No. 1 JUCO Recruit in America Turns Down LSU, Alabama for ACC School
from Khosalu Puro, at Essentially College Football
For weeks, everyone expected elite junior college cornerback Alius Mayo to choose either Alabama or LSU. But no one saw the move he was about to make. As a freshman playing alongside sophomores, Mayo totaled 30 tackles, one tackle for loss, one interception, and five pass breakups in 11 games, numbers he believed recruiters may have overlooked. Both programs saw their plans fall apart on Sunday when Mayo chose to stay close to home instead of joining one of the SEC heavyweights.
On3’s Hayes Fawcett broke the news that Alius Mayo wasn’t headed to the SEC after all. Instead, Mayo chose Cal, which stayed in the race from start to finish, over Alabama, LSU, Mississippi State, and Arizona State. Rivals ranks Alius Mayo as the No. 1 JUCO prospect in the 2027 class, while Rivals/On3 and 247Sports rate him as a 4-star recruit. Alabama and Cal were consistently viewed as his top two choices.
In fact, those were the only campuses Alius Mayo officially visited, stopping in Berkeley on June 12 before making the trip to Alabama on June 18. That made Sunday’s decision sting a little more for Kalen DeBoer and the Tide. Alabama’s 2027 recruiting class sits No. 41 nationally with two 5-star commits and two 4-star pledges already in the fold. But losing the top junior college player in America is still a recruiting loss, especially when you were viewed as the favorite.
Meanwhile, LSU tried to change the equation late. Secondary coach Corey Raymond extended Alius Mayo an offer on July 13 after connecting with his agent in Baton Rouge. But while the Tigers made a push, they simply ran out of runway. Tosh Lupoi wanted this one for more than the ranking. He’s been pushing the idea of keeping Northern California kids from leaving the state. Alius Mayo became that story.
“Whenever you dream, the best ones come from home,” Mayo said. “Go Bears. It feels great, just to finally be home, somewhere I know I’m going to develop and get to the league early.”
Mayo grew up in Stockton and starred at Lincoln High, recording 51 tackles, two tackles for loss, one sack, two interceptions, one fumble recovery, and two defensive touchdowns in 11 games as a senior. He also caught a 30-yard touchdown pass before continuing his rise at Modesto Junior College. After one breakout season, major programs came calling, but Cal stayed involved from the start and landed a hometown standout.
“This is something I’ve always seen for myself, even with no offers coming out of high school,” Mayo said. “I spoke it into existence every single day because I believed in myself. I believed in the God-given abilities I have, and I gave it everything I had. Anything I put my mind to, I was going to accomplish.”
Despite interest from Fresno State, Sacramento State, and UC Davis, Mayo took the JUCO route after receiving no official scholarship offers. At Cal, he will play under head coach Tosh Lupoi, a former Oregon defensive coordinator and Cal alumnus, alongside offensive coordinator Jordan Somerville and defensive coordinator Michael Hutchings.
“The coaching staff is special,” Mayo said. “The love they showed me made me feel like I was already part of the program while I was at my junior college. I can’t wait to get into the playbook and call Cal home.”
Why Alius Mayo could become one of Cal’s biggest recruiting wins
At 6’4, 190 pounds with a self-reported 44-inch vertical leap, Alius Mayo has a promising frame. That’s why P4 programs kept calling before Cal ultimately won out. His commitment also continues an impressive recruiting streak from the Bears’ June official visit weekend.
Alius Mayo is now commitment No. 25 in Cal’s 2027 class, and he’s the first JUCO player Tosh Lupoi has added this cycle. He was part of a group that included future Cal commits Jeovanni Henley, Brody Rudnicki, Jamie Spurgeon, Miles Schirmer, and Kamil Loud. The impressive thing is that they secured the commitments of all six targets from that weekend. And it didn’t take long for that decision to show up on the recruiting rankings either.
Similar to what happened last year when Jaron-Keawe Sagapolutele’s recruitment became one of Cal’s biggest recent wins. The highly rated quarterback from Hawaii committed to Cal in July 2024, flipped to Oregon in December, then entered the transfer portal on January 3, 2025, and returned to the Golden Bears two days later.
Here we go, Cal climbed again, cracking the national top 25 after the pledge. That’s what happens when you beat Alabama in a head-to-head battle and hold off LSU’s late push for the top JUCO prospect in the country. One commitment won’t change everything overnight, but it definitely changes the conversation around what Tosh Lupoi is building.