Justin Cauley loves football. But the teenager knows there is more to life than toting the pigskin or scoring touchdowns no matter how much he enjoys reaching the end-zone.
The 5-foot-11, 205-pounder rushed for 1,334 yards and 10 touchdowns at Venice High School in Los Angeles as a junior. He built a reputation as a smooth yet hard-nosed runner with the ability to run between the tackles and catch passes out of the backfield. Cauley garnered interest from across the Big Sky Conference, earning scholarship offers from Northern Arizona, Weber State and Montana State while also hearing frequently from Portland State, Idaho State and Washington State.
Montana State first contacted Cauley in the spring of his junior year, offering him and telling him he is among the Bobcats’ top running prospects for the Class of 2018 through phone calls, text messages and hand-written letters. Late in the summer, Cauley gave MSU a silent verbal commitment, telling the coaches of his intention to attend Montana State but never announcing the decision publicly.
On September 9 within an hour before MSU’s home opener against No. 4 South Dakota State, Cauley could not wait any longer. He announced his commitment to Montana State on Twitter.
Despite high exposure playing in a huge metropolitan area and a chance for a productive senior season, Cauley wanted to get his commitment out of the way. Every school that recruited him told him of how they might use his diverse skill set in their respective offense. But Montana State sold him on the vision of cultivating his maturity and personal growth.
“The one of the things I really liked is when I first talked to the coaches, it wasn’t all about football,” Cauley saidin an interview with Skyline Sports on Tuesday. “Especially Coach (Jeff) Choate, he talks about making me a better man. He knows me being away from my mom is going to be a big sacrifice. Mostly making me a better person while I’m out there and making me a better football player. The main thing he made it about, what made my mom happy, is that when I go out there, everything won’t be about football.
“It will be about school too and making me my own better person and making the right decisions. Talking to other schools, not saying they are mostly about football, they didn’t emphasize making me my own person as much as Montana State and that’s what made me fall in love with it.”
Talk to the respectful, outgoing Cauley and you won’t go more than a few minutes without him praising his mother, Tangee Ragsdale, for her dedication to Justin and his two sisters. MSU secondary coach Mark Orphey, Montana State’s primary recruiter in Los Angeles, has been Cauley’s No. 1 recruiter from the Bobcat coaching staff. But running backs coach and recruiting coordinator Michael Pitre and head coach Jeff Choate have been consistent as well. The emphasis on including Ragsdale in Cauley’s decision also proved to be a selling point for the running back.
“I can’t wait to take my mom out there on my visit. I’m more excited to take my mom out there than myself,” Cauley said. “Me committing is a burden off her shoulders. She’s paying tuition for my sister at Sac State right now. My main thing is playing high school and having fun but mostly use it to get a free education to take my burden off my mom for my little sister.
“My little sister is really talented. Her motivation and dedication for her is what I look up to. I want to go to the best college she can because she’s the smartest one out of the three of us. She’s a genius. I want to do this to help my mom so my mom can help her.”
Cauley’s father has not been a fixture in his life. Cauley said he hardly speaks the man. T.J. Mahar, his former Pop Warner coach, has assumed the role of mentor and father figure in Cauley’s life. Cauley garnered advice from Mahar on his decision as well.
“I talk to him about everything, especially with recruiting stuff,” Cauley said. “Every time I have a hard decision to make, I go to T.J. and he will help me. He’s been a huge influence in my life.”
The other primary influence in getting Cauley to commit to MSU is fellow Bobcat recruit Aaron Howard. The defensive back at Cathedral High in Southern California is who Cauley calls his best friend. Howard committed to MSU earlier in the summer.
“He was in my ear the whole time, especially after he committed,” Cauley said. “He was in my ear, ‘just commit, just commit’. He had a big influence on my decision. Seeing him talk to coach, how much love he was getting from the coaches before I committed when he committed, that had a big influence. He’s a baller, man.”
Cauley has never stepped foot in Montana but he has researched the MSU football program and campus life in Bozeman ever since the Bobcats first contacted him. He once considered pursuing engineering but “Algebra 2 is no joke”, he says with a laugh, a realization that has him thinking about studying something else. Cauley has also started to skim the chronicles of what is one of the great rivalries in all of college football between MSU and rival Montana. All of the factors have him excited to first visit Montana State.
“I’m looking forward to visiting up there,” Cauley said. “It sounds like something out of a movie.
“When I go out there, I won’t be disappointed. I don’t think I will.”
Last season, Cauley was the bell cow for Venice, averaging 6.8 yards per carry on 196 rushes and averaging 133.4 yards per game. He rushed for more than 100 yards in seven games. He also caught 15 passes for 113 yards and a touchdown. In late July, Luca Diamont, Venice’s quarterback, fractured his skull after falling off a golf cart. Diamont turned heads as a freshman, throwing for 2,066 yards and 21 touchdowns. He is out indefinitely, meaning Cauley will be called upon even more to carry the mail.
On Tuesday, Cauley said he was ready for the challenge of the elevated workload. He also said his mind feels clear now that he knows that his future after high school holds. He is fully focused on his current season while still anticipating what the coming months and years will bring him.
“That means the most man, a dream come true,” Cauley said. “When I was in Pop Warner, I didn’t really have that mission in mind. Just having the coaching and support group I have and knowing if I kept my grades up, which I have, it’s a tremendous jump. It makes my mom happy. A free education will make me the most happy because it makes my mom happy and takes the burden off of her. That means the most to me.”
Photos contributed by Cauley. All Rights Reserved.
