Spoke with a ton of UCLA targets out at B2G today and yesterday. Here were the notes:
-Four-star WR Michael Pittman didn't really have an excuse for why he decommitted from UCLA earlier this week other than essentially he likes Oregon better. He's slated to visit the Ducks next weekend, and the odds look to be very good that he commits on that trip. He said once he makes this second commitment, he's done, which means the Bruins are pretty clearly out of this one now.
-In a surprise move, it sounds like four-star receiver Damian Alloway is back on board the UCLA train. It's been a very weird recruitment with Alloway. For months, he was a lock to UCLA. Then he was a lock for Cal. Then he was a lock for UCLA again. Recently, Wisconsin had the buzz. After a Notre Dame offer a few weeks ago, the Irish were the favorite. Suddenly, though, if he isn't blown away by his Notre Dame visit in the fall, it looks like he'll be UCLA-bound once again. I'm not too sure what UCLA will do with his recruitment. He said they haven't fallen off with their recruitment of him, but I've heard enough to know he's not exactly an uber priority either. So this one will be one to monitor, specifically if his upcoming Notre Dame visit is just OK.
-I finally got four-star defensive lineman Wole Betiku to sort of admit on the record that UCLA was his leader. He, though, said just because the Bruins are the favorite right now, it doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to commit there or anything. "There's nothing wrong with having a favorite," he said. "But the reason why I haven't committed to any school yet is because I want to go see other schools and I don't want to commit just to decommit when I see another school. So when I give a school my word, I want it to be my word and that's how I want it to be." It's pretty clear UCLA is going to be very, very tough to beat here regardless.
-Four-star OLB Breland Brandt remains 100 percent committed to UCLA and is set to enroll in January. But the news of the weekend for him was he's actually started his own clothing company. He told me he's very interested in being an entrepreneur, and his company, which can be found here, is his first endeavor.
-Three-star safety Troy Dye is kind of a tweener safety / linebacker prospect, which is probably the reason UCLA hasn't offered yet, but he's strung together some nice performances out at camps the past few weeks. He's the younger brother of UCLA great Tony Dye, and I think he could have a shot at an offer somewhere down the road if other targets go elsewhere.
-Four-star 2017 corner Thomas Graham is still set on making his commitment this summer, and if he doesn't camp with USC next week, it seems likely he won't be landing the big Trojan offer prior to his commitment ceremony. Which means it'll be a three-horse race between UCLA, Oklahoma and Arizona State for the commitment. After talking with him this weekend, the Bruins look to be the team to beat with ASU right behind them.
-Five-star 2017 CB Darnay Holmes sure spoke like a recruit who will eventually be on his way to Stanford. He loves UCLA, specifically Demetrice Martin, but there are just way too many factors in the Cardinal corner at the moment.
-Four-star WR Theo Howard, at least in my eyes, has supplanted Tyler Vaughns for top wideout in the state. He's the complete package out there. UCLA and USC are still trying with him, but he certainly sounds locked up to Oregon.
-2017 NorCal tight end Jimmy Jaggers is planning a UCLA visit soon. While he's a great TE right now, there's a vibe around his recruitment that he'll eventually be a tackle.
-2017 Texas wideout Hezekiah Jones is back in L.A. for the second time in the last few months. Back in April, he visited UCLA while in the city. This time around, he said UCLA is still very high on his list.
-2017 four-star receiver Joseph Lewis is the absolute real deal. He dominates every event, and should be the clear favorite for top WR in the region next year. Many have him pegged for USC, but UCLA is in the mix early on.
-Four-star ATH David Long released a top 10 this week, but it certainly feels like a Stanford-UCLA race here. The Cardinal are clearly the leader, but I get the vibe the door is open at least a little bit. For some reason, Stanford wants him as a receiver. He wants to be a corner. Plus, he's yet to really visit the Northern California school. But still, it'll be hard for UCLA to beat out Stanford here regardless.
-Four-star CB Jordan Parker sounded more solid with UCLA than ever in our interview Thursday, and now, it looks like he may not even camp at either USC or Oregon as originally planned. He'll take official visits, but he looks to be more and more comfortable with his UCLA pledge every day. Full interview with him has been up on the front page today.
-I'm intrigued to see what happens with USC receiver recruiting. Javon McKinley told us it's his favorite school right now. Tyler Vaughns and Trevon Sidney haven't made that fact much of a secret either. With two national guys already committed, I wonder who's going to get squeezed out, especially with guys like N'Keal Harry still out there.
-Four-star 2017 CB Jaylon Redd seems to be favoring UCLA more and more every time I speak with him. He actually told me this week his dad even works there.
