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The Cal football program got its yearly infusion of talent on Wednesday, as 17 high schoolers and three junior college players signed letters of intent to play for the Bears. Headlined by a local star who head coach Tom Holmoe caught on the rebound, the class is considered to be Cal’s strongest in several years. 

Lorenzo Alexander, a 6-foot-3, 280-pound lineman who starred for St. Mary’s College High School for the last four years, committed to the Bears only after the Stanford admissions office rejected him. Alexander is widely regarded as one of the top 10 defensive line prospects in the country this year, the most highly-touted defensive lineman to commit to Cal since Andre Carter. 

“We know that we got him in a rebound situation, and we don’t care,” Holmoe said Wednesday. “We’ve told him the same things since he was a sophomore, and I think he realized that it was real. He’s the major force in this class. He has great size and speed.” 

Alexander is one of four SuperPrep All-Americans in the class, and one of 12 PrepStar All-Americans. There are 10 offensive players and 10 defensive players in the class. 

The new class of Bears is rated 34th in the country by PrepStar and 36th by Rivals.com.  

Other key players who committed to Cal on Wednesday are linebacker Mike Wells (Tucson, Ariz.), quarterback Richard Schwartz (Huntington Beach), and running backs Will Scott and Terrell Williams, who were teammates at Hoover High School in San Diego. 

“I think Mike Wells is a real sleeper,” Holmoe said, pointing out the player’s long wingspan and athletic ability. “He didn’t get a lot of respect from the ranking services, but he’s got a lot of potential.” 

Schwartz will be brought along slowly, as junior-to-be Kyle Boller has a stranglehold on the starting quarterback spot, and redshirt freshman Reggie Robertson (Wells’ high school teammate) has impressed the coaches with his athletic ability. 

The two teammates from San Diego were both adamant that they wanted to play offense, although both are were outstanding cornerbacks in high school. Holmoe said that with Cal’s depth at tailback, Scott and WIlliams could change their minds. 

The three junior college transfers will all be expected to contribute next season. Defensive end Tom Canada, who had 16 sacks for Hancock JC despite battling an ankle injury for most of the season, is already enrolled at Cal and will take part in spring practice. Canada, along with defensive end Josh Gustaveson and Alexander, will be counted on to help replace the departing Carter and Jacob Waasdorp, who anchored the Cal defense.  

Cornerback Ray Carmel, who Holmoe said will also be a kick returner, should help offset the loss of cornerback Chidi Iwouma. 

Also bolstering the defense next season will be the return of two players who left the team last year for personal reasons. Cornerback Atari Callen and linebacker Jamaal Cherry should both challenge for starting spots after missing last season. 

One recruit, Healdsburg offensive lineman Andrew Cameron, won’t be ready to play until 2003. Cameron tore his ACL during the season and will enroll in the spring semester of 2002. 

One thing missing from the class is a speed receiver or two. The Bears didn’t have bona fide deep threat last season, and both wide receiver recruits, Christian Prelle of Huntington Beach and John Rust of Lake Oswego, Ore., are possession-type wideouts. 

“We did go after some real fast guys, but didn’t get that speed-burner type of wide receiver,” Holmoe said. “Our receiving corps has been shoddy in the past number of years, but there’s no question in my mind that we’re very strong now, and we’ve added two quality players. But there’s no coach in his right mind who doesn’t want speed outside.”