Howard looking to end it
We've heard a lot from sources close to Theo Howard, and this weekend, we heard from the four-star receiver himself.
In an exclusive interview with Rivals.com's Chris Swanson, the West's best wideout cleared up some things.
First, it is indeed likely down to UCLA and USC: "Right now, I'll probably be staying in California. The two schools that are really high on my list are UCLA and USC. If I decide to stay home, it'll be between them two."
Second, he is looking to make a commitment within the next few weeks: "I plan to commit probably later on in September."
Third, it sure sounds like it'll be UCLA: "I've built a good relationship with coach (Jim) Mora and coach Yarbs (Eric Yarber) and coach (Angus) McClure. Really, they're one of the schools that's been recruiting me ever since I committed and they're right down the street too."
Howard had five catches for 41 yards in Westlake's opener Friday night. He'd put up a good fight with Wole Betiku to be UCLA's best 2016 commitment.
Bruton talks UCLA
We caught up with UCLA junior college quarterback recruit Rico Bruton on Sunday and he shed some light on his recruitment.
First and foremost, he explained why there's no tape of him at the JUCO level, despite graduating high school in 2014. He said he went to a JUCO out in Miami last year, but for some reason, they didn't end up playing football in the 2014 season. "It was a whole mess going on down there," Bruton said.
So the quarterback made his way out to Los Angeles this offseason to play for Mt. SAC. So finally, he'll take the field for his first JUCO game this weekend.
He said UCLA coaches Taylor Mazzone and Noel Mazzone have told him if he plays well in his first two or three games at Mt. SAC, they might be in touch with an offer. Bruton, who was a Gardner-Webb commit during high school, said he'd commit on the spot if that offer comes.
On the 2017 QB recruiting front…
While UCLA is still prying around trying to find another 2016 QB to add to this class, it's become very obvious who the top Bruin QB priorities are in 2017: Tua Tagovailoa, Ryan Kelley and Dylan McCaffrey.
We've heard that Tagovailoa is actually the preferred QB of the three, although it's very close. If there were a second place here, it'd probably be Kelley, but McCaffrey is certainly a close third.
Keep an eye on Hansford
People aren't giving UCLA much of a shot with four-star Washington D.C. linebacker Aaron Hansford, and probably rightfully slow at this moment. But the Bruins should have a shot.
Hansford told Rivals.com this week that his mom wants him to set up an official visit to UCLA soon. He also said his relationship with Noel Mazzone is one of the two best relationships he has with college coaches right now (Brent Pry at Penn State is the other one).
While Oklahoma (his mom currently lives there) and Notre Dame (he's officially visiting there in a few weeks) are two frontrunners for him, if his official visit to UCLA goes well, don't be surprised if you hear his name more down the stretch to Signing Day.
Short Shots
-Compton Magic coach Etop Udo-Ema said five-star forward T.J. Leaf has scheduled in-home visits, with UCLA's coming up next week: Sept. 9 UCLA/Gonzaga; Sept. 10 Cal; Sept. 13 Kansas; Sept. 14 North Carolina/SDSU. The five-star forward is slated to officially visit UCLA on Halloween weekend.
-Four-star OL Terrance Davis told Rivals.com this weekend that Michigan is currently his leader, but he said official visits can change that. His UCLA trip is slated for mid-to-late January and it's supposed to be his final visit of the year.
-The first UCLA commitment tracker of the season is up on the front page now. Wole Betiku and Jalen Starks had huge opening weekends.
-New Oregon decommit Troy Warner told Rivals.com this week he's "wide open," but as an early enrollee, he's looking to make a pledge in November. Most have BYU as the new leader, but UCLA was right there for the big DB before the Duck pledge.
-Rivals100 S Deontay Anderson said he has set up an official visit to UCLA this fall. He's a former teammate of Will Lockett's out at Manvel in Texas.
-Four-star DB / LB Andrew Pryts had a great relationship with Tom Bradley (his father played at Penn State), but he decided to end his recruiting process and commit to Penn State this weekend.
-Three-star DE / TE Noah Fant was down to Iowa and UCLA this week, but picked Iowa on Friday.
