Welcome to The Bruin Bite, our weekly feature here at BruinSportsReport.com that brings you the latest inside information on UCLA football, basketball and recruiting.
The Bruin Bite is information gathered for BruinSportsReport.com subscribers, and it is information gathered solely for BruinSportsReport.com subscribers. Everything that is reported on The Bruin Bite must stay on BruinSportsReport.com. All news found here is intended for this premium message board only.
With that out of the way, on to the Bruin Bite:
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Decisions coming soon
It's about to be a busy few weeks on the decision front for several of UCLA's top recruits. Here's the list:
-Four-star OLB Curtis Robinson - The Mater Dei linebacker is down to UCLA, Stanford and Notre Dame. After speaking with about half a dozen people close to the recruitment on Sunday, not a single one said anything other than Stanford. He'll announce on Twitter at 8 a.m. Monday.
-Four-star QB Devon Modster - The quarterback, who was at UCLA's practice Saturday, is down to UCLA, Boise State and Arizona. Modster said he's already made his decision, but he wasn't giving any hints Sunday. Nearly everyone believes it's UCLA or Boise State, with the Bruins having all the latest buzz after his Saturday visit. He'll decide within the next 14 days either on Twitter or at a ceremony at his high school.
-Four-star WR Damian Alloway - He's going to decide likely next month, and right now, he's all UCLA. He took a visit last week, loved it, and is completely sold. Yet his grandpa wants him to visit Cal this weekend just to be sure. Once he gets back from that visit, you can probably expect a Bruin commitment to follow shortly.
-Four-star DL Wole Betiku - The big Serra D-lineman has given strong indications to those around him that he's looking to end his recruitment soon, and UCLA will be his choice. However, there are some in his camp that aren't too sure if he should stay in California. Penn State would likely be the landing spot if that were to happen. But don't be surprised if he pops for the Bruins sooner rather than later, especially after yet another visit to Westwood Saturday.
-Another highly-coveted prospect in the state has given UCLA the indication that he will be committing to the Bruins this week, a source told BSR last week. The source said to let the player make the announcement first, however. So we'll just wait and see if this one comes to fruition.
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Contingency plans
If Robinson does in fact pick Stanford as expected on Monday, there won't be a whole lot of scrambling in Westwood. UCLA is looking for just one more backer to round out the class, and it's in great shape for several prospects outside of Robinson. Namely, five-star OLB Caleb Kelly, yet Lamar Winston are options too.
The one name, though, that you certainly should keep an eye on is USC linebacker commit Mique Juarez. Scott White has relentlessly pursued him, and in fact, we've heard White will be out at his school next week on one of the first evaluation days to see him. Don't be surprised if UCLA can get him to flip.
As for quarterback, UCLA looks to be in good shape for Modster at the moment. But if that should fall through, we've heard a former four-star quarterback who's currently at a Pac-12 program has reached out to the Bruins to gauge their interest in a possible transfer. If Modster goes elsewhere, the transfer QB could be the next option.
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Molson's No. 1
UCLA played host to Chris Sailer's No. 1-ranked kicker this week, JJ Molson, and Jim Mora paid him some heavy attention during practice. Per Molson, all UCLA needs to do is see him kick at their camp in June and he'll get the offer.
As the No. 1 kicker in the country, however, Molson will also likely land several more big offers this summer as he camps around the country. But Molson said this week that UCLA is his top choice and if it does offer, he'll be a Bruin.
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What happened with Warner?
Three-star DB Troy Warner unexpectedly committed to Oregon over UCLA a few weeks ago, and when asked why Sunday, he said, "Over at Oregon, I thought my chances of getting on the field were a lot stronger than UCLA just because UCLA also has a lot of depth too."
So how about that one? A top recruit picks the national title runner up over UCLA because it has less depth.
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UCLA looks to have won another one over USC
In an off-the-record conversation Sunday, a top recruit who visited Westwood recently was chatting with me about Josh Rosen, and we both agreed he looked like the real deal through practices so far. Then, when asked about USC quarterback Ricky Town and whether or not he was having a similar time across town, the recruit said, "When I was there, he couldn't throw a spiral."
