One of five 2016 recruits who already enrolled at UCLA, three-star safety Leni Toailoa talked about what drew him to the Bruins, and what the coaching staff has told him about his role on the team.
UCLA has lost five players as early entries into the 2016 NFL draft, but are set to welcome just as many newcomers this week.
Five 2016 recruits have enrolled as Bruins, according to the UCLA Registrar: receiver Theo Howard, linebacker Breland Brandt, linebacker Lokeni Toailoa, defensive back Leni Toailoa, and kicker JJ Molson.
Monday is the first day of classes for UCLA’s winter quarter. Molson’s arrival in Westwood will be delayed by a week, due to his participation in the Army All-American Bowl on Jan. 9 in San Antonio.
Move into my dorm tonight
— Theo Howard (@theohoward2) January 3, 2016
Quarterback Matt Lynch, receiver Demetric Felton and defensive tackle Nick Terry have also signed financial aid agreements with UCLA, but are not yet listed on the registrar.
Three-star safety Leni Toailoa has verbally committed to UCLA, joining the Bruins’ 2016 class along with his brother Lokeni.
Lokeni Toailoa, a four-star linebacker, picked the Bruins in March during a ceremony in Rancho Cucamonga for Ground Zero — a football training center and 7-on-7 program based in the Inland Empire. That same day, Leni announced his decision to attend San Jose State.
However, UCLA also extended the younger Toailoa an offer in July, and finally prompted him to change his mind on Monday. The 6-foot-1, 190-pound athlete is rated one of the top-15 safeties in the west by Scout.com.
Both the Toailoa brothers play at Carter High in Rialto, the alma mater of UCLA’s starting nose tackle Kenny Clark.