Tag Archives: recruiting

UCLA loses last OL commit Trey Stratford to Stanford

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UCLA seemingly wrapped up its offensive line recruiting class by July. Now, the Bruins are without a single offensive line commit for the 2018 group after three-star prospect Trey Stratford flipped to Stanford on Sunday.

Stratford committed to UCLA on June 24 as UCLA’s fifth offensive lineman for this class. The group started to fall apart in November though as junior college transfer Jason Dickson and Northern California product Blake McDonald backed out when whispers of Jim Mora‘s job security started to pick up after UCLA lost to Washington. Chris Bleich flipped to Florida last week, citing coaching uncertainty, then Stratford announced his pledge to Stanford.

The Bruins also recruited Corvallis, Ore., prospect Marco Brewer, but the three-star recruit was charged with rape during the summer and didn’t play high-school football as a senior.

Stratford seemingly doubled-down on his UCLA commitment only a few days ago in a now-deleted tweet that said he was planning to sign on Dec. 20 during the early signing period and was excited to play for “his future coach” Hank Fraley. Chip Kelly‘s new coaching staff is not yet set, but there have been indications that the new head coach is expected to retain several of Mora’s former assistants.

With less than three weeks before the signing period, UCLA’s recruiting class is in major flux. The Bruins have also lost running back AJ Carter, a three-star prospect from Louisiana. Carter said told the Shreveport Times he has backed off his UCLA pledge and is now looking for an offense that suits his skill set more.

Four-star safety Cam’ron Jones also seems to be exploring his options. The Texas native recently received an offer from Mississippi.

Despite many changes around him, cornerback Stephan Blaylock told the Long Beach Press-Telegram he is still with the Bruins.

RB Kazmeir Allen is Chip Kelly’s first commit at UCLA

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Three-star running back Kazmeir Allen announced his commitment to UCLA on Wednesday, becoming Chip Kelly‘s first new pledge for the 2018 recruiting class.

On Nov. 23, the 5-foot-10, 180-pound prospect from Tulare released a top-six with Fresno State, Wisconsin, USC, San Diego State, Cal and Arizona State, but the Bruins swooped in with an offer this week after Kelly took over and immediately earned the senior’s verbal commitment.

In a seemingly perfect fit for what’s expected to an uptempo offense, Allen finished sixth in the CIF State 100-meter dash last year with a personal-best 10.48.

Here’s a look at his senior highlights:

UCLA loses three-star DL Niti Liu

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The first recruiting news of the Chip Kelly era is a decommittment as three-star defensive lineman Niti Liu announced that he was backing off his pledge via Twitter.

Liu, from Sacramento’s Grant Union High School, committed to the Bruins in June and told 247 Sports on Monday that he was excited about the coaching change. He said he would remain with the Bruins even if defensive line coach Angus McClure was released.

The Bruins still have defensive line commitments from defensive end Abdul-Malik McClain and defensive tackle Aaron Maldonado for their 2018 class.

UCLA men’s basketball inks two on first day of early signing period

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UCLA received two national letters of intent for its 2018 men’s basketball recruiting class Wednesday, the first day of the early signing period.

Guard David Singleton, from Torrance Bishop Montgomery, and center Kenneth Nwuba, from Huntington Prep in West Virginia, officially signed with the Bruins. They are expected to be guard Jules Bernard, who participated in a signing day ceremony at the Windward School on Wednesday. UCLA has not officially announced his signing yet. The early signing period lasts until Nov. 15.

The three-man class is ranked 16th in the nation and second in the Pac-12, according to Scout.com. Bernard and Singleton are both four-star recruits and Nwuba is a three-star prospect.

OL Blake McDonald decommits from UCLA, fifth decommit in one week

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UCLA’s recruiting class continues to shrink as offensive lineman Blake McDonald backed out of his pledge on Sunday.

The three-star offensive tackle committed on April 8 and was one of the first members of UCLA’s 2018 recruiting class. McDonald is now the second offensive lineman to decommit this week, following junior college prospect Jason Dickson, who backed out Oct. 30. UCLA has also lost a trio of three-star defensive backs: Dayven Coleman, Ken Montgomery and Kendrick Torain.

UCLA has 19 commits left for the 2018 class, and with the new early signing period, can sign them to National Letters of Intent as early as Dec. 20.

Four-star safety Cam’ron Jones, who committed to the Bruins on April 16, weighed in on the recent slew of decommits:

Current UCLA defensive lineman Jaelan Phillips tweeted the following on Saturday soon after Torain announced his decommitment: