Rivals Camp made its annual stop in L.A. today. Not a great turnout, but some brand-name guys nonetheless. Here were my notes:
THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY
You're going to hate Chip Kelly on the recruiting trail. Just know that now. I personally did 12 interviews today, and our Rivals team did dozens more. Not many have met Chip Kelly outside of an accidental run-in at their high school. Not many, if any, have had more than just standard contact with UCLA's staff outside of GAs or occasional chats with Kelly's new assistants. Only a handful I talked to have legit offers and even some of them said the offers didn't come from Kelly himself. USC, meanwhile, is leading for just about every top player in the state at the moment.
If this was anybody other than Kelly, it'd be time to break down. I do believe it'll work out for UCLA, though. The three-stars and low four-stars that actually wanted to be at UCLA, not the ones that begged for the attention, worked out far better in the Mora years, and that was with Mora at the helm. The thing about all of this is it's just going to be wild watching UCLA suddenly start recruiting like U of A after going after so many big dogs for so many years.
MY INTERVIEW NOTES
-Adimora told me UCLA is his dream school and he's been reassured by Don Pellum that he has an offer under the new staff. He's the only one I spoke to that has a date set for an unofficial to UCLA (March 17 for spring practice).
-Daniels has been called by some UCLA's top 2019 QB recruit, but he told me he really hasn't heard from UCLA outside of GAs/staffers and a "little bit" of Dana Bible. He seems to really like UCLA, and he seems to be under the impression that if he visits, UCLA will either offer or definitely pick up their recruitment of him.
-One of the top 2020 wideouts in the country, Wilson said he hasn't been offered by the new staff but he's "hoping" to land that soon, perhaps on an unofficial visit in the next few weeks/months.
-The Rivals100 OL says he hasn't heard from UCLA, but he did run into Kelly when he was on campus prior to 2018 Signing Day. He said it's not too late yet for the Bruins to get involved.
-The 2020 quarterback that's been labeled by some as UCLA's top 2020 QB recruit said he "hasn't heard too much" from UCLA. He's not upset about it, but he's looking to make a pledge soon, and it sounds like the Bruins will need to pick up their recruitment on him sooner than later if they want to be in the final mix.
-Wolfe, one of the top tight ends in the class who had an offer from Mora's staff, said he just heard from Derek Sage this week (the first contact he's had with the Bruins' new staff) and is hoping UCLA picks up his recruitment more.
-Criddell says Roy Manning hits him up from time to time and he's hoping to get on an unofficial visit in the next few weeks to have the UCLA recruitment pick up.
-Williams said he just landed the offer from Vince Oghobaase this week and is excited about being one of the prospects with the "rare" offer. He said he's yet to meet Kelly, but is hoping to visit in April.
-A former UCLA commitment, Patterson says he has a "really good" relationship with Sage from his time at Wazzu. He said UCLA is still his "dream school" and he's looking to take an unofficial soon.
-Dollars says UCLA hasn't reached out yet, but he believes Kelly is getting settled in and figuring everything out and will come back around to him eventually. He said he sees himself fitting well in Kelly's "type of offense."
-Floyd was one of the few today that said UCLA is coming after him pretty hard. He says he hears from coach Paul Rhoads, Pellum and Manning fairly regularly and he's trying to take a visit "soon" to meet Kelly. His favorites currently include Texas, Oregon and UCLA.
-A former UCLA commit, Steele says coach Pellum re-offered him this week. He said UCLA "definitely still has a chance" with him if the relationship blossoms.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/stephon-wright-132399
-Wright says he hasn't talked with UCLA yet. He was one of the prospects that said it mattered to him that schools get involved early.
