Cal Sports Report

Defensive Tackle Ashton “Champ” Sanders Commits to Cal for 2023

Big lineman chooses Bears over Wisconsin and took a Marshawn Lynch-like drive during his visit to Berkeley

Jake Curtis

Ashton “Champ” Sanders, a defensive tackle from Cathedral High School in Los Angeles, became the fourth player to commit to Cal in the class of 2023 when he made his announcement on social media on Friday night.

And based on his twitter messages and videos he should be fun to have around.

The 6-foot-3, 295-pound Sanders, who lives in Pasadena, chose Cal over his other finalist, Wisconsin, and he also had offers from Notre Dame, Utah, Washington, Arizona State and Washington State, among others.

“I loved both schools but just felt like I fit in better at Cal,” Sanders told 247 Sports. “I loved the environment and obviously I’m a West Coast guy, but Cal just felt right for me.

“I have a great relationship with not just coach Browning, my position coach but the entire staff. Coach Browning is a great guy and the guy I talk with the most and I’m really comfortable around him. He’s a great coach and someone I know can develop me.”

Sanders is ranked as the nation’s 59th-best defensive line prospect in the class by 247 Sports, while the 247 Sports Composite rankings (which take an average of all major recruiting sites) place him 72nd among defensive linemen and 613th among all prospects in the class of 2023. Both 247 Sports and Rivals rank Sanders as a three-star recruit, and Rivals ranks him as the 54th-best prospect in the state of California.

He visited the Cal campus on June 9, one week after he made his official visit to Wisconsin.

He joins three other players who previously committed to Cal for 2023 – safety R.J. Jones, linebacker Cade Uluave and defensive back Sailasa Vadrawale. It is noteworthy that all four are defensive players.

Presumably Sanders would be a nose tackle in Cal’s 3-4 defense. Wisconsin also plays a three-man front, which explains the Badgers interest in him. Already nearly 300 pounds, Sanders can add some pounds and some muscle definition via weight training. He is quick for his size, being used as an edge rusher at times in high school.

Here is some video of Sanders:

It also appears he has a big personality, based on his tweets and videos. For his Cal visit video he chose to ride around Memorial Stadium in a golf cart, mimicking the memorable drive Marshawn Lynch took after one significant victory in 2006.

Sanders even referred to Lynch’s ride in another twitter message and video:

This guy is going to be fun to cover.

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Jake Curtis
JAKE CURTIS

Jake Curtis worked in the San Francisco Chronicle sports department for 27 years, covering virtually every sport, including numerous Final Fours, several college football national championship games, an NBA Finals, world championship boxing matches and a World Cup. He was a Cal beat writer for many of those years, and won awards for his feature stories.

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