Pac-12 Recruiting: Cal continues to pursue L.J. Moore without coach

Just because Cal is without a head coach doesn't mean that recruiting stops. In the midst of an awkward phase between coaches -- Jeff Tedford was fired last month after the Bears finished 3-9 -- Cal is still going after major players, with the assistant coaches now leading the way.

Cal quarterbacks coach Marcus Arroyo is courting S L.J. Moore of Central East (Fresno, Calif.) High, rated No. 13 at his position in the country by Rivals.com.

"It's kind of a weird spot for him because he said he just wants what's best for me, and that Cal is just a great experience," Moore told BearTerritory.com's Ryan Gorcey of Arroyo. "He said it's a great place, just a life-changer. He wanted me to still go there and take a trip, but he doesn't know if he'll be there next week or how long he'll be there, or how long it'll be until they find a coach, but when they find a coach, he wanted me to know that he's going to send them down to my place so we can talk and my parents can ask him questions."

Gorcey writes that Moore is considering an official visit to Cal, where he could join former high school teammate Brendan Bigelow. The Bears will have to fend off Oregon State, Washington, Arizona State and Georgia, but with Arroyo's recruiting ability, it's not impossible.

"One thing that did stick out to me," Moore told Gorcey of Arroyo, "was that he asked me if there was anything he could do for me. He might not be the coach, but he was going to send down the new head coach to talk to me. That really stuck out to me."

Massington back on the market: Eldridge Massington, Scout.com's No. 33-rated receiver out of Mesquite, Texas, had planned to head west for college, and doing it in a hurry. Now he's just about back to square one.

Massington decommitted from USC, where he became one of the scholarship-depleted Trojans' first verbal commits in May, because he would not be able to enroll early and join the program in January. Massington told Scout.com's Erin Hartigan that USC would not have a scholarship available to him then and that he was back to the drawing board.

"They said I couldn't graduate in January," Massington told Hartigan. "Three seniors didn't get their credits so they don't have a spot (scholarship) for me in January. I'd have to come in June, and that's not what's best for me so I had to do it. I'm graduating this month, so I got to find a place where I can go in January. It was tough. I'm just disappointed, I guess."

Massington has offers from several of the top programs in the country, including Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan and UCLA, but he has to re-explore his options because he's been off the market for so long. One thing that could cause complications: Massington tore his ACL in July and is rehabilitating.

"I don't know exactly where to go from here, right now, but I'm hoping it all works out," he told Hartigan.

The Tweet heard round the Pac-12: Eddie Vanderdoes is perhaps the most coveted Pac-12 recruit this year -- although fellow USC verbal commits QB Max Browne and S Su'a Cravens might have a bone to pick -- and now the buzz is really picking up.

Vanderdoes said a whole lot with one word -- "Wow..." -- simply because of when he typed it, which, as BruinReportOnline.com reported, came during an in-home visit from the heaviest hitters of the UCLA coaching staff. Coach Jim Mora, defensive coordinator Lou Spanos and defensive line coach Angus McClure -- who turned the Bruins' front four into an absolute force this year -- all were reportedly giving him the big pitch.

This comes on the heels of what Vanderdoes described as a pretty special official visit in late-November.

“I couldn't have asked for a better visit,” Vanderdoes told Scout.com's Brandon Huffman. “UCLA has a great family feeling, from the coaching staff to the players. I got all my questions answered by the staff, they were really up front and honest. And obviously the campus was beautiful and weather was beautiful. They're building a new program there, a winning era, and there is a lot more confidence than previous years and a lot more swagger.”

Vanderdoes remains listed as a soft verbal commit to USC, but his recruitment could be the most interesting of the last two months of the process. Stay tuned.

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