Drove down to Huntington Beach on Saturday morning to catch a loaded 7-on-7 field. Here were my news and notes on the UCLA targets in attendance:
-Bryan Addison was probably the top prospect I saw out there today (Amon-Ra St. Brown didn't work out because of an injured hand). The Serra safety is just freakishly tall and long and athletic. Reminds me of Pat Watkins. I don't think he's a five-star, but he's pretty close to it. I think UCLA is still in good shape here.
-I caught my first extended look at UCLA commit Stephan Blaylock today, and the more I watched the film I shot of him, the more I liked him. On the hoof, he's not very physically impressive. At only about 5-10ish, 180ish pounds, there's not too much to like. But he's just a really good football player. He shows natural instincts that the rare ones have. In that regard, I think he's similar to Adarius Pickett. Blaylock reiterated to me once again he's 100 percent committed to UCLA.
-Chris Steele looked excellent again at cornerback, locking up Addison in the game I watched. Every article I read about him makes it seem like a decommitment is inevitable, but I actually talked with him today and that seems far from the truth. Yeah he likes Stanford a lot, and yes USC is recruiting him like crazy, but he and Demetrice Martin have a very special bond. I think as long as Meat is at UCLA, it's going to be hard for Steele to open things up.
-Devon Cooley was probably the most impressive receiver I saw today. He's a much better player at this stage in his career than Jordan Lasley was. The total package when it comes to route running, speed and hands. It appears there might be some academic hurdles, but he's visiting UCLA on Thursday and I got the vibe the Cooleys are going to really press for the Bruins to take his commitment.
-Caught my first look at UCLA safety offeree Julius Irvin and came away with almost the exact opposite eval of Blaylock. He's physically extremely impressive. He's a long 6-2ish, 185ish pounds and he moves quicker and runs faster than Blaylock. Yet he lacks the football IQ Blaylock has. He had a chance for two picks but was just a step too slow because his reaction time just wasn't as good as a guy like Blaylock's. Either way, I think Irvin is probably a low four-star with Blaylock slightly ahead. On the recruiting front, Irvin said he and UCLA have cooled a bit and the communication has waned. Sounds like he'll end up elsewhere in the Pac-12.
-I went to watch Servite to see Irvin, but receiver Delon Hurt was the one who popped. Hurt had two of the best catches I saw all day for touchdowns and is a very sudden and attacking wideout. He camped with UCLA in late June, but apparently didn't do enough for Jimmie Dougherty to offer. It sounds like he's willing to wait for the offer, but the clock is ticking for the Bruins here.
-I then went over to Mater Dei to catch C.J. Parks, because I keep hearing he's a UCLA lean, and while he's solid, there wasn't much of a "wow" factor to him like there was from Cooley and a little bit of Hurt. He seemed like just a solid three-star receiver to me with a good floor but average ceiling. UCLA appears to be the leader, but I'd have to imagine there's a good group of wideouts in front of him on the Bruins' board.
-My last game of the day pitted two big UCLA DE recruits against each other: 2018 Abdul-Malik McClain and 2019 Kayvon Thibodeaux. Both were playing wideout. McClain moved solidly for a 6-3ish, 200ish-pound edge rusher, but it wasn't anything eye-popping. Would love to see him in OL-DL 1-on-1s rather than this setting. Thibodeaux, though, was eye-popping. He's much bigger than McClain and moved much faster and smoother. He's an easy early five-star for me.
On the recruiting front, McClain is deciding in a few weeks and unless Washington or Notre Dame blow him away on upcoming visits, UCLA should be the pick. As for Thibodeaux, I think it's going to be the SEC or USC for him.
I'll have clips videos and interviews up from this event all week on the front page.
-Bryan Addison was probably the top prospect I saw out there today (Amon-Ra St. Brown didn't work out because of an injured hand). The Serra safety is just freakishly tall and long and athletic. Reminds me of Pat Watkins. I don't think he's a five-star, but he's pretty close to it. I think UCLA is still in good shape here.
-I caught my first extended look at UCLA commit Stephan Blaylock today, and the more I watched the film I shot of him, the more I liked him. On the hoof, he's not very physically impressive. At only about 5-10ish, 180ish pounds, there's not too much to like. But he's just a really good football player. He shows natural instincts that the rare ones have. In that regard, I think he's similar to Adarius Pickett. Blaylock reiterated to me once again he's 100 percent committed to UCLA.
-Chris Steele looked excellent again at cornerback, locking up Addison in the game I watched. Every article I read about him makes it seem like a decommitment is inevitable, but I actually talked with him today and that seems far from the truth. Yeah he likes Stanford a lot, and yes USC is recruiting him like crazy, but he and Demetrice Martin have a very special bond. I think as long as Meat is at UCLA, it's going to be hard for Steele to open things up.
-Devon Cooley was probably the most impressive receiver I saw today. He's a much better player at this stage in his career than Jordan Lasley was. The total package when it comes to route running, speed and hands. It appears there might be some academic hurdles, but he's visiting UCLA on Thursday and I got the vibe the Cooleys are going to really press for the Bruins to take his commitment.
-Caught my first look at UCLA safety offeree Julius Irvin and came away with almost the exact opposite eval of Blaylock. He's physically extremely impressive. He's a long 6-2ish, 185ish pounds and he moves quicker and runs faster than Blaylock. Yet he lacks the football IQ Blaylock has. He had a chance for two picks but was just a step too slow because his reaction time just wasn't as good as a guy like Blaylock's. Either way, I think Irvin is probably a low four-star with Blaylock slightly ahead. On the recruiting front, Irvin said he and UCLA have cooled a bit and the communication has waned. Sounds like he'll end up elsewhere in the Pac-12.
-I went to watch Servite to see Irvin, but receiver Delon Hurt was the one who popped. Hurt had two of the best catches I saw all day for touchdowns and is a very sudden and attacking wideout. He camped with UCLA in late June, but apparently didn't do enough for Jimmie Dougherty to offer. It sounds like he's willing to wait for the offer, but the clock is ticking for the Bruins here.
-I then went over to Mater Dei to catch C.J. Parks, because I keep hearing he's a UCLA lean, and while he's solid, there wasn't much of a "wow" factor to him like there was from Cooley and a little bit of Hurt. He seemed like just a solid three-star receiver to me with a good floor but average ceiling. UCLA appears to be the leader, but I'd have to imagine there's a good group of wideouts in front of him on the Bruins' board.
-My last game of the day pitted two big UCLA DE recruits against each other: 2018 Abdul-Malik McClain and 2019 Kayvon Thibodeaux. Both were playing wideout. McClain moved solidly for a 6-3ish, 200ish-pound edge rusher, but it wasn't anything eye-popping. Would love to see him in OL-DL 1-on-1s rather than this setting. Thibodeaux, though, was eye-popping. He's much bigger than McClain and moved much faster and smoother. He's an easy early five-star for me.
On the recruiting front, McClain is deciding in a few weeks and unless Washington or Notre Dame blow him away on upcoming visits, UCLA should be the pick. As for Thibodeaux, I think it's going to be the SEC or USC for him.
I'll have clips videos and interviews up from this event all week on the front page.
