UCLA loses three more commits

Posted on by

UCLA’s coaching change continues to reset the school’s current recruiting class as four-star safety Cam’ron Jones, three-star linebacker Kolin Demens and three-star running back Lentivone Lesane all announced they have decommitted from UCLA on Monday.

Jones, viewed as a key part of UCLA’s 2018 recruiting class because he was an out-of-state catch for defensive backs coach Demetrice Martin, recently hosted Mississippi coaches at his family’s home in Mansfield, Texas. He has been committed to the Bruins since April, but also has offers from Oklahoma, Colorado, Baylor and Texas Tech.

Bruin Report Online reported Monday that Martin would not be retained under new head coach Chip Kelly. Martin is one of the staff’s best recruiters and was key in reeling in top prospects like Darnay Holmes and four-star cornerback Elijah Gates last year.

Demens, a Michigan native, was a big Midwest pick up by linebackers coach Scott White as he shunned offers from Michigan, Michigan State, Pittsburgh and Kentucky.

Lesane is a three-star running back from Florida with offers from Cincinnati, Illinois, Syracuse and Central Florida. He’s the second running back to decommit from UCLA since the coaching change, joining Louisiana native AJ Carter, but Kelly has already secured a pledge from Kazmeir Allen, a speedy back who runs a 10.48-second 100-meter.

Major recruiting shuffles are expected during a coaching change, especially one a drastic as UCLA’s because Kelly runs such a unique system, but here’s a brief recap of the recruiting changes in recent weeks:

  • Decommits in late October/early November as Jim Mora’s seat got hotter and hotter
    • OL Blake McDonald
    • OL Jason Dickson
    • DB Kendrick Torain
    • DB Ken Montgomery
    • S Dayven Coleman
  • Known decommits from after the coaching change
    • DL Niti Liu
    • OL Chris Bleich (flipped to Florida)
    • OL Trey Stratford (flipped to Stanford)
    • RB AJ Carter
    • S Cam’ron Jones
    • RB Lentivone Lesane
    • LB Kolin Demens
  • New commits under Kelly
    • RB Kazmeir Allen
    • OL Alec Anderson
  • UCLA has 13 commits as this point including a solid verbal from quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson. But expect more changes to come in future weeks, as is normally the case with coaching changes.