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Short Shots
-Five-star QB Jacob Eason, the nation's No. 1 overall player, visited UCLA on Saturday. On Sunday, he said there was nothing to read into the visit at all. He said he was just there with the rest of his 7-on-7 team, and he's still a firm Georgia commitment. On a side note, he said he was very impressed with Rosen as well.
-Four-star athlete Jack Jones said Sunday he hasn't made it up to UCLA yet because he's struggled to find a ride. He didn't sound positive, though, that he'd eventually make it up to UCLA this spring. He did manage to make it out to a USC spring practice earlier this month, and after dropping the Trojans from his list a few weeks ago, it sure sounds like they're back near the top of his leaderboard once again.
-UCLA offered four-star Texas 2017 Hezekiah Jones Saturday on his visit to Westwood. He's a national prospect, but he legitimately sounded excited about the visit and the offer when asked about it Sunday. Full story coming later this week.
-Four-star DB Isaiah Gilchrist, a former teammate of Myles Jack's and Budda Baker's up at Bellevue, visited UCLA twice this past week and showed up to Sunday's 7-on-7 tournament in a Bruin visor. He doesn't hold an offer yet, but if he does land one, UCLA could be tough to beat.
-After a visit to UCLA on Tuesday, four-star CB David Long all but said Sunday the Bruins are probably the team to beat at this moment. He's a long ways away from making a choice, but UCLA is in a good spot early.
-Four-star DB Trevon Sidney visited UCLA last Saturday, but told us Sunday USC is looking better in his eyes than the Bruins right now. He said he just has a better relationship with the Trojans' staff.
-Both four-star LBs Lokeni Toailoa and Krys Barnes said they're finished with their recruitments after committing to UCLA recently. Barnes said he'll be at UCLA a few times this week, kicking off his first visit to Westwood on Monday for spring practice.
-Jayon Brown's little brother, 2017 LB Joshua Brown, visited UCLA this week and said if it offered, he'd probably commit on the spot. There's a chance, he said, he could keep growing into a D-lineman.
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You can read the archives of The Bruin Bite over on The Bruin Bite premium board. Feel free to ask questions or comment here.
The Bruin Bite is information gathered for BruinSportsReport.com subscribers, and it is information gathered solely for BruinSportsReport.com subscribers. Everything that is reported on The Bruin Bite must stay on BruinSportsReport.com. All news found here is intended for this premium message board only.
With that out of the way, on to the Bruin Bite:
***************************************************************************************************************************
Decisions coming soon
It's about to be a busy few weeks on the decision front for several of UCLA's top recruits. Here's the list:
-Four-star OLB Curtis Robinson - The Mater Dei linebacker is down to UCLA, Stanford and Notre Dame. After speaking with about half a dozen people close to the recruitment on Sunday, not a single one said anything other than Stanford. He'll announce on Twitter at 8 a.m. Monday.
-Four-star QB Devon Modster - The quarterback, who was at UCLA's practice Saturday, is down to UCLA, Boise State and Arizona. Modster said he's already made his decision, but he wasn't giving any hints Sunday. Nearly everyone believes it's UCLA or Boise State, with the Bruins having all the latest buzz after his Saturday visit. He'll decide within the next 14 days either on Twitter or at a ceremony at his high school.
-Four-star WR Damian Alloway - He's going to decide likely next month, and right now, he's all UCLA. He took a visit last week, loved it, and is completely sold. Yet his grandpa wants him to visit Cal this weekend just to be sure. Once he gets back from that visit, you can probably expect a Bruin commitment to follow shortly.
-Four-star DL Wole Betiku - The big Serra D-lineman has given strong indications to those around him that he's looking to end his recruitment soon, and UCLA will be his choice. However, there are some in his camp that aren't too sure if he should stay in California. Penn State would likely be the landing spot if that were to happen. But don't be surprised if he pops for the Bruins sooner rather than later, especially after yet another visit to Westwood Saturday.
-Another highly-coveted prospect in the state has given UCLA the indication that he will be committing to the Bruins this week, a source told BSR last week. The source said to let the player make the announcement first, however. So we'll just wait and see if this one comes to fruition.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Contingency plans
If Robinson does in fact pick Stanford as expected on Monday, there won't be a whole lot of scrambling in Westwood. UCLA is looking for just one more backer to round out the class, and it's in great shape for several prospects outside of Robinson. Namely, five-star OLB Caleb Kelly, yet Lamar Winston are options too.
