Interview: 4-Star Nikko Remigio Breaks the Mold for Cal at Receiver Joining 2018 Class

Written by Ryan Wright

Twitter: @RyanWrightRNG

The recruiting game between high school players and college coaches can be a lot like a dating scenario. Everyone comes forward with their best foot out and there is a lot of lip service bantered about with neither side truly knowing if they are getting the absolute truth. The unknown or potential dating lies on the recruiting trail have skipped Cal-Berkeley and Class of 2018 receiver Nikko Remigio; they both know exactly how one another feels about each other and the pairing could not be any better.

Remigio worked his way into four-star recruiting status with Mater Dei High School during the 2016 season. After a 20 reception, 226 receiving yard, and two touchdown sophomore season, Remigio helped the Monarchs remain one of the top programs not only in the state of California but nationally having a breakout junior year. After pulling in 46 passes for 758 yards with seven scores and returning nine kicks for 238 yards, the Monarchs ended the 2016 schedule 13-1 ranked in MaxPreps Top 5 end of season poll.

College coaches had their own ranking system for Remigio, and that was atop their respective recruiting boards. Remigio saw his offer sheet explode to 17 total getting his last and perhaps most important offer on June 11. Colorado, Nebraska, UCLA, Tennessee, Oregon State, Connecticut, Howard, Boston College, Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado State, Hawaii, USC, Wisconsin, and Illinois all offered but the offer from Cal was the big one.

On June 11, the offer from Cal to Remigio went out and by the next day Cal had their man maintaining silent commit status until taking it public on Friday, June 16. The beauty for Remigio, he knows he is a wanted addition to the Golden Bears 2018 class. Most college programs are stuck on having a prototypical size at receiver, at least above six-foot for most teams. Missing the mark by an inch, Remigio was so talented he moved Cal’s staff off their stance breaking the mold as a 5-11, 182 pound, offeree and commitment.

In a Recruiting News Guru exclusive interview, I sat down with Remigio to get the inside scoop on how his commitment to Cal came to be.

Interview

Nikko, first, congratulations on your commitment.

“Thank you.”

Before we get into the meat of the interview, let’s lead into it. How did spring ball go for you?

“Spring ball was excellent. I grew a lot as a player. Confidence wise, I took a big jump. Being a senior on the team and being a more experienced player with two years of varsity experience, I felt solid this spring.”

How has your game come along playing 7v7 ball and practicing with Mater Dei?

“Pretty much everything all around with my game is improving. My speed, catching the ball, and my route running are the three main things I’ve been focused on this off-season. Those are things every receiver should work on during the off-season.”

Which schools came by Mater Dei to see you this spring?

“For me specifically, there were so many coaches that came by it is hard to narrow it down. Most clearly, Wisconsin, Nebraska, USC, UCLA, Illinois, Arizona, and ASU. Pretty much everyone that offered me came by but UConn and Navy.”

Did you take any unofficial visits this spring or early summer?

“I did not. My plan was depending on how my Cal camp went. Depending on that would dictate which unofficial visits I would take. The Cal camp went in my favor.”

Yes, it did. You attended a Cal camp, did you attended any other college camps this summer?

“Cal was the first camp. Again, depending on that was to determine the other camps I would attend.”

Do you plan on attending any other camps this summer?

“Me attending any other camps would be for competition not to get an offer. The camp would be used to strengthen my skills as a receiver.”

When Cal offered you on June 11, how did they notify you?

“I performed well at first session of a two-session camp. We had lunch and then broke for a film period to review the first session of camp. That is when Coach (Nicholas) Edwards, Cal’s wide receiver coach, pulled me aside to speak with me and my mom in his office. He was picking my brain asking basic receiver questions like my favorite routes to run inside and outside. After that he notified me coach (Beau) Baldwin, Cal’s offensive coordinator, wanted to talk to me.

“Coach Baldwin said he did not need me to suit up for next part of the camp. Then Coach Baldwin told me Coach (Justin) Wilcox wanted to talk to me on the field. My mom and I met Coach Wilcox on the field and then we went to the stadium. We were checking out the view. Such a great view from the top of the stadium. You can see the Golden Gate Bridge, Alcatraz, and all of the bay. That is when he offered me.”

What was your reaction to the offer?

“Oh, man. I think it took two or three hours to comprehend I had received an offer from Cal. It was a goal of mine. To see it come together was too much then for me to comprehend. I was very happy and felt very accomplished to receive an offer from Cal.”

You got an offer on June 11, and then announced your commitment on June 16. What influenced you to commit when you did?

“Looking at Cal, Cal is one of those schools that offers the best of both worlds in academics and football. I have a lot of family in that area. I want to major in business, and their business school is Top 5 in the country. Academics come before football for me. Cal is a prestigious school. The offer was too hard to pass up.”

How will they use you within their offense?

“We did not go into depth about that. I am getting on the phone with Coach Edwards next week to discuss that. During our conversation, Coach Edwards was letting me know how different this offer was for them coming to me. At the wide receiver position, they were not looking to offer anyone under 6-feet tall, I’m shorter than that. It meant a lot to receive an offer not off size but through hard work and dedication to the game.”

Nice. How did the commitment take place?

“It took a lot out of me to not commit on the spot with Coach Wilcox. This is a big decision. I wanted to make sure to run it through my parents, coaches, and loved ones first. They have all been there for me since the beginning. I wanted to discuss it with them. Coach Edwards called me to see where I am at with my offer, to see what I am doing with the offer. I told him Cal was the place I wanted to be. I told him I had discussed it with everyone and I wanted to be a Bear.”

What was the reaction of Coach Edwards when you committed?

“He was ecstatic. I could hear everyone in the hallway high-fiving each other. He almost interrupted a meeting with Coach Wilcox. I could tell the staff was genuinely happy I made that decision.”

You announced on June 16, but when did you actually commit?

“I went public then but I privately committed on Monday, June 12.”

Sounds like the commitment was kind of spontaneous with Coach Edwards calling you even though you knew you wanted to commit, how did you feel at that moment when Coach Edwards called and you verbally committed?

“I knew that was the place I wanted to be. I had received assurances from everyone close to me. Why wait? I did it there on the spot. To know that an exception was made for me being under 6-foot, I know they really want me there because of my abilities.”

Do you plan on recruiting other players to join you?

“Absolutely. If I could recruit Mater Dei’s offense I would get them over in a second. Tommy Brown (offensive tackle), Chris Murray (guard), JT Daniels (quarterback), and Bru McCoy (receiver/outside linebacker).

How are you going to pitch the other players to join you or how have you pitched them already?

“It all has been light heartened asking them ‘when will you be a Bear?’ Closer to signing day, I will be spilling Cal with them to break it down on them.”

Nikko, again, congratulations on your commitment to Cal and thanks for your time today.

“Thank you.”

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Photo credit: Remigio family; Nikko Remigio and mother with Cal head coach Justin Wilcox.