Ellis McCarthy Decommits from Cal: Why Shaq Thompson Could Be the Next to Bail

The California Golden Bears have one of the most impressive recruiting classes this season, with tons of top players at each position committed to their university. That class just lost one of their main recruits and may end up losing more than that.

We all know how recruiting works. A top player gives his verbal commitment, but that doesn't really mean anything as he can still explore other programs and possibly switch that commitment. So when a top player gives his verbal commitment, don't get too excited until he actually makes it official.

California learned that when they recently lost one of the top defensive tackles in Ellis McCarthy. He gave his verbal commitment to Cal during the U.S. Army All-American Game, but did say that we would still like to give an official visit to UCLA. Turns out that he enjoyed the trip so much that he is now a UCLA Bruin.

This is a huge pickup for new UCLA head coach Jim Mora Jr. but is a big loss for the Golden Bears, that could end up getting worse. Cal may end up losing their top safety prospect in Shaq Thompson as well with the loss of assistant coach Tosh Lupoi.

Lupoi was a defensive line coach for the Golden Bears and was a top notch recruiter for this program, largely responsible for much of this years recruiting success. He has now left to coach the same position but it will be for the Washington Huskies.

This does not make Thompson happy to say the least.

“I was relieved to have my decision made, but now I will spend the next two weeks until Signing Day weighing my options,” said Thompson. “I committed to Cal because it was close to home and because of my relationship with Coach Lupoi. He has been recruiting me since my sophomore year.”

Thompson is considered the top safety in this years class and would make an immediate impact in the secondary with his athleticism and versatility. But he has shown interest in schools like Arizona State, Notre Dame, Oregon and Lupoi's new school, Washington.

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Coach Lupoi came by my house last night before he had decided whether or not he would go to UW. He said he didn’t really know what he was going to do, but I could tell he was stressing, explained Thompson. We spoke again today around 11 am and he said he had decided to take the position at Washington. I didn’t really know what to say.

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A couple of days ago, California had one of the most impressive recruiting classes in the country. Things could drastically change in the next couple of weeks for this program that appeared to be on the rise.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]