Is Cal saying no to Pitt transfer Rushel Shell?

So all's been pretty quiet on the Rushel Shell front. And since we're a while away from fall camp, it could be for a little bit longer. But I stumbled upon this news kind of by accident Wednesday night from Rant Sports that Cal, one of the schools Shell is rumored to have interest in, may not want him.

Now, Rant went with the popular 'according to reports' without actually naming any sources, so I dug for something a bit more concrete. That led to this interesting tweet from Rivals' Cal site that I figured could be taken a bit more seriously:

GM: Heard from a source this week that former #Pittsburgh RB Rushel Shell won't end up at #Cal, interest isn't mutual. CC: @pantherlair

— Cal Rivals (@CalRivals) April 6, 2013

Getting back to the Rant Sports article, it sounds as if Cal could actually use his help in the backfield. And frankly, not many schools are going to be all that interested in turning away five-star running backs (all things equal, of course). But if Shell is indeed being shunned by Cal here (and admittedly, that's still a big 'if'), it makes some degree of sense. He'll surely get a chance to select from any number of schools if he wants, but the Cal approach doesn't surprise me all that much, either, based on some of the rumored knocks floating around out there against his work ethic, the suspension from this past year, and the reasons for wanting to transfer.

Frankly, if I'm a school like Cal, I probably roll the dice and open the doors to him. A bigger program like Bama? Not so much. But I can also understand if coaches are backing away a bit. The rumors are out there and to some coaches, it's not worth the risk to bring him in.

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