Cal lands 4-star wideout Taariq Johnson

Cal gained their second verbal commitment of the 2017 class on Sunday when 4-star Buena Park wideout Taariq Johnson announced his pledge to the Golden Bears. Johnson joins Bakersfield DL Gabe Cherry in the class.

Johnson and his father visited Berkeley on Friday, taking in a practice, and saw enough to be ready to give his commitment. The 6'3", 210 pounder chose Cal over offers from 18 other programs, including Baylor, Miami, Michigan Notre Dame, Nebraska, and Tennessee. He held offers from five other Pac-12 programs as well (the Arizona schools, Colorado, Utah and Washington).

Some programs saw Johnson as a tight end, but Cal sees him as a guy capable of playing outside at the Z, or inside as a Y, similar to spring entrant Jordan Veasy.

Last season in eight games for Buena Park, Johnson hauled in 34 receptions for 477 yards and 6 touchdowns. His commitment may help Cal with a trio of fellow teammates that also hold offers from the Bears: OL Ryan Nelson and athletes Jeremiah Hawkins and Elijah Gates.

Rivals rates Johnson as a 4-star (5.8) prospect, just outside the Rivals 250. He is currently ranked as the 49th best wideout in the 2017 class and the 36th best prospect in California.