The final weekend in May played host to large events in the sports world - the NBA Western Conference Finals Game 7, NCAA Baseball Regionals, and the Champions League Final to name a few. However, a large event happened without much of the public noticing it - the beginning of the summer and the ramping up of college sports recruiting, especially football. Over the weekend, Class of 2027 and 2028 College Football hopefuls made their way to campuses across the country to begin their summer visits. During these visits, coaches make their pitch to these recruits, give them a feel for the atmosphere around the campus and program, and if all goes well, score some early summer commitments to bolster their class' resume. Two Class of 2027 Cardinals made their decisions this weekend, and the schools they chose may have just brought in future hall of famers. 

    The Class of 2027 for Cardinal Newman is stacked with the likes of linemen Kahlio Vaetoe and Josh Bunni as well as athletes Zion Cargill, Kavaughn Penney, and Kordell Strane among others. All five are currently being pursued by multiple Division I colleges, but two are off the board after this weekend. Josh Bunni and Zion Cargill made their official visits to West Coast schools and elected to stay on the Pacific Coast as they achieved their dreams of playing Division I Football. Bunni is headed to Cal Berkeley in 2027 while Cargill decided to head north, committing to Eastern Washington out of the Big Sky Conference. 

    Zion Cargill has played on Ed Lloyd Field for nearly the entirety of his football career. First with the Redwood Pal Golden Bears to now as a Cardinal, Zion knows his way around Ed Monahan Stadium. He's proven to be a lethal threat to opposing defenses in his three years on varsity, compiling 56 receptions, 865 yards, and 11 touchdowns alongside 82 yards on the ground and a rushing touchdown. His incredible achievements earned him a three star rating and led to him committing to Eastern Washington University in Cheney, Washington. 

Cargill wasn't able to truly show his full potential on the football field in the 2025 season as injuries forced the Cardinals into a run-heavy smashmouth scheme. However, he showed his athleticism on the basketball court, rising to the occasion wherever the team needed him, and also on the track where he swept the Redwood Empire in the 100M and 200M Dash. Cargill smashed the 100M Dash school record in 2025, a record long held by two-time UCLA football All American and ten year NFL veteran Jerry Robinson. Cargill ran a 10.66, over a tenth of a second faster than the record which stood for nearly fifty years. 

Zion saw a bigger role on the basketball team as Carmine Guevara battled injury and the team began to slow in production from beyond the arc. This was an opportunity for Cargill to establish a role on the team heading into his senior season, where two starting jobs would be available. Zion had 14 points and four boards against Windsor in a huge, low-scoring rivalry game, leading Newman to a 38-29 victory. Cargill's ability to rack up rebounds, shoot beyond the arc, and play hard defense allowed him to become a mainstay in the Cardinals' rotation for Coach Travis Taylor and a starter towards the end of the season. 

Zion's ability to step up in all sports shows his leadership, but on the field, Zion is a versatile receiver with terrific footwork and speed. A 10.6 100M dash equates to around a 4.4 40 yard dash, proving that Zion is a viable deep threat, but his agility and fancy footwork allows him to run quick routes and turn upfield after he makes a reception. In his three years at Newman, he's been a deep threat with his longest catch being 65 yards his sophomore year and 33 yards his junior year in 2025, coming from a clutch touchdown catch in the back of the endzone against San Marin. Despite that long touchdown reception, in 2025, the Cardinals relied on YAC, yards after catch, with a lot of their receivers running short routes as Starting QB LT Retamoza was sidelined for most of the season with a collarbone injury. This meant Carmine Guevara, WR/DB and former JV QB had to step up alongside freshman Cash Boyd. The duo did their best, but with a talented 1-2 punch backfield courtesy of Malakai Pathoumnourack and Brody Estrela, the Cardinals ran the ball on over seventy percent of offensive plays.
    Cargill committed to the red turf and Coach Aaron Best on Saturday after a visit to Cheney. The Eastern Washington Eagles have one of the more unique playing fields in college football, competing in the Big Sky Conference of the NCAA Division I-AA Football Championship Subdivision (FCS). They are the Boise State of FCS, producing under the radar players to the NFL and playing on a colored field in the Northwest, but instead of playing on blue turf, the Eagles play on red turf. 

