June Commitments Breakdown: Northern California

Photo: Justin Eklund Twitter

Paul Gregorian July 8, 2021 @ 02:31 PM

As we draw closer to the Fall high school football season, prospects are locking up their roster spots for the 2022 college football season and finding their collegiate homes rapidly. As the first wave of commitments have been taking place, there are plenty of other offers still to be given out to prospects and big decisions to be made before the two signing days in the Winter. Below, we will dive into some of the commitments that have been made by the top prospects that Northern California has to offer. <hr />   OL Denaris DeRosa, Saint Francis HS Committed: San Jose State This is a big get for the Spartans. They have a history of being able to snag the best Saint Francis players year in and year out. They hit a home-run here with DeRosa as he is a nasty interior player that offers a high floor at the next level. He has a good frame and natural strength and should be a multi-year starter for the spartans. He plays with good bend, heavy hands and finishes blocks well while able to combo/climb when needed and is athletic in space. San Jose State was his loan offer, and could potentially see more come his way even with his commitment in place.   OLB [player_tooltip player_id="141911" first="Justin" last="Eklund"], Folsom HS Committed: San Jose State Eklund is one of the most explosive and physical defenders in the entire state and offers really nice versatility at the next level. He flashes off the edge, is a natural bender and shows a quick use of hands at the point of attack while able to flip his hips in tight windows collapse the pocket quickly. He is a very sound tackler that shocks bigger blockers with good power and pad level and has nice overall speed/hip fluidity in space. At 6'2"+ he is another another big time get for the spartans as he holds 10+ offers from the likes of Arizona State, Montana, Montana State, Wyoming, Utah State, Sacramento State and Idaho, among others.   LB [player_tooltip player_id="141922" first="Damonie" last="Perkins"], De La Salle HS Committed: San Jose State Perkins is one of the most under-recruited prospects in all of Northern California. Having an ideal frame for the position, he can pack on another 15-20 pounds and still be athletic and effective at the FBS level. He is a very athletic and balanced defender that can apply pressure from all angles and cover when needed/turn and run with bigger body receivers. In the run game, he is physical in the box and takes good angles to ball carriers while showing sneaky closing speed and bringing a strong thump upon contact. He also held an offer from Sacramento State and is a multi-FBS offer kid.   DB Bryant Meredith, De La Salle HS Committed: Northern Arizona Meredith has elite speed and will be a high end prospect at the next level. From his corner position, he has natural hips in transition and does a terrific job at high-pointing balls and using the sideline/body position to win 1on1 match ups against bigger receivers. In run support, he is not afraid to come up and make big time tackles in open space while reducing false steps and breaking quickly to ball carriers from various different angles/body positions. He can play all over the field and is a top player on one of the states top defenses. Another under-recruited player, NAU is his loan offer, but that could soon change.