Kylie Fitts picks UCLA

As most expected, four-star defensive end Kylie Fitts committed to UCLA Tuesday night, giving the Bruins an early start to what they hope will be an eventful Signing Day on Wednesday. Fitts will enroll for the spring quarter and arrive on campus April 1. He had originally committed to USC before the school told him he couldn’t enroll early.

Will he have more motivation against the Trojans in the future?

“To be honest, probably,” Fitts said. “I respect all the coaches. I think they’re a great school. But something inside me is going to push me a little harder in that game.”

Here’s the video of his press conference from the Riverside Press-Enterprise. He starts talking at the 30-minute mark after a lot of dead time.

The most interesting quote from the session is his response to how much the whole fiasco with USC not allowing him to enroll early affected his decision. Fitts found out he couldn’t join the Trojans while he was shopping for dorm supplies with his mother, just two days before he was set to move out. He told Lane Kiffin and the rest of the staff that he had moved past that issue, but USC still couldn’t close the door again after leaving open a crack.

“To be honest, during the year, I always looked across town (at UCLA) and saw how much fun they were (having),” Fitts said. “I was almost kind of jealous. In the back of my head, it looked fun to play there, but I was just going to go through with my college decision and everything, to USC.

“I believe everything happened for a reason. When that whole incident happened, UCLA was the first school to call. Coach Angus (McClure), the D-line coach called right away. We had a good talk. I went on my official visit and fell in love with the school, just everything about it. Talking with Coach Mora, building a relationship with all the coaches, I believe that’s the best coaching staff in the nation right now. I believe UCLA is on the rise. They’re gonna do big things.”