SOME EVALUATION NOTES
Quarterbacks
-Jayden Daniels impressed me. I thought he was going to be more of a spread-option, RPO kind of guy, but he's a legit 6-3 and has an arm that will do just fine. Bryce Young, meanwhile, was a little more inconsistent than he usually is, but still flashed a big arm for such a little frame. My favorite QB of the day was 2020 Arizona QB Jack Miller. He said he hasn't heard from UCLA, and Ohio State is popping to him, but he was great today.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/jack-miller-182619
Running backs
-Sean Dollars seems like a nice Kelly kind of back. He wasn't exceptionally explosive, but he's built well despite being 5-9ish and has a good feel for the game.
Wide receivers
-Chad Johnson's 2020 son, Chad Johnson Jr., has future five-star written all over him. UCLA has yet to get involved, but he's going to be special. I didn't like too many other wideouts out there today other than Jalen Johnson, who's a tall kid from Corona that holds Utah and CSU offers.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/chad-johnson-jr-209738
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/jalen-johnson-204001
Tight ends
-Jude Wolfe is much better than I remember him being at UCLA's camp and at events this past summer. He's got much more body control now and strong hands.
Offensive line
-I didn't like any of the OL today. Jonah Tauanu'u looked like a run-of-the-mill four-star OL, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort it will take to wrestle him away from USC. Dohnovan West was the other big name in attendance, but he seemed undersized and lost most of the reps I saw him take.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/dohnovan-west-209461
Defensive line
-There were only a handful of big names, including Stephon Wright and Drake Jackson. They seemed like solid 4-3 DL, but I'm not sure they'd fit in Kelly's new 3-4 system. The guy I liked was Hawaii DL Treven Ma'ae. He had length and won most of the reps I saw and looks like he could play 3-4 OLB or put on weight and play 3-4 DE.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/treven-ma-ae-205804
Linebackers
-I loved De'Gabriel Floyd and 2020 LB Justin Flowe. Two big ILBs who hit hard and can move.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/justin-flowe-186179
Defensive backs
-It was a loaded group out there and I didn't have any problems with any of the ones on UCLA's radar. Steele, Adimora, Jordan Patterson and Cameron Williams were all sticky and displayed the hips and ball skills you want to see in Pac-12 DBs.
THE BIGGEST TAKEAWAY
You're going to hate Chip Kelly on the recruiting trail. Just know that now. I personally did 12 interviews today, and our Rivals team did dozens more. Not many have met Chip Kelly outside of an accidental run-in at their high school. Not many, if any, have had more than just standard contact with UCLA's staff outside of GAs or occasional chats with Kelly's new assistants. Only a handful I talked to have legit offers and even some of them said the offers didn't come from Kelly himself. USC, meanwhile, is leading for just about every top player in the state at the moment.
If this was anybody other than Kelly, it'd be time to break down. I do believe it'll work out for UCLA, though. The three-stars and low four-stars that actually wanted to be at UCLA, not the ones that begged for the attention, worked out far better in the Mora years, and that was with Mora at the helm. The thing about all of this is it's just going to be wild watching UCLA suddenly start recruiting like U of A after going after so many big dogs for so many years.
MY INTERVIEW NOTES
-Adimora told me UCLA is his dream school and he's been reassured by Don Pellum that he has an offer under the new staff. He's the only one I spoke to that has a date set for an unofficial to UCLA (March 17 for spring practice).
-Daniels has been called by some UCLA's top 2019 QB recruit, but he told me he really hasn't heard from UCLA outside of GAs/staffers and a "little bit" of Dana Bible. He seems to really like UCLA, and he seems to be under the impression that if he visits, UCLA will either offer or definitely pick up their recruitment of him.
-One of the top 2020 wideouts in the country, Wilson said he hasn't been offered by the new staff but he's "hoping" to land that soon, perhaps on an unofficial visit in the next few weeks/months.
-The Rivals100 OL says he hasn't heard from UCLA, but he did run into Kelly when he was on campus prior to 2018 Signing Day. He said it's not too late yet for the Bruins to get involved.
