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CSU lands verbals from a pair of California linemen

Justin Michael

June 14, 2023

California is officially Ram country.

After picking up verbal commitments from QB Darrius Curry (Long Beach Poly) and Kory Hall (Grover Cleveland HS) last week, Jay Norvell and Co. received two more pledges from West Coast recruits on Tuesday.

Berlin Lillard, a 6-foot-5, 325-pound offensive tackle out of Bishop O’Dowd High School, announced his intent to play at CSU. As did John Holthaus, a 6-foot-7, 280-pound offensive tackle from Junipero Serra High School. Both players visited campus over the weekend and got enough out of the experience to want to verbally commit. They are the first two offensive linemen in CSU’s 2024 class.

After an amazing OV this past weekend, careful consideration between my family, coaches and I, I’m honored to announce that I am Committed to Colorado State University! @CoachJayNorvell @BillyBestOL @ODowd_FB @hardynickerson @78tglenn @BrandonHuffman @DWiseAC @OBM_CoachT1A408 pic.twitter.com/r4903R1ejv
— Berlin Lillard (@BerlinLillard) June 14, 2023

According to 247Sports, CSU is currently Lillard’s only offer, though his Twitter page shows that he’s been on campus at both Cal and USC. He’s coming off of a junior season in which he was named second-team all-league despite the Dragons’ 4-6 record. They did however finish the season by winning three of the final four.

Watching Lillard on Hudl, it’s encouraging to see how well he moves at his size. He doesn’t have any trouble pulling on counters, and you like to see an offensive tackle that is quick enough to recover if a defender has a chance to beat him off the edge in pass protection scenarios. It’s obviously a small sample size of film, but Lillard certainly seems like a player that can translate well at the FBS level.

First off I want to thank everyone around me for their support of my journey that being said I am very blessed to say I am committed to Colorado State university!! Stalwart!!! @BrandonHuffman @elijah_folau @coachwalsh20 @BillyBestOL @CoachJayNorvell @coachmons @DariusBell_3 pic.twitter.com/xfmzpeD8zp
— John Holthaus (@JohnHolthaus79) June 14, 2023

Holthaus, on the other hand, is a prospect that will definitely need to put on some weight. You can see that he’s still filling in his 6-foot-7 frame. After spending some time with the staff though — adding a few pounds and refining his techniques — Holthaus could definitely develop into a nice player. I like the way that he finishes plays on film. He looks like the type of guy that you’ll never have to worry about effort with.

Holthaus was part of a Serra Padres squad that went 13-1 and finished in first place of the West Catholic League. In addition to football he also plays lacrosse. According to 247Sports, he also holds an offer to play football at Portland State.