A focus on receivers and a tailored experience was one of the keys for Zion as he made his decision, "From the minute I got there they welcomed my family and I with open arms… There [was a] wide receivers meeting and all the guys saying hi to my family and I felt welcoming. A big part I loved was when Coach Brink said that the receivers have scheduled bonding time. It felt natural to be there!" Cargill continued with high praise of Coach Best's approach, "Coach Best is a great coach! He understands his players and listens. He has a connection with every player and is straightforward about what he wants and expects from the team." 

The Eagles went 5-7 overall in the 2025 season and 4-4 in conference play in one of the most competitive FCS conferences, the Big Sky. The Big Sky encompasses the Pacific Northwest and Big Sky region of the United States, but does go as far south as Flagstaff, Arizona, and San Luis Obispo, California, with Northern Arizona and Cal Poly. It features top teams like the reigning National Champions, Montana State, #3 ranked Montana, and #8 ranked UC Davis. 

The FCS has produced multiple NFL Hall of Famers and year after year, it sends numerous players to the NFL, especially now that the transfer portal and eligibility extensions have allowed for more talented players to look for a new home every portal window, many finding theirs at an FCS program. NFL Hall of Famers from FCS schools include: Jerry Rice (Mississippi Valley State), Michael Strahan (Texas Southern), Randy Moss (Marshall (FCS when he was there)), Kurt Warner (Northern Iowa), Jared Allen (Idaho State), and Terrell Owens (Chattanooga). 

The FCS is strong especially in Wide Receiver products as some of the game's best played at that level. Just look at the list above, Rice, Moss, and Owens, all NFL Hall of Fame WRs who played FCS football. Another wide receiver that may join them in the next two decades set the FCS career yards gained record (6,464), career receiving touchdowns record (73), and the career receptions record (428). He was an Eastern Washington Eagle, caught a pass in 52 consecutive games (42 of which he scored a TD in), another FCS record, and is one of the best FCS offensive players in history. He won the Super Bowl last year with the Seattle Seahawks, much to the chagrin of 49ers fans. He is Cooper Kupp. 

Kupp was another under the radar recruit that committed to Eastern Washington and immediately was incredible. He caught an FCS freshman record 93 passes his first year as an Eagle for nearly 1700 yards, another freshman record. He and now NFL veteran receiver Kendrick Bourne set the record for most passes caught by two players on the same team - 850 passes caught from 2013-2016 for almost 10,000 yards. The numbers Kupp put up at Eastern Washington are mind blowing, and the Rams thought so, too, picking him 69th overall in the 2017 NFL Draft. Kupp won the NFL Offensive Player of the Year in 2021 and was the Super Bowl MVP in that season, helping lead the Rams to their second ever championship as an organization. Kupp has over 8000 receiving yards in his career and 59 receiving touchdowns, and upon retirement, the two-time Super Bowl champion may get a call from Canton. 

An emphasis on returning the Eagles to their prime, a prime achieved with an elite receiving corps featuring Kupp and Bourne, was shown as Cargill praised the coaching staff, "They're all very nice and intelligent! The vision they have is to be championship contenders once again. They want to elevate the program once again like when Cooper Kupp was here." The Eagles went 41-13 in Kupp's career, 28-4 in Big Sky play with three Big Sky Championships. They won a further three in 2010, 2012, and 2018. They were also National Champions in 2010. Eastern Washington beat FBS' Oregon State in 2013 and reached the National Semifinal as the #3 overall seed where they lost to the eventual runner-up #7 Towson. In 2014, they were the #4 overall seed and reached the National Quarterfinal before falling again to the eventual runner-up #5 Illinois State. In 2016, the Eagles beat FBS' Washington State to open the season and went onto reach the National Semifinal once more as the #2 overall seed, but fell to the eventual runner up a third time in Youngstown State. 

