Shaq Thompson to Washington: Who Will Be the Next Recruit to Bail on Cal?

Back in early January, it looked like Cal was assembling one of the top recruiting classes in the nation, as the Bears had picked up huge commitments from three blue-chip recruits, DT Ellis McCarthy, WR Jordan Payton and S Shaq Thompson at the U.S. Army All-American game. And they appeared to be on the verge of picking up a few more highly-touted prospects such as DE Arik Armstead.

Then, it all seemingly fell apart after Steve Sarkisian came swooping in and stole away Cal's top recruiter, defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi, luring him up to Washington with a big pay day. 

The loss of Lupoi was a critical blow to Cal's recruiting efforts, as soon afterwards, McCarthy decommitted to join Jim Mora Jr. at UCLA, and now Thompson has announced that he will follow Lupoi up to Washington.

As it stands right now, with the 17 current commitments they have, the Bears still have one of the best 2012 recruiting classes in the Pac-12, but things could change over these next few days and it wouldn't be all that surprising to see a few more top prospects jump ship.

Here's a look at the four current commits that Cal fans could have to worry about the most.

WR Bryce Treggs has been committed to Cal since last July, but recently he's opened his recruitment back up and taken visits to schools such as UCLA and USC.

The 4-star recruit is one of the top-rated commits in Cal's 2012 class, and the Bears certainly can't afford to lose a potential offensive difference-maker like him, especially to another Pac-12 school.

According to Greg Biggins of ESPN.com, Treggs said he enjoyed his visit to USC but wasn't really particularly interested in the Trojans, as he was quoted as saying:

There’s a lot of great people at USC, they have a great program and it was a good experience, I’m glad I made the visit. I’m not really looking at them though. They said they wouldn’t know until Tuesday if I had a solid offer or not. They offered three weeks ago but said they over offered too many players, so I would have to wait and I’m not looking to do that.

Still, the fact that Treggs is showing interest in other Pac-12 schools this late in the process isn't exactly a good sign.

Jordan Payton was one of three players to commit to Cal during the U.S. Army All-American game, however, it's probably not a good sign that the other two—DT Ellis McCarthy and S Shaq Thompson—have already decommitted.

Cal still has a good chance to land the 4-star recruit, but now Washington and UCLA are both reportedly in the hunt for his services.

Payton is one of the many Cal recruits who built a strong relationship with defensive line coach Tosh Lupoi, so it should be interesting to see if Lupoi's move to Washington has an effect on where he ends up. What could also help sway his decision in Washington's favor is the fact that his future receiver coach Eric Kiesau has made the move from Cal to Washington, just like Lupoi.

The coveted receiver tweeted that he will announce his decision live on ESPNU Tuesday at 1:10 pm.

Cedric Dozier is one of the most diverse athletes out of Cal's current commits, as the explosive playmaker has the type of diverse skill-set to play either wide receiver or cornerback at the college level. The question is, though, will he be playing either of those positions in a Cal uniform? Or, will he be making that position choice up in Pullman, Washington?

Dozier will reportedly choose between Cal and Washington State at a press conference at 2:30 pm Tuesday, and the general feeling is that it could be a 50-50 coin flip between the two.

According to Greg Biggins of ESPN.com, the loss of wide receivers coach Eric Kiesau could end up costing Cal another big key receiver recruit, Kenneth Walker, who played for Kennedy High School in Richmond, California.

Walker committed to the Bears last summer, but he's recently opened his recruiting back up. After reportedly enjoying visits to UCLA and Washington, he could be factoring both the Bruins and the Huskies in his final decision.

The 3-star recruit may not be as big of a national name as fellow Cal commits Bryce Treggs or Jordan Payton, but he definitely possesses evident potential. It would be a tough blow to lose him to another Pac-12 school, especially UCLA or Washington, two schools that have already poached Cal targets.