Chris Steele committed to UCLA more than two years before he would have been able to sign with the Bruins, so it seemed that Wednesday’s announcement was inevitable: Steele, one of the top recruits in the 2019 class, he has backed off his UCLA pledge.

“I wanted to be fair and respectful to UCLA,” Steele told Scout.com. “They’re still one of my of top schools and I told Coach Meat (Demetrice Martin) that when we talked earlier in the week. I’m still very interested in them and still want to build that relationship with him and the rest of the coaching staff moving forward.

The four-star cornerback from St. John Bosco committed two days before UCLA signed its 2017 class. His star continued to rise and he reeled in offers from all over the country: Alabama, Notre Dame, Michigan, Stanford, Oklahoma, Arizona State, LSU and Colorado, to just name a few.

Steele is Scout.com’s No. 1 cornerback in California and the West and the third-best prospect at his position in the nation.

UCLA has three verbal commits for its 2019 class still: receiver Kameron Brown, linebacker Jonathan Perkins and receiver/defensive back Jordan Patterson.