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Safety Ryan Yaites, who left LSU via the transfer portal on April 19 has committed to coach Justin Wilcox and the California Golden Bears. Yaites will have three years of eligibility remaining.
Who is Ryan Yaites?
Yaites was a four-star defensive back coming out of Guyer High School in Denton, Texas. He was rated as a four-star recruit by ESPN, 247Sports and Rivals. On3 Sports rated Yaites as a three-star recruit.
Originally recruited by the Golden Bears, Yaites signed with the Tigers out of high school choosing LSU over Cal, Texas Tech, Michigan State and Texas. While at Guyer, Yaites also ran track where he was clocked in the 200-meter dash at 21.61 seconds, 22.17 seconds and 22.30 seconds.
What is the Impact for California?
The impact for the Golden Bears may not be immediate for Yaites but could be felt more next season. On the current depth chart there are four safeties on the two-deep, two are seniors and two are juniors. The 2024 season might start out as being more of a developmental one for Yaites learning behind the experienced safeties currently ahead of him. It’s not out of the realm of possibility that he will see significant playing time this season, but with that many upper classmen ahead of him, and coming in after the Spring Game, it will be difficult to jump into the two-deep right away. But with Yaites’ coverage skills and speed he will be tough to keep on the bench.
Scouting Ryan Yaites
Yaites is a decent sized safety at 6-foot-1 and 200-pounds and has good length. He is lightning quick as evidenced by the 200-meter dash times. He is good in coverage as he was a cornerback coming out of high school. Yaites could slide to the nickel back position for Cal if needed, and is solid coming up in run support. Yaites also saw time on LSU’s special teams, an area where he can contribute for the Golden Bears. In his one season with LSU, Yaites had 16 tackles while seeing action in all 13 games for the Tigers.
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