-The 2020 quarterback that's been labeled by some as UCLA's top 2020 QB recruit said he "hasn't heard too much" from UCLA. He's not upset about it, but he's looking to make a pledge soon, and it sounds like the Bruins will need to pick up their recruitment on him sooner than later if they want to be in the final mix.
-Wolfe, one of the top tight ends in the class who had an offer from Mora's staff, said he just heard from Derek Sage this week (the first contact he's had with the Bruins' new staff) and is hoping UCLA picks up his recruitment more.
-Criddell says Roy Manning hits him up from time to time and he's hoping to get on an unofficial visit in the next few weeks to have the UCLA recruitment pick up.
-Williams said he just landed the offer from Vince Oghobaase this week and is excited about being one of the prospects with the "rare" offer. He said he's yet to meet Kelly, but is hoping to visit in April.
-A former UCLA commitment, Patterson says he has a "really good" relationship with Sage from his time at Wazzu. He said UCLA is still his "dream school" and he's looking to take an unofficial soon.
-Dollars says UCLA hasn't reached out yet, but he believes Kelly is getting settled in and figuring everything out and will come back around to him eventually. He said he sees himself fitting well in Kelly's "type of offense."
-Floyd was one of the few today that said UCLA is coming after him pretty hard. He says he hears from coach Paul Rhoads, Pellum and Manning fairly regularly and he's trying to take a visit "soon" to meet Kelly. His favorites currently include Texas, Oregon and UCLA.
-A former UCLA commit, Steele says coach Pellum re-offered him this week. He said UCLA "definitely still has a chance" with him if the relationship blossoms.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/stephon-wright-132399
-Wright says he hasn't talked with UCLA yet. He was one of the prospects that said it mattered to him that schools get involved early.
SOME EVALUATION NOTES
Quarterbacks
-Jayden Daniels impressed me. I thought he was going to be more of a spread-option, RPO kind of guy, but he's a legit 6-3 and has an arm that will do just fine. Bryce Young, meanwhile, was a little more inconsistent than he usually is, but still flashed a big arm for such a little frame. My favorite QB of the day was 2020 Arizona QB Jack Miller. He said he hasn't heard from UCLA, and Ohio State is popping to him, but he was great today.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/jack-miller-182619
Running backs
-Sean Dollars seems like a nice Kelly kind of back. He wasn't exceptionally explosive, but he's built well despite being 5-9ish and has a good feel for the game.
Wide receivers
-Chad Johnson's 2020 son, Chad Johnson Jr., has future five-star written all over him. UCLA has yet to get involved, but he's going to be special. I didn't like too many other wideouts out there today other than Jalen Johnson, who's a tall kid from Corona that holds Utah and CSU offers.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/chad-johnson-jr-209738
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/jalen-johnson-204001
Tight ends
-Jude Wolfe is much better than I remember him being at UCLA's camp and at events this past summer. He's got much more body control now and strong hands.
Offensive line
-I didn't like any of the OL today. Jonah Tauanu'u looked like a run-of-the-mill four-star OL, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort it will take to wrestle him away from USC. Dohnovan West was the other big name in attendance, but he seemed undersized and lost most of the reps I saw him take.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/dohnovan-west-209461
Defensive line
-There were only a handful of big names, including Stephon Wright and Drake Jackson. They seemed like solid 4-3 DL, but I'm not sure they'd fit in Kelly's new 3-4 system. The guy I liked was Hawaii DL Treven Ma'ae. He had length and won most of the reps I saw and looks like he could play 3-4 OLB or put on weight and play 3-4 DE.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2019/treven-ma-ae-205804
Linebackers
-I loved De'Gabriel Floyd and 2020 LB Justin Flowe. Two big ILBs who hit hard and can move.
https://n.rivals.com/content/prospects/2020/justin-flowe-186179
Defensive backs
-It was a loaded group out there and I didn't have any problems with any of the ones on UCLA's radar. Steele, Adimora, Jordan Patterson and Cameron Williams were all sticky and displayed the hips and ball skills you want to see in Pac-12 DBs.
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