sting” of each decommitment, we assign a score from one to 10, with one being no big deal and 10 being a catastrophic hit.
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THE STORYLINE
When RJ Jones committed to Cal in early February, he said the Golden Bears checked every box.
He loved the coaching staff. The opportunity to play in the secondary was real and presented itself. The education in Berkeley suited him. Life after football was a major focus and important to him.
Throughout his recruitment, the four-star safety from Bellflower (Calif.) St. John Bosco never hid the idea of playing in the Pac-12, close to family and Cal was the perfect spot.
That was until earlier this week when Jones decided to back off his extended commitment to the Golden Bears as he felt the need to re-evaluate everything in his recruitment and start over from the beginning.
Colorado, UCLA, Louisville and Oregon State are some programs to watch but Jones also said “Cal of course” when asked which programs has he been hearing from most recently.
Maybe, the Golden Bears aren’t completely out of this but getting a re-commitment is oftentimes difficult.
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LOCAL REACTION
RJ Jones was the first commit in this 2023 class for Cal, way back in February. He was supposed to represent the start of momentum for the Golden Bears. Instead, his decommitment now symbolizes what has become a mounting struggle for Cal on the recruiting trail. He's the second decommitment of the week, following DT Ashton Sanders, and one could argue those were the two most high-profile prospects in the Bears' class. The uncertainty about the future of the Pac-12 and where Cal fits into new college football realignment has not helped those efforts, either. Jones is a nice prospect, but the real sting here is the trend and reality of where this recruiting cycle is going for the program. - Ryan Young, GoldenBearReport.com
Sting factor: 8
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NATIONAL REACTION
Cal is currently sitting in second-to-last place in the Pac-12 team recruiting rankings and the only team below the Golden Bears is Arizona State, which is in the thick of an NCAA investigation. It has not been a great stretch for Cal, which lost Jones and days before lost three-star DT Ashton Sanders, who’s looking at Wisconsin and other programs. There doesn’t seem to be any traction right now with the recruiting class and maybe the Golden Bears just need to weather things a few more weeks before they can get kids on official visits and get some kind of spark. As luck would have it, the schedule is favorable through the middle of October giving Cal something to build toward heading into the early season. There is some talent remaining in this class but it’s dwindling and Cal needs some positive momentum to get things going again on the recruiting trail. - Adam Gorney, National Recruiting Director
Sting factor: 7