Uko on UCLA’s non-offer

Chino Hills High defensive tackle George Uko is a polarizing figure in UCLA’s recruiting decisions. He was impressive during individual drills during Scout.com’s combine, and after I asked him if he knew why UCLA had not offered even though he at one time favored the school. Uko said the Bruins staff told him he did not give the type of effort they want to see on every play.
“I played both ways, so sometimes I took a few plays off,” Uko said. “I was playing tight end, going out on patterns, and then I would have to play defensive tackle, and I was tired. This year I’m only going to play defense, so schools will see me playing hard all the time.”
Uko said he remains open to UCLA, although it appears the Bruins would have ground to make up if a scholarship offer comes his way.
“I’m still open to everything,” Uko said.
He lists his favorite schools as Nebraska, Oregon, Arizona, Arizona State, Tennessee, Oklahoma, Colorado, Washing and Nevada.

Stills and UCLA

I talked to La Costa Canyon of Encinitas receiver Kenny Stills and asked him if he was close to making a decision.
“Realistically, I don’t think so,” Stills said. “I want to take all my visits. I want to trim my list to seven to 10 schools by the end of the summer, take my trips and make a decision during the season or in the offseason.”
Stills was impressive at the Scout.com combine, running a wind-aided 4.36 (seconds) in the 40-yard dash. However, he sat out the end of the combine after tweaking his hamstring.
He said his top schools, in no particular order, were USC, UCLA, California, Arizona, Coloroado, Washington and Penn State.
He said there has been a lot of talk about him going to USC because that is the school he is asked frequently about in interviews, but he said he has no leader.

UCLA’s one-day camp issues

I was down at the Scout.com combine at Los Angeles Harbor College today, and in talking to a bunch of people, plenty were miffed about why UCLA is holding its one-day camp next Saturday.
One of the top performers at the camp, receiver Kenny Stills of La Costa Canyon of Encinitas, said he is not going because he has to take the SATs. A few others echoed that.
Also, several players said they were not attending because it was the same day as the state track championships.