12 Top 2019 California Recruits Flying Under the Radar

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG

Photo credit: Raymond Joyce Photography

Twitter: @RJPSports

With National Signing Day just over a month away, times on the recruiting trail are full of the unexpected and unknown for both college football staffs needing impact players and the hopeful recruits wanting to find that ideal fit at the next level. While the five- and four-star recruits grab the lion’s share of the headlines and subsequent recruiting attention, there are a lot of three-star players, especially in California, flying under the proverbial radar who remain uncommitted. In another round of shinning light on some of the best of the best, we breakdown some of the top uncommitted three-star recruits who are next level players that even college coaches may not have heard of yet.

Related Article: Top Uncommitted 3-star 2019 California Recruits

Top Under the Radar Three-Star Uncommitted California Recruits

QB JP Andrade (6-3, 196) – Bonita High School, La Verne

Talking about peaking at the right time… JP Andrade did it, and did it in style. Andrade finished his career at Bonita owning every school passing record one can think of after connecting for 4,366 yards with 38 touchdowns tossed on 299 of 449 passing. His QBR was 118 and he was tops in California, No. 4 nationally, in completed passes in 2018. If experience counts for anything, he was a four-year player and racked up 9,423 career passing yards. South Alabama has extended a full-ride while Florida has offered a walk-on opportunity.

LB Jackson Cloyd (6-2, 225) – Orange Lutheran, Orange

When it comes to filling up the stat sheet against top competition, and over an extended period of time, tough to beat what Jackson Cloyd has done in the box for Orange Lutheran. Taking on Trinity League teams that are nationally ranked, teams like St. John Bosco, JSerra, and back-to-back national champs Mater Dei, Cloyd posted a 101-tackle, 10-tackles for a loss, and five-sack season in 2017 and followed it up with 103 tackles, 60 solo, 12 tackles for a loss, 6.5 sacks, 10 QB hurries, and a one pick senior year. The Ivy League schools love Cloyd. With 13 offers to choose from, Cloyd will have to narrow down the likes of Pennsylvania, Dartmouth, Columbia, and Brown along with Nevada, Hawaii, Air Force, and Army.

DT Jalen Rudolph (6-2, 280) – Serra High School, Gardena

While Jalen Rudolph may not check the boxes on the prototypical Division-I defensive tackle in height and weight, he is a true go-getter in the trenches, something that is not easy to come by on the trail. He finished his senior season with 46 stops, 18 solo, 13 tackles for a loss, 1.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles. The stats are not against cupcakes either. The Cavaliers threw down against the likes of Cathedral Catholic, Long Beach Poly, Narbonne, and Cathedral before playing against Mission League competition, arguably the second toughest football conference in California, with a playoff match-up against St. John Bosco. Reported offers have come in from San Jose State, Arkansas-Pine Bluff, and LSU per 247Sports.

WR Reggie Retzlaff (6-3, 205) – Centennial High School, Corona

College coaches who are not up to speed on Reggie Retzlaff, that is understandable but hopefully that changes quickly. One has to respect what Retzlaff has done for himself in less than a year. After transferring from Claremont, where he was a quarterback, to Centennial he was moved to receiver. All Retzlaff did was become the No. 9 nationally ranked Huskies second-leading receiver behind 2020 four-star wideout Gary Bryant pulling in 36 passes for 892 yards with 10 touchdowns. Retzlaff is a big target with speed, power, and hands who understands defenses and how to position himself as a receiver thanks to his time playing quarterback.

RB Daniel Fortune (6-0, 190) – Cajon High School, San Bernardino

Tough to play in the backfield with a dual-threat like Jayden Daniels who can do just about anything he wants on the field. Daniels threw for over 4,500 yards with 60 touchdowns and ran for over 1,500 yards accounting for 16 more scores. When Daniel Fortune’s number was called to run the ball, he racked up the yards covering 446 yards off 63 totes with six scores. Showing he is an all-purpose back, he also pulled down 20 passes for 384 yards with seven more scores posted on the board. For college coaches wanting to see his overall athleticism, take a look at his highlights on defense and on special teams. He ended his senior campaign with 25 tackles, two sacks, and two picks and returned 14 kicks for 304 yards. Surprisingly, just two offers have been extended to date, but two great ones coming from Utah and Iowa State.

