Tosh Lupoi Leaves Cal For Washington, Immediately Altering Pac-12 Recruiting

Can Recruits Trust Tosh Lupoi? Cal Analysts Say No

Cal fans should immediately read Tosh The Traitor Backstabs Jeff Tedford, Backstabs Cal, by the uber-talented Avinash Kunnath of CaliforniaGoldenBlogs. I don’t agree with everything Avinash wrote, particularly the part about a coach needing to stop recruiting a player if he switches schools.

But I do agree with Avinash that the way in which Tosh went about his business, if he did indeed do so in the manner presented in the article, is completely underhanded and unethical.

Click for the details, which are pretty wild, even for the world of college football.

Kunnath finishes with this:

The past couple of years, Tosh Lupoi stood for all that was good and strong about the program despite the on-field struggles. He was a young, dynamic Bear who was loyal to the program, loyal to the vision of what Cal could be. He’d be the main to lead our recruiting efforts, to build a new Cal football program that would contend for Rose Bowls. The sky was the limit for him in Bear Territory. The next defensive coordinator. The top recruiting coordinator. Maybe even head coach. The main who’d become the part of a new age.

Not going to happen anymore. Not at Cal. Not after this. Tosh looks like a mercenary, a man without principles, a snake in the grass. He’s selling out the principles that made him a great figure for Cal Athletics, and he’s disgracing his Golden Bear roots with his actions.

Perhaps recruits will still buy what he has to sell now that he’s shown his true colors. It’s clear that he has an effect on these guys and knows how to interact with them. Plenty of former Cal players stand up for him. I have no doubt that he’ll be an effective recruiter at UW. The pitches will be similar (rebuild UW to greatness) and the interaction will be the same. Tosh has built relationships for years with these kids, and he’ll do his best to get guys like Shaq and Payton to be Huskies … or worse for us, not to be Golden Bears.

Still, all the Twittering and X-Boxing in the world won’t save him from this one question. “How can we trust you with our son if we can’t even be sure you’ll be here a year from now?” He could’ve been secure answering that at Cal. No longer, no more.

I’m through with him. If you bleed blue and gold, you should be through with him too.

Can Cal Keep Shaq Thompson From Washington?

Shaq Thompson is the top safety recruit in the country and a recent Cal commitment. And the Cal commitment is taking the news pretty hard that Cal's top recruiter, Tosh Lupoi, just bolted for Washington. "I have A lot of thinking to do," and "It's a business.. My family told me and have to do what's best for me," tweeted Thompson.

West Coast reporters have reached out to Thompson, and it's safe to say he is anything but solid in his commitment to Cal. Here are some of the reactions from the five-star safety recruit.

Thompson told Tara Turnure of Fox Sports:

Just got off the phone with 5-star S Shaq Thompson, who says he is now torn,"I am 50-50 between #Cal and #Washington."

And this from Greg Biggins of ESPN:

Interesting talk with Shaq T, he's very close with Tosh but said he's even closer with Wilcox, that's who recruited his brother Syd to Cal. ... Shaq also said he talked with Tosh last night and at that time, he still hadn't decided to take the job yet, made the decision this morning.

Wilcox, of course, being Washington's new defensive coordinator.

Thompson is not an early enrollee and could stretch his decision out until National Signing Day (February 1st) or later.

Follow @SBNRecruiting on Twitter

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