Cal Lands Highly Regarded 4-Star RB Melquise Stovall
Written by Ryan Wright
Twitter: @HogManInLA
The Golden Bears may have landed their most prized recruit in the 2016 recruiting class in terms of ranking, on Monday when Melquise Stovall verbally committed to Cal.
Stovall had a breakout junior season rushing 198 times for 1,603 yards with 21 touchdowns. The two-way star also had 32 tackles, four pass breakups, and two interceptions playing corner for Paraclete High School. The 5’8”, 180 pound, talent was limited during his senior year only carrying the ball 40 times for 450 yards with six touchdowns but had a bigger impact in the passing game pulling in 46 receptions for 740 yards with five scores. Stovall also upped his game on defense racking up 68 tackles with six pass breakups, one forced fumble, and two interceptions returning one for a touchdown.
Colleges up and down the west coast were after the Lancaster area native picking up nearly 20 scholarship offers from programs like UCLA, USC, Washington, Washington State, Arizona State, San Diego State, and east coast teams Miami and North Carolina. The top programs in the running appeared to be Notre Dame, Utah, Arizona, Boise State, and Cal. Each program hosted the California recruit with Cal getting the last on Dec. 11.
Stovall is part of the evolution of the slot receiver and all-purpose back able to line up in the backfield as a change of pace guy or lineup inside along the line of scrimmage creating mismatches for linebackers underneath.
Cal now has 23 verbal commits to their 2016 recruiting class with eight players having already signed their letter of intent as early enrollees or as a junior college transfer. Stovall, QB Max Filliam, and WR/ATH Jordan Duncan are all rated as 4-star recruits. Riverside OG Dwayne Wallace is considered a 3-star recruit despite being a JUCO All-American.
Stovall is also a U.S. Army All-American Game invite.
Cal Golden Bears 2016 Verbal Commitment List
QB Max Gilliam, 6’3”, 190 lbs, Oaks Christian, Thousand Oaks, CA
RB Derrick Clark, 5’11”, 195 lbs, Mission Bay HS, San Diego, CA
RB Melquise Stovall, 5’8”, 180 lbs, Paraclete HS, Lancaster, CA
WR/ATH Jordan Duncan, 6’0”, 193 lbs, Oak Grove HS, Hattiesburg, MS
WR/TE Logan Gamble, 6’6”, 200 lbs, St. Anthony’s HS, Long Beach, CA
WR Drew Kobayashi, 6’2”, 185 lbs, St. Louis HS, Honolulu, HI
WR Matt Laris, 6’4”, 210 lbs, Eastside Catholic HS, Sammamish, WA
WR Jordan Veasy, 6’2”, 215 lbs, Golden West College, Huntington Beach, CA
OG Francisco Perez, 6’5”, 300 lbs, Baldwin Park HS, Baldwin Park, CA
OG Dwayne Wallace, 6’4”, 320 lbs, Riverside C.C., Riverside, CA
OG Gentle Williams, 6’3”, 280 lbs, Florence HS, Florence, MS
OT Daniel Juarez, 6’5”, 270 lbs, Centennial High School, Corona, CA
OT Jake Curhan, 6’7”, 305 lbs, Redwood High School, Larkspur, CA
CB Traveon Beck, 5’10”, 170 lbs, St. John Bosco HS, Bellflower, CA
CB Camryn Bynum, 5’10”, 165 lbs, Centennial HS, Corona, CA
CB Joshua Drayden, 5’9.5”, 168 lbs, Bishop Dunne HS, Dallas, TX
CB Marloshawn Franklin, 6’0”, 185 lbs, Mesa C.C., Mesa, AZ
LB Cameron Goode, 6’3”, 195 lbs, Klein Collins HS, Houston, TX
DE Russell Becker, 6’4”, 255 lbs, Fergus Falls C.C., Fergus Falls, MN
DE Chinedu Udeogu, 6’4”, 250 lbs, Georgetown Prep, Rockville, MD
DE Evan Weaver, 6’3”, 240 lbs, Gonzaga Prep HS, Spokane, Washington
DT Tevin Paul, 6’4”, 265 lbs, Lake Travis HS, Austin, TX
DT Chris Yaghi, 6’4”, 269 lbs, Foothill HS, Santa Ana, CA
Photo credit: highschoolfootballofamerica.com; Melquise Stovall receives his U.S. Army Game jersey.