Willis reportedly transferring to UCLA

Scout.com’s No. 21 defensive tackle Brandon Willis has asked for and gotten his release from North Carolina and will transfer to UCLA, Willis told Rivals.com. Willis was a major target for Neuheisel and Co. last year before picking Tennessee, but he decommitted when Lane Kiffin left the school earlier this year and chose North Carolina. UCLA officials would not comment on the matter.

There’s no doubt: Willis’ potential signing gives UCLA one of the top defensive line classes in the country, and a once-precarious depth issue now becomes moot by next season. UCLA will only lose David Carter on the defensive two-deep, and now this could be the depth chart over the next few seasons:

2011:
DE: Jones/Holmes/Tepa
DT: Marsh/Willis/Epenesa
DT: Edison/Carter
DE: Chandler/Graham/Owa

2012:
DE: Holmes/Tepa
DT: Marsh/Epenesa
DT: Carter/Willis
DE: Owa/Graham

Here’s his recruiting profile: Willis