JUNIOR DAY: Capital Gaines

La Habra (Calif.) defensive lineman Greg Gaines paid a visit to Cal's Elite Junior Day on Saturday, and received encouraging news from defensive line coach Barry Sacks.

MORE JUNIOR DAY COVERAGE
Junior Day Gives WIlson a Lot to Think About ($)
Calhoun Nets Cal Offer ($)
Beachum Returns to Berkeley ($)
Lealao Has Eyes Opened ($)
Pickett Gives Bears an A ($)
Houston Sees Cal (FREE)

Defensive linemen are always hot commodities in recruiting, and this year is no exception. On Saturday, California hosted one of the top defensive tackles in the country in Greg Gaines, the No. 18-ranked defensive tackle in 2014, during the Bears’ Elite Junior Day.

Gaines – at 6-foot-1, 273 pounds – is well-built with a good motor, reminiscent of 2013 signee Tony Mekari. While he’s a natural interior defensive lineman, Gaines split time between tackle and end last season for La Habra (Calif.), tallying 106 tackles (65 solo), 16 tackles for loss, 8 sacks and 5 forced fumbles, with most of his tackles coming when the Highlanders switched to a 3-4 alignment, in which Gaines played defensive end.

“They said that they really like my film and they’re going to start the recruiting process. We’ll see where that goes,” Gaines said of his Junior Day talk with defensive line coach Barry Sacks. “They said they like that I have long arms, that I’m explosive and fast.”

Sacks was quite complimentary of the three-star prospect, who has offers from Colorado and Boise State.

“He said that I’m one of his top guys that he wants. That was good news,” Gaines said. “He said that I’m one of the top five or six in the nation that he wants to recruit for the D-line.”

Gaines enjoyed the basketball game between Cal and Colorado on Saturday, and said the highlight of his visit was seeing the Bears’ facilities.

“I think they really showcased their school well, and their facilities look very nice. I was really impressed.”