We've heard a lot from sources close to Theo Howard, and this weekend, we heard from the four-star receiver himself.
In an exclusive interview with Rivals.com's Chris Swanson, the West's best wideout cleared up some things.
First, it is indeed likely down to UCLA and USC: "Right now, I'll probably be staying in California. The two schools that are really high on my list are UCLA and USC. If I decide to stay home, it'll be between them two."
Second, he is looking to make a commitment within the next few weeks: "I plan to commit probably later on in September."
Third, it sure sounds like it'll be UCLA: "I've built a good relationship with coach (Jim) Mora and coach Yarbs (Eric Yarber) and coach (Angus) McClure. Really, they're one of the schools that's been recruiting me ever since I committed and they're right down the street too."
Howard had five catches for 41 yards in Westlake's opener Friday night. He'd put up a good fight with Wole Betiku to be UCLA's best 2016 commitment.
Bruton talks UCLA
We caught up with UCLA junior college quarterback recruit Rico Bruton on Sunday and he shed some light on his recruitment.
First and foremost, he explained why there's no tape of him at the JUCO level, despite graduating high school in 2014. He said he went to a JUCO out in Miami last year, but for some reason, they didn't end up playing football in the 2014 season. "It was a whole mess going on down there," Bruton said.
So the quarterback made his way out to Los Angeles this offseason to play for Mt. SAC. So finally, he'll take the field for his first JUCO game this weekend.
He said UCLA coaches Taylor Mazzone and Noel Mazzone have told him if he plays well in his first two or three games at Mt. SAC, they might be in touch with an offer. Bruton, who was a Gardner-Webb commit during high school, said he'd commit on the spot if that offer comes.
On the 2017 QB recruiting front…
While UCLA is still prying around trying to find another 2016 QB to add to this class, it's become very obvious who the top Bruin QB priorities are in 2017: Tua Tagovailoa, Ryan Kelley and Dylan McCaffrey.
We've heard that Tagovailoa is actually the preferred QB of the three, although it's very close. If there were a second place here, it'd probably be Kelley, but McCaffrey is certainly a close third.
Keep an eye on Hansford
People aren't giving UCLA much of a shot with four-star Washington D.C. linebacker Aaron Hansford, and probably rightfully slow at this moment. But the Bruins should have a shot.
Hansford told Rivals.com this week that his mom wants him to set up an official visit to UCLA soon. He also said his relationship with Noel Mazzone is one of the two best relationships he has with college coaches right now (Brent Pry at Penn State is the other one).
While Oklahoma (his mom currently lives there) and Notre Dame (he's officially visiting there in a few weeks) are two frontrunners for him, if his official visit to UCLA goes well, don't be surprised if you hear his name more down the stretch to Signing Day.
Short Shots
-Compton Magic coach Etop Udo-Ema said five-star forward T.J. Leaf has scheduled in-home visits, with UCLA's coming up next week: Sept. 9 UCLA/Gonzaga; Sept. 10 Cal; Sept. 13 Kansas; Sept. 14 North Carolina/SDSU. The five-star forward is slated to officially visit UCLA on Halloween weekend.
-Four-star OL Terrance Davis told Rivals.com this weekend that Michigan is currently his leader, but he said official visits can change that. His UCLA trip is slated for mid-to-late January and it's supposed to be his final visit of the year.
-The first UCLA commitment tracker of the season is up on the front page now. Wole Betiku and Jalen Starks had huge opening weekends.
-New Oregon decommit Troy Warner told Rivals.com this week he's "wide open," but as an early enrollee, he's looking to make a pledge in November. Most have BYU as the new leader, but UCLA was right there for the big DB before the Duck pledge.
-Rivals100 S Deontay Anderson said he has set up an official visit to UCLA this fall. He's a former teammate of Will Lockett's out at Manvel in Texas.
-Four-star DB / LB Andrew Pryts had a great relationship with Tom Bradley (his father played at Penn State), but he decided to end his recruiting process and commit to Penn State this weekend.
-Three-star DE / TE Noah Fant was down to Iowa and UCLA this week, but picked Iowa on Friday.