-Four-star WR Michael Pittman didn't really have an excuse for why he decommitted from UCLA earlier this week other than essentially he likes Oregon better. He's slated to visit the Ducks next weekend, and the odds look to be very good that he commits on that trip. He said once he makes this second commitment, he's done, which means the Bruins are pretty clearly out of this one now.
-In a surprise move, it sounds like four-star receiver Damian Alloway is back on board the UCLA train. It's been a very weird recruitment with Alloway. For months, he was a lock to UCLA. Then he was a lock for Cal. Then he was a lock for UCLA again. Recently, Wisconsin had the buzz. After a Notre Dame offer a few weeks ago, the Irish were the favorite. Suddenly, though, if he isn't blown away by his Notre Dame visit in the fall, it looks like he'll be UCLA-bound once again. I'm not too sure what UCLA will do with his recruitment. He said they haven't fallen off with their recruitment of him, but I've heard enough to know he's not exactly an uber priority either. So this one will be one to monitor, specifically if his upcoming Notre Dame visit is just OK.
-I finally got four-star defensive lineman Wole Betiku to sort of admit on the record that UCLA was his leader. He, though, said just because the Bruins are the favorite right now, it doesn't necessarily mean he's ready to commit there or anything. "There's nothing wrong with having a favorite," he said. "But the reason why I haven't committed to any school yet is because I want to go see other schools and I don't want to commit just to decommit when I see another school. So when I give a school my word, I want it to be my word and that's how I want it to be." It's pretty clear UCLA is going to be very, very tough to beat here regardless.
-Four-star OLB Breland Brandt remains 100 percent committed to UCLA and is set to enroll in January. But the news of the weekend for him was he's actually started his own clothing company. He told me he's very interested in being an entrepreneur, and his company, which can be found here, is his first endeavor.
-Three-star safety Troy Dye is kind of a tweener safety / linebacker prospect, which is probably the reason UCLA hasn't offered yet, but he's strung together some nice performances out at camps the past few weeks. He's the younger brother of UCLA great Tony Dye, and I think he could have a shot at an offer somewhere down the road if other targets go elsewhere.
-Four-star 2017 corner Thomas Graham is still set on making his commitment this summer, and if he doesn't camp with USC next week, it seems likely he won't be landing the big Trojan offer prior to his commitment ceremony. Which means it'll be a three-horse race between UCLA, Oklahoma and Arizona State for the commitment. After talking with him this weekend, the Bruins look to be the team to beat with ASU right behind them.
-Five-star 2017 CB Darnay Holmes sure spoke like a recruit who will eventually be on his way to Stanford. He loves UCLA, specifically Demetrice Martin, but there are just way too many factors in the Cardinal corner at the moment.
-Four-star WR Theo Howard, at least in my eyes, has supplanted Tyler Vaughns for top wideout in the state. He's the complete package out there. UCLA and USC are still trying with him, but he certainly sounds locked up to Oregon.
-2017 NorCal tight end Jimmy Jaggers is planning a UCLA visit soon. While he's a great TE right now, there's a vibe around his recruitment that he'll eventually be a tackle.
-2017 Texas wideout Hezekiah Jones is back in L.A. for the second time in the last few months. Back in April, he visited UCLA while in the city. This time around, he said UCLA is still very high on his list.
-2017 four-star receiver Joseph Lewis is the absolute real deal. He dominates every event, and should be the clear favorite for top WR in the region next year. Many have him pegged for USC, but UCLA is in the mix early on.
-Four-star ATH David Long released a top 10 this week, but it certainly feels like a Stanford-UCLA race here. The Cardinal are clearly the leader, but I get the vibe the door is open at least a little bit. For some reason, Stanford wants him as a receiver. He wants to be a corner. Plus, he's yet to really visit the Northern California school. But still, it'll be hard for UCLA to beat out Stanford here regardless.
-Four-star CB Jordan Parker sounded more solid with UCLA than ever in our interview Thursday, and now, it looks like he may not even camp at either USC or Oregon as originally planned. He'll take official visits, but he looks to be more and more comfortable with his UCLA pledge every day. Full interview with him has been up on the front page today.
-I'm intrigued to see what happens with USC receiver recruiting. Javon McKinley told us it's his favorite school right now. Tyler Vaughns and Trevon Sidney haven't made that fact much of a secret either. With two national guys already committed, I wonder who's going to get squeezed out, especially with guys like N'Keal Harry still out there.
-Four-star 2017 CB Jaylon Redd seems to be favoring UCLA more and more every time I speak with him. He actually told me this week his dad even works there.
