Still on the trail
Birmingham has five players --Milton Knox, Donovan Carter, Mychal Rivera, Rafael Lopez and Malik Jackson -- who've verbally committed so far, but that doesn't mean the phones have stopped ringing.
Carter and Knox are committed to UCLA, but planning to take 2-3 official visits to other schools, and Malik Jackson is receiving some serious interest from USC. Knox will probably visit Florida, Colorado and maybe Notre Dame. Carter is taking trips to Colorado and Washington.
All three say they are still firmly committed to their respective schools, but when you commit so early in the game, it's hard to listen to other pitches.
Both Knox and Carter have told me they're not overly concerned with the Bruins coaching situation. It's more that if UCLA were to fire Karl Dorrell, they'd be anxious to see who the new coach was, who the new assistants are, how many recruits stick with their commitments and what type of systems will be run. Both did say that they hoped Dorrell stayed.
Taking the trips to the other schools was planned all along though.
As for Jackson, he said he's still solid in his commitment to Fresno State. But it's worth noting a Fresno State assistant was on the sidelines last Thursday.