College Football Recruiting 2012: Will Shaq Thompson Stay Committed to Cal?

The California Golden Bears appeared to be one of the surprise teams in the country. They have an extremely talented team returning from last year that includes their starting quarterback, running back and wide receiver—both of whom had more than 1,000 yards last season. They also have one of the best recruiting classes this season, but things could change very quickly.

The loss of former defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi is hurting this program. Cal has already lost one of the top defensive tackles in Ellis McCarthy, and safety Shaq Thompson could be the next player to leave this program. 

Golden Bears fans shouldn't begin panicking just yet. Thompson says he is still with Cal to this point, but there are a few more teams now in the mix.

Let's break down the latest.

Washington may actually be the new favorite to land Thompson.

It's not too far away from his home in California, they have a great team in place—including a solid recruiting class—and they have defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi. For those who don't think Lupoi played a big part in recruiting these kids to California, just look at what Thompson had to say about him leaving for Washington:

"I was relieved to have my decision made, but now I will spend the next two weeks until Signing Day weighing my options. 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. 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. We spoke again today around 11 a.m. and he said he had decided to take the position at Washington. I didn’t really know what to say."

UCLA is the only school out of the few Thompson's now considering that he hasn't taken an official visit to. However, he plans on scheduling an unofficial visit out there sometime in February and will have an in-home visit with the Bruins sometime this week.

UCLA has kind of come out of nowhere in recruiting Thompson, but they obviously have his attention and is in the thick of the race for his services.

The Bruins have been recruiting very nicely ever since they've hired new head coach Jim Mora, Jr., and if they're able to pull off a commitment like this, it quite possibly could be the steal of this year's recruiting process.

Having Oregon back in the race is a bit surprising, especially after what Thompson said once he made his official visit back in October.

"Eugene is too small for me," he explains. "I'm used to big cities, and I don't want to be in a small city. Notre Dame, I'm still kind of looking at them, but they didn't really make it for me and that's also a small city."

Of course, a lot has changed since then, and with Lupoi leaving and Chip Kelly staying, Thompson could have possibly changed his mind. He also had a little Twitter conversation with former Ducks running back LaMichael James.

Oregon does have an in-home visit scheduled with Thompson sometime this week, and the Ducks could possibly land their first 5-star player of the year.

A team that once had two top prospects on the defensive side of the ball is now in danger of losing both of them. The Golden Bears simply can't afford a loss like this if they're trying to compete with the better teams in the Pac-12, such as USC and Oregon.

Cal does have an in-home visit scheduled with Thompson this week. And while there are other teams in the race, the Golden Bears have to still be the favorite until we simply get more information. As of right now there is no deadline on when Thompson will make a decision, and it will likely come past National Signing Day.

Randy Chambers is a B/R featured columnist who covers college football and the NFL. You can contact him on Twitter or email Randy.Chambers7@yahoo.com.