Exclusive Interview: DE Evan Weaver talks about Verbal Commitment to Cal

Written by Ryan Wright

Friday at about 10-til 8 p.m. Pacific Time, Washington Class of 2016 defensive end Evan Weaver cut the waiting time of a previous announcement date of August 18 by four days verbally committing to the Cal Golden Bears.

Evan made the announcement official on Twitter posting, “Today’s follow up visit to my top school was amazing & no need to wait longer. Once again thank you to all schools who believe and you many dedicated fans. I am thrilled to announce my commitment to the Cal Golden Bears!!! Thanks to my family and my high school, G-Prep!”

The 6’3”, 240 pound, athlete has double-digit offers from programs like Washington, Arizona, Boise State, Washington State, Utah, Army, Colorado State, Idaho, Montana, UNLV, and Wyoming. He was selected first-team All-State by the AP, Seattle Times, and Tacoma News and was Defensive MVP All-Area Inland Northwest after coming up with 123 tackles with 37 tackles for a loss helping Gonzaga Prep go 10-2 in 2014.

In an exclusive Recruiting News Guru interview I caught up Evan just after his announcement to get the inside scoop on his commitment.

Interview
I know you are on campus now, what were the series of events that led up to you verbally committing today?

“We showed up early this morning and went to the player meetings, went to practice, and then I had a meeting with Coach (Fred) Tate (defensive line coach), Coach (Sonny) Dykes (head coach), and pretty much everybody. I knew I wanted to commit while I was on this trip. That was the whole reason we took this trip. I just felt that it was the right time. I told them I wanted to be a Bear and I wanted to commit.”

What were the reactions of the coaches?

“They absolutely were ecstatic. They loved it. They were so happy for me. Coach Tate was funny he said “that just made me a way better coach. Everything about it was awesome.”

How did you feel at that moment when you verbally committed?

“I was a little bit nervous but once I got it out it was pure enjoyment. I was so happy. I’m still really pumped up right.”

I know everything is new and fresh but do you plan on recruiting other players to join you at Cal?

“No doubt.”

Do you have any players in mind yet?

“I don’t but I’ll get a list of the players and I’ll try to get them there.”

Did you set an official visit date yet?

“They have a day called Commit Day where all of their commits come on that day and they spend time with each other, or I think its Commit Weekend. I’ll come back for that but they’re not sure when that is yet.”

Was this your first time visiting the campus?

“No, I visited in February or March and then the visit here this weekend and it felt right.”

What were some of the thing that drew you to commit to Cal? What were some of the things that made you feel like this is the spot for you?

“The way that they’re going to use me as a player it’s going to be awesome. The campus, the people there are awesome, the coaches, their support staff, and the facilities. I’m in love with Cal.”

Cal now has 21 verbal commitments to their 2016 recruiting class.

Cal Golden Bears 2016 Verbal Commitment List
QB Max Gilliam, 6’3”, 190 lbs, Oaks Christian, Thousand Oaks, CA
QB Armani Rogers, 6’6”, 200 lbs, Hamilton High School, Los Angeles, CA
RB Derrick Clark, 5’11”, 195 lbs, Mission Bay HS, San Diego, CA
RB Zion Echols, 5’9”, 175 lbs, Charter Oak HS, Covina, CA
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
OC A.J. McCollum, 6’2”, 280 lbs, City College of San Francisco, San Francisco, CA
OG Francisco Perez, 6’5”, 300 lbs, Baldwin Park HS, Baldwin Park, 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
LB Cameron Goode, 6’3”, 195 lbs, Klein Collins HS, Houston, TX
LB Markus Wright, 6’2”, 215 lbs, Jordan HS, Columbus, GA
DE Russell Becker, 6’4”, 255 lbs, Fergus Falls C.C., Fergus Falls, MN
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: Evan Weaver; Evan at Cal.