Prep football notes: Central’s Elijah Parks commits to San Jose State

Central High senior defensive tackle Elijah Parks has given an committment to San Jose State — but that doesn’t mean he’ll be going there.

While Parks said he had a couple reasons for choosing the Spartans, he also said he’d de-commit if an offer that he likes comes in before signing day on Feb. 3, 2016.

“I’m going to keep my options open until I sign,” said Parks, in advance of the start of football practice for the Central Section on Monday.

“I like San Jose as a city,” Parks added. “It was nice. Weather was great and it just felt good to be there. Seeing the whole campus and it being a big campus but compact, so it’s not too far to classes, and the football facilities were nice.”

Knowing someone on the Spartans’ roster helped Parks in his decision. Defensive back Dehlon Preston, who was Parks’ teammate last season, is a freshman this fall at San Jose State.

Parks said he’s also being recruited by Montana, Nevada, Sacramento State, UC Davis, Utah and Washington State.

Earlier during the offseason, Parks was named Defensive Lineman Most Valuable Player at the Nike Opening Oakland Regional.

“I was the last defensive lineman to get invited, so I had to ball out,” he said.

Another offer for Golden Eagles’ Kelly

Clovis West linebacker Caleb Kelly picked up his 29th offer last week — this time from the Texas Longhorns.

The five-star-rated Kelly already holds offers from the likes Alabama, Notre Dame, USC, Oregon, Oklahoma, Michigan and Fresno State.

“All these offers are tickets to my future,” Kelly said. “I worked for every one, whether it was at school, with my 7-on-7, or alone. Every offer is kind of like a paycheck. A lot of kids work without being rewarded, and God put me with the right people in the right places to have the opportunities I have.”

This summer, Kelly was named to the Butkus Award preseason watch list for high school players. Kelly is one of 51 candidates nationwide for the award that goes to the country’s prep best linebacker, a list that includes Liberty-Bakersfield’s Krys Barnes.

The 6-foot-3, 213-pounder last fall was an All-State junior first team by Cal-Hi Sports and earned Fab 50 honors from The Bee as the Golden Eagles went 6-6 and advance to the second round of the Central Section Division I playoffs.

This story was originally published August 2, 2015 at 5:07 PM with the headline "Prep football notes: Central’s Elijah Parks commits to San Jose State."