Cal snags Washington's top defensive recruit from Huskies

Deandre Coleman stands at 6'4" and weighs in at 295 pounds.  That's big even by NFL standards.  What makes those stats extraordinary is that he's still just a senior in high school.

Next year, he'll be a freshman at Cal.  It's not official, but the word is that he'll be that cog in the middle of the defensive line, and at his size, he's a perfect fit for the 3-4 that the Bears are employing.

In high school, he plays defensive tackle in a 4-3 set and also plays on the opposite side of the ball at right tackle.  While he's good at offensive tackle, he's a force when he chasing quarterbacks and clogging up running lanes.

What makes this an even better signing is that the Bears have taken him from a fellow Pac-10 rival.  You see, Coleman had originally given the Washington Huskies his verbal commitment.  The same Huskies that now have Steve Sarkisian as their head coach and recently raided the Bears for their offensive line coach, Jim Michalczik.

It has to feel good for the Bears to get a little payback for taking their line coach.  It's even better that Coleman is the state of Washington's top defensive recruit.  He'll fit nicely with the other seven defensive recruits that Cal has received commitments from.

I found a highlight video of Coleman.  From what I can tell, he's going to be pretty exciting on defense.  Here's the video:

Other Seattle natives that have chosen Cal over the Huskies in the past include Trevor Guyton and Anthony Felder.  Coleman also had visits scheduled with Oregon State and Arizona State, but he won't be making those trips now.  As Martha Stewart would say, "That's a good thing."

I've made my decision and I'm going to Cal...I'm done.
- Coleman on coming to Cal

Next stop for Coleman will be the U.S. Army All-American game in San Antonio, Tx. later this month.  It's the nation's most prestigious all star game for football and only 90 seniors from across the nation are selected to participate.  In the 2008 draft, a record 30 U.S. Army All-Americans were selected in the NFL Draft with six of them going in the first round.

POS	PLAYER	SCOUT RATING	SCOUT POS RANK	RIVALS RATING	RIVALS POS RANK	ESPN RATING	ESPN POS RANK
DT	Deandre Coleman	3	28	4	8	80	14

Here's some of what scouts say about Coleman:

He has a good get-off. He is a physical kid that does a good job jolting defenders upright and holding his base at the point of attack. He can be tough to move off the ball, but needs to watch his pad level as he tends to get high out of his stance at times. Will flash the ability to come off the ball low, shoot his hands, and generate power from his hips, when he does that he is able to easily push a blocker into the backfield.
- ESPN / Scouts INC.

He also gets high praise from his soon to be former high school coach:

It has been a wonderful experience coaching Deandre and he is a wonderful kid.
- Garfield H.S. head coach Anthony Allen

Finally, this is what Coleman has to say about playing football and it's exactly the type of thing you want to hear from your defensive tackle.

I love contact and taking out my aggression on the field. I have a positive attitude and I will always be ready to play. I'm hard-working and always ready to learn what the coaches have to teach me.