The one name, though, that you certainly should keep an eye on is USC linebacker commit Mique Juarez. Scott White has relentlessly pursued him, and in fact, we've heard White will be out at his school next week on one of the first evaluation days to see him. Don't be surprised if UCLA can get him to flip.
As for quarterback, UCLA looks to be in good shape for Modster at the moment. But if that should fall through, we've heard a former four-star quarterback who's currently at a Pac-12 program has reached out to the Bruins to gauge their interest in a possible transfer. If Modster goes elsewhere, the transfer QB could be the next option.
***************************************************************************************************************************
Molson's No. 1
UCLA played host to Chris Sailer's No. 1-ranked kicker this week, JJ Molson, and Jim Mora paid him some heavy attention during practice. Per Molson, all UCLA needs to do is see him kick at their camp in June and he'll get the offer.
As the No. 1 kicker in the country, however, Molson will also likely land several more big offers this summer as he camps around the country. But Molson said this week that UCLA is his top choice and if it does offer, he'll be a Bruin.
***************************************************************************************************************************
What happened with Warner?
Three-star DB Troy Warner unexpectedly committed to Oregon over UCLA a few weeks ago, and when asked why Sunday, he said, "Over at Oregon, I thought my chances of getting on the field were a lot stronger than UCLA just because UCLA also has a lot of depth too."
So how about that one? A top recruit picks the national title runner up over UCLA because it has less depth.
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UCLA looks to have won another one over USC
In an off-the-record conversation Sunday, a top recruit who visited Westwood recently was chatting with me about Josh Rosen, and we both agreed he looked like the real deal through practices so far. Then, when asked about USC quarterback Ricky Town and whether or not he was having a similar time across town, the recruit said, "When I was there, he couldn't throw a spiral."
***************************************************************************************************************************
Short Shots
-Five-star QB Jacob Eason, the nation's No. 1 overall player, visited UCLA on Saturday. On Sunday, he said there was nothing to read into the visit at all. He said he was just there with the rest of his 7-on-7 team, and he's still a firm Georgia commitment. On a side note, he said he was very impressed with Rosen as well.
-Four-star athlete Jack Jones said Sunday he hasn't made it up to UCLA yet because he's struggled to find a ride. He didn't sound positive, though, that he'd eventually make it up to UCLA this spring. He did manage to make it out to a USC spring practice earlier this month, and after dropping the Trojans from his list a few weeks ago, it sure sounds like they're back near the top of his leaderboard once again.
-UCLA offered four-star Texas 2017 Hezekiah Jones Saturday on his visit to Westwood. He's a national prospect, but he legitimately sounded excited about the visit and the offer when asked about it Sunday. Full story coming later this week.
-Four-star DB Isaiah Gilchrist, a former teammate of Myles Jack's and Budda Baker's up at Bellevue, visited UCLA twice this past week and showed up to Sunday's 7-on-7 tournament in a Bruin visor. He doesn't hold an offer yet, but if he does land one, UCLA could be tough to beat.
-After a visit to UCLA on Tuesday, four-star CB David Long all but said Sunday the Bruins are probably the team to beat at this moment. He's a long ways away from making a choice, but UCLA is in a good spot early.
-Four-star DB Trevon Sidney visited UCLA last Saturday, but told us Sunday USC is looking better in his eyes than the Bruins right now. He said he just has a better relationship with the Trojans' staff.
-Both four-star LBs Lokeni Toailoa and Krys Barnes said they're finished with their recruitments after committing to UCLA recently. Barnes said he'll be at UCLA a few times this week, kicking off his first visit to Westwood on Monday for spring practice.
-Jayon Brown's little brother, 2017 LB Joshua Brown, visited UCLA this week and said if it offered, he'd probably commit on the spot. There's a chance, he said, he could keep growing into a D-lineman.
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You can read the archives of The Bruin Bite over on The Bruin Bite premium board. Feel free to ask questions or comment here.
