QB Jaden Rashada Commits to Arizona State, Not Cal

Berkeley was considered a possible landing spot for the Pittsburg, Calif., star, although the Bears were always long shots

Cal was considered one of the finalists for five-star quarterback Jaden Rashada after he got his release from Florida, but Rashada on Wednesday announced via social media that he has committed to Arizona State.

Rashada is ranked as the seventh-best quarterback prospect in the class of 2023 by both Rivals and 247Sports, and Cal was considered a long-shot candidate for his services ever since Rashada got his much publicized release from the Gators after a reported $13 million NIL deal fell through.

The Bears were among Rashada's finalists when he initially committed to Miami, before he flipped to Florida. The Bears' advantage was that Rashada is from the Bay Area (Pittsburg, Calif.)The favorites after his release from Florida were considered to be Arizona State and TCU, with Washington, Colorado and Cal also in the mix, according to reports. 

But the Sun Devils were always considered the No. 1 favorite to land Rashada.That's because Rashada had built a relationship with Kenny Dilingham when Dillingham was the offensive coordinator at Oregon last year. Now Dillingham is the head coach at Arizona State.

So instead of playing for the Golden Bears, Rashada will play against Cal, possibly next season. Cal hosts Arizona State on Sept. 30, 2023.

It is unclear whether NIL (name, image and likeness) conpensation played a role in Rashada's decision. ESPN.com, in its report on Rashada's commitment, stated this:

Two sources told ESPN that the Rashada family was not focused on NIL deals in this second process. A source said the family made it clear they did not want to engage in NIL deals with Arizona State's collective prior to Rashada's signing.

The 247 Sports site reported Rashada's commitment to ASU, and it included this excerpt:

After being offered a scholarship by the school's previous coaching staff, Rashada told Sun Devil Source in August of 2020 that he grew up hoping to one day play college football at ASU, where his father, Harlen Rashada, was a member of the team in the 1990s.

"It was a blessing, just dreams to reality," Rashada said of receiving the scholarship offer at the time. "Me as a little kid, I always dreamed about having relationships with coaches and being a priority to them. And obviously, when you're a priority for the coaches, it's a turn-on to the program. It was a blessing for sure. It was kind of crazy.

"My dad played football at ASU. He played with (former linebacker) Pat Tillman. He's an alumni up there."Thoug

h he came close, Rashada decided not to commit to the Sun Devils at the time. Nine months later, an NCAA investigation into ASU football recruiting effectively put things on an extended hold. What followed was an 18-month breaking of the Herm Edwards era that crushed recruiting and eventually led school officials to ask ASU graduate Kenny Dillingham to try to put all the pieces back together again as the youngest Division I head football coach in the country, at just 32 years old.

This virtually confirms that Sam Jackson V, a transfer from TCU, will be Cal's starting quarterback in 2023. Last year's starter for Cal, Jack Plummer, transferred to Louisville.

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Cover photo of Jaden Rashada by Matt Pendleton, USA TODAY Sports.

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