Cal Football Recruiting: Garrett Hughes Commits To The Bears

The Bears landed their first defensive line recruit of the 2012 recruiting class. Garrett Hughes committed to the Bears on Wednesday night.

Hughes is the second recruit from Centennial to commit to Cal, with offensive guard Cameron Hunt being the other. Hunt actually was the one to break the news of Hughes's commitment to Cal. This becomes Todd Howard's second defensive line recruit since Tosh Lupoi departed last January. Cal was his first offer and Hughes was quick to accept.

"I decided to commit to Cal and I'm going to be a Bear," said Hughes tonight.

"I called Coach Howard and I told him that me and my family talked it over and it was clear that Cal was the best place for me.

"Coach Howard said he was really happy that I committed and that he thinks I can be a great player for Cal and he looks forward to coaching me."

Hughes is 6-3 and weighs 250 to 255 pounds. He isn't ranked by any of the major recruiting services, but all you have to do is watch the tape and see the schools were showing interest (Boise State, UCLA) to realize that he's clearly got talent.

His midseason senior season highlights indicate that (courtesy of Hudl). Here are his junior highlights.

You can see how good Hughes is at anticipating the snap. He has great agility, good pursuit, takes strong angles, and seems to have solid technique. He's versatile enough to play both inside and outside, although you figure that he's looking more like a defensive end.