OG Angel Flores (6-5, 340) – Dos Pueblos Senior, Goleta

As of this writing, the only reported offer for Angel Flores is San Jose State. Should the Spartans sneak away with Flores, they are getting one of the biggest steals in the 2019 recruiting class. Flores is a mountain of a young man but can move and will bury defenders who get in his path. What may be hurting Flores recruiting is playing for a run-heavy offense. The Chargers amassed 743 passing yards in 2018 to over 2,300 on the ground. There may not be a lot of tape on him in pass-pro, but the smart, and good coaches, should feel confident on “coaching him up” because the rest of the intangibles are there.

WR/DB Deavyn Woullard (6-0, 180) – Mission Viejo High School, Mission Viejo

Another great skill position talent Group of 5 and Power 5 schools are missing out on out of SoCal is Deavyn Woullard. After transferring in from La Habra, Woullard inserted himself into the Diablos system in a hurry becoming a key two-way player for the No. 26 ranked team in the nation. On defense, he ended the year with 43 tackles and six interceptions. On offense, he connected quickly with 2019 Arizona State signee Joey Yellen securing 33 passes for 634 yards with two scores. Thanks to the hard work in the classroom, Woullard has options. Cornell, Pennsylvania, Yale, Columbia, Brown, Holy Cross, Dartmouth, Air Force, and Army have all offered.

WR/DB Tyler Shimomura (5-11, 180) JSerra Catholic, San Juan Capistrano

Production instead of height should count for something, and one to make that case with is Tyler Shimomura. Going up against the best of the best in California, Shimomura ended his junior year with 715 yards on 42 receptions with eight scores. With the ball also being spread around to three-stars Tarik Luckett (Colorado) and Munir McClain (USC), Shimomura carved out his piece of the pie pulling in 34 passes for 525 yards with three touchdowns. He also picked off a pass and threw for a touchdown.

DB/WR Chris Rankins (6-0, 205) – Chaminade High School, West Hills

Chris Rankins is another true athlete capable of playing multiple positions and proved it against tough competition in the Mission League. Rankins finished 2018 with 47 tackles and two picks and also showed out on offense with 198 receiving yards off 10 receptions with a score. Rankins is another talent beloved among the Ivy League programs. With 14 offers on the table, some of the schools after him includes Yale, Princeton, Navy, Pennsylvania, Brown, Fresno State, Army, Columbia, and Air Force.

LB Victor Clanton (5-11, 220) – JSerra Catholic, San Juan Capistrano

Another highly productive Trinity League talent still left out on the trail as an undervalued recruit is Victor Clanton. Clanton was everywhere on defense for the Lions in 2018 helping his squad to a 9-3 record and a No. 17 national ranking. His senior season concluded with 79 stops, 14 tackles for a loss, 10 QB hurries, seven sacks, a forced fumble and a fumble recovery. Of all the players listed, one could argue that Clanton is the most overlooked with interest coming in from Nevada and UTEP.

WR/DB Evan Williams (6-0, 185) – St. Francis High School, Mountain View

Evan Williams was that do-everything kind of player for the Lancers in 2018 helping his squad to an 11-3 mark. He was far-and-away the team leader on offense pulling in 25 passes for 702 yards with 11 scores averaging a video game-esq 28 yards per reception. On defense, he padded his resume with 35 stops, 22 solo, 2.5 tackles for a loss, and three picks. His reported offer sheet has 11 schools after him which includes Princeton, Columbia, Air Force, Harvard, Dartmouth, Holy Cross, and Illinois.

RB Thomas Kinslow (5-10, 200) – Centennial High School, Corona

College coaches are missing out on a workhorse back in Thomas Kinslow. Even though the Huskies blow most of their opponents out of the water before halftime, the power back still rushed for 978 yards with 20 scores off 122 carries in 2017 and romped for 778 yards off 138 carries with 14 trips into the end zone helping Centennial to another Top 10 national ranking by MaxPreps. The yards were hard fought playing against the likes of IMG Academy, Chandler (AZ), Narbonne, St. John Bosco, Murrieta Valley, Orange Lutheran, Rancho Cucamonga, and Mater Dei. Feeding into the headline, the only reported offer for Kinslow at this time is Air Force.

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Photo credit: No. 1 Tyler Shimomura picks off a pass