Cargill could provide a tremendous impact to Eastern Washington, bringing an incredibly high level of athleticism to Cheney. His playmaking ability and versatility should earn him valuable playing time early on in his career. The Eagles are becoming more aggressive in recruiting, especially at skill positions with 12 of their Top 20 Recruits All-Time on 247 Sports being a part of the past three classes (2024, 2025, 2026). Cargill adds to that pedigree and what should be a great 2027 class as the Eagles look to jump into the upper echelon of the Big Sky and return to their prime. 

    Josh Bunni is the first of the three international talents from Newman to commit. He elected to stay in the Bay Area, committing to Cal and their new Head Coach Tosh Lupoi. Bunni is a 6'6.5" 330 pound lineman from Australia who came to Newman earlier in the 2025-26 school year in hopes of earning a beneficial education and achieving his dream of playing football at the highest level. Due to transfer rules, Bunni sat out the 2025 season, but was cleared for the 2026 season.

    What's the momentum behind Bunni's recruitment? Not only is he huge and athletic, Bunni has dominated at camps and showcases all over the West Coast, most notably the Rivals San Francisco Elite Camp a few months ago. Rivals posted a highlight video of Josh dominating some of the best Defensive Linemen and Edge Rushers in one-on-one repetitions. 

    Alongside his incredible talent, whispers of him, Vaetoe, teammate and fellow Aussie Eazy Crichton, and other talented athletes at Cardinal Newman brought coaches from all over the country to campus. His entire recruitment has come without him playing a down of high school football which brings Bunni more confidence in the belief of these coaches in his potentially endless ceiling, "With no film or tape and really as much experience to the game, Cal OL Coach [Famika Anae] and HC Tosh [Lupoi] really believed in me from when they first offered me to my commitment they saw my potential," Bunni said following his commitment. Bunni felt welcomed by the full program as well, "I also felt a lot of love from the whole staff. It seriously felt like home, and the Bay Area is amazing so I knew it was right." 

    Bunni is a huge under the radar commitment for Cal, a program attempting to bounce back under new Head Coach Tosh Lupoi. Lupoi, a Cal alum, came over from Oregon where he was the defensive coordinator, leading the Ducks defense to becoming one of the best defenses in the nation. Lupoi takes over from Justin Wilcox who was fired following the Golden Bears' loss in the Big Game to Stanford, 31-10 in November. Wilcox went 48-55 in nine seasons with Cal. Lupoi seems to be taking a different approach compared to Wilcox and since he took over, Bear Territory has been expanding as their recruiting class for 2027 continues to get deeper and deeper. "Coach Lupoi is seriously building something special," said Bunni who adds to a stacked 2027 Golden Bear class currently ranked 21st in the nation by Rivals. Bunni praised Lupoi's leadership and vision, "I think Coach Lupoi lives to his word, and he is going to bring Cal exactly where he needs to be. His staff is amazing with a lot of NFL experience." 

    Alongside Josh, this weekend, Cal scored commitments from 4 star TE Rahzario Edwards (Grant Union HS, Sacramento), 4 star ATH Elyjah Staples (Marquez HS, Huntington Beach), 3 star QB Dane Weber (Chaparral, Temecula), 3 star DL Jaderian Jones (Oak Cliff, Dallas, Texas) and locked down 3 star DL Giovanni Hodge (Grant Union HS, Sacramento). All but four of Cal's sixteen Class of 2027 commits have come from inside California, proving that Lupoi is attempting to lockdown the state and compete with the likes of USC and UCLA in the Big Ten who have made in-state recruiting a priority. No doubt, Josh and the future of Newman Football will help with that.