Another Owens update
Rumors have been swirling since his Nebraska visit that Darian Owens is seriously pondering a decommitment from UCLA.
Although for the second straight week, a source very close to Owens claims the four-star receiver is still “100 percent” committed to the Bruins.
Akingbulu visits
UCLA played host to four-star tackle Alex Akingbulu on an official visit this weekend. However, we’re still hearing the Bruins are on the fence about taking his commitment.
Akingbulu told us on Friday night that while Utah is recruiting him the hardest, UCLA is his favorite. A source told us this weekend he was itching to commit on the visit, but the Bruins appear to be telling him to wait the process out.
It looks like it may be this way for a while for the Bruins. They only have one more scholarship to give in addition to Toleafoa Auwae’s, but we’re hearing there aren’t too many O-linemen prospects that are catching UCLA’s eye.
Akingbulu’s size has UCLA worried. Michael Alves, Nate Herbig and Terrance Davis’ senior tapes so far haven’t been great.
UCLA has some national targets on the line – guys like LSU commit Donavaughn Campbell, Johncarlo Valentin, Scott Lashley and Jean Delance – but don’t be surprised if UCLA starts to focus more on getting a jump start on the 2017 class (a.k.a. Wyatt Davis) instead of trying to find the perfect fit for linemen in this year’s down class.
Friday night lights updates
We were out at several games this weekend, including Loyola vs. Salesian, Crenshaw vs. Bakersfield, Crespi vs. St. John Bosco and Serra vs. Narbonne. Here were the notes on the UCLA recruits we saw at those games:
-Four-star ATH David Long – He actually wasn’t quite as impressive as he was in the 7-on-7 circuit, looking far less fluid than he did with Body by Tra. He actually looked a little Adarius Pickett-like, if you’re looking for a current UCLA comp. Anyway, he’s probably not going to UCLA. The four-star is very, very solid in his Stanford commitment, even though he was at the Rose Bowl and will continue to be at the Rose Bowl this season. The only way UCLA has a chance with Long is if he doesn’t get admitted into Stanford, but that seems unlikely. And, even if he doesn’t make it in to Stanford, a source at the game told us Washington actually may be his No. 2 choice, not UCLA.
-2017 CB Deommodore Lenoir – The junior prospect had an extremely productive game, not allowing a single catch on defense (he defended Long for most of the night), recording a 100-yard kick return on special teams and logging double-digit catches on offense. I worry a bit about his size, and he was far from explosive / fast, but he has some Ishmael Adams to his skillset. After the game, he told us UCLA is by far his favorite school, and it sounds like USC would be the only offer that could remotely change that opinion. I’d actually expect him to be a commitment by the spring if the Trojans don’t offer soon.
-Three-star CB Myles Bryant – The Loyola cornerback didn’t play because of a concussion, but he told us after the game Washington and UCLA are his top two schools. I certainly got the vibe that the Bruins are in no hurry to take his pledge, however.
-2017 UCLA LB commit Rahyme Johnson – It might be time to start worrying a bit about Johnson. Salesian coaches held him out of the Loyola game Thursday night because video of him appearing to smear an IcyHot-like cream on a La Canada player’s face surfaced hours before kickoff. The allegations are pretty serious, and I think if the backlash gets big enough, UCLA may think twice about the commitment.
-UCLA ATH commitment Marquis Lawson – UCLA has taken some very under-the-radar commits over the past few years, including Antreal Allen, JoJo McIntosh, Ron Robinson, Octo Spencer, Nate Meadors, Mossi Johnson and more. And I’d have to say Lawson had probably the most impressive game in front of me out of those guys on Friday night. He actually reminded me a lot of Ryan Newsome (minus the world-class speed). He’s a pretty thick 5 feet 9, has soft hands and is a playmaker with the ball in his hands. UCLA is bringing him in as a cornerback to start with, but he sure looked to move better forward than he did backward to me. Either way, despite having no other offers outside of UCLA, he looked like a Pac-12-level talent in a loss to Bakersfield.
-UCLA RB commit Jalen Starks – He suffered a shoulder sprain against Lawndale last week and told us he’ll miss the next four-to-six weeks because of the injury. So there appears to be a chance the next time we see Starks running with the football could be when he’s wearing a UCLA jersey.
-UCLA DL commit Wole Betiku – Here’s what Adam Gorney had to say about the Bruins’ top 2016 commitment so far: “Betiku is still planning a round of official visits with Notre Dame, Florida State, Texas A&M, Florida and now Tennessee being considered. Vols defensive line coach Steve Stripling has apparently been actively recruiting Betiku so the four-star defensive end from Serra is interested in taking a trip to Knoxville, Still, sources say, the Bruins remain in great shape with Betiku and they don't see him flipping his pledge.”
-Four-star ATH Brandon Burton – Here’s what Gorney had to say about UCLA’s top ATH recruit after seeing him: “Four-star defensive back Brandon Burton showed a lot of guts Friday night. During a play in the first half, the Serra defensive back was inadvertently kicked in the jaw and a gash opened up. Instead of sitting out in a tight game, trainers patched him up, Burton strapped his helmet on and contributed on both offense and defense. Burton did not take his Ohio State official visit last weekend but he is going to reschedule with the Buckeyes probably for the Michigan State weekend in late November. The four-star will also visit Oklahoma, Alabama, Notre Dame and Florida State as planned. Burton is also really high on UCLA and the Bruins could be in very strong shape here but need to dodge the gauntlet of him taking all his trips.”
Early enrollees
UCLA kicker commit JJ Molson told BSR this week that he’s officially been accepted to early enroll at UCLA. We asked around to a few other commitments to see if they had early enrollment plans, and it appears for now Lokeni Toailoa and Breland Brandt are the only two who are serious candidates to join Molson as early entrants.
Short Shots
-Five-star linebacker Mique Juarez visited both USC and UCLA’s games on Saturday. His mom posted on Instagram after the UCLA game:
-UCLA finally offered 2017 Bishop Gorman slot receiver Tyjon Lindsey this week. Tate Martell’s pseudo brother could be the top slot receiver in the country in his class.
Rumors have been swirling since his Nebraska visit that Darian Owens is seriously pondering a decommitment from UCLA.
Although for the second straight week, a source very close to Owens claims the four-star receiver is still “100 percent” committed to the Bruins.
Akingbulu visits
UCLA played host to four-star tackle Alex Akingbulu on an official visit this weekend. However, we’re still hearing the Bruins are on the fence about taking his commitment.
Akingbulu told us on Friday night that while Utah is recruiting him the hardest, UCLA is his favorite. A source told us this weekend he was itching to commit on the visit, but the Bruins appear to be telling him to wait the process out.
It looks like it may be this way for a while for the Bruins. They only have one more scholarship to give in addition to Toleafoa Auwae’s, but we’re hearing there aren’t too many O-linemen prospects that are catching UCLA’s eye.
Akingbulu’s size has UCLA worried. Michael Alves, Nate Herbig and Terrance Davis’ senior tapes so far haven’t been great.
UCLA has some national targets on the line – guys like LSU commit Donavaughn Campbell, Johncarlo Valentin, Scott Lashley and Jean Delance – but don’t be surprised if UCLA starts to focus more on getting a jump start on the 2017 class (a.k.a. Wyatt Davis) instead of trying to find the perfect fit for linemen in this year’s down class.
Friday night lights updates
We were out at several games this weekend, including Loyola vs. Salesian, Crenshaw vs. Bakersfield, Crespi vs. St. John Bosco and Serra vs. Narbonne. Here were the notes on the UCLA recruits we saw at those games:
-Four-star ATH David Long – He actually wasn’t quite as impressive as he was in the 7-on-7 circuit, looking far less fluid than he did with Body by Tra. He actually looked a little Adarius Pickett-like, if you’re looking for a current UCLA comp. Anyway, he’s probably not going to UCLA. The four-star is very, very solid in his Stanford commitment, even though he was at the Rose Bowl and will continue to be at the Rose Bowl this season. The only way UCLA has a chance with Long is if he doesn’t get admitted into Stanford, but that seems unlikely. And, even if he doesn’t make it in to Stanford, a source at the game told us Washington actually may be his No. 2 choice, not UCLA.
-2017 CB Deommodore Lenoir – The junior prospect had an extremely productive game, not allowing a single catch on defense (he defended Long for most of the night), recording a 100-yard kick return on special teams and logging double-digit catches on offense. I worry a bit about his size, and he was far from explosive / fast, but he has some Ishmael Adams to his skillset. After the game, he told us UCLA is by far his favorite school, and it sounds like USC would be the only offer that could remotely change that opinion. I’d actually expect him to be a commitment by the spring if the Trojans don’t offer soon.
-Three-star CB Myles Bryant – The Loyola cornerback didn’t play because of a concussion, but he told us after the game Washington and UCLA are his top two schools. I certainly got the vibe that the Bruins are in no hurry to take his pledge, however.
-2017 UCLA LB commit Rahyme Johnson – It might be time to start worrying a bit about Johnson. Salesian coaches held him out of the Loyola game Thursday night because video of him appearing to smear an IcyHot-like cream on a La Canada player’s face surfaced hours before kickoff. The allegations are pretty serious, and I think if the backlash gets big enough, UCLA may think twice about the commitment.
-UCLA ATH commitment Marquis Lawson – UCLA has taken some very under-the-radar commits over the past few years, including Antreal Allen, JoJo McIntosh, Ron Robinson, Octo Spencer, Nate Meadors, Mossi Johnson and more. And I’d have to say Lawson had probably the most impressive game in front of me out of those guys on Friday night. He actually reminded me a lot of Ryan Newsome (minus the world-class speed). He’s a pretty thick 5 feet 9, has soft hands and is a playmaker with the ball in his hands. UCLA is bringing him in as a cornerback to start with, but he sure looked to move better forward than he did backward to me. Either way, despite having no other offers outside of UCLA, he looked like a Pac-12-level talent in a loss to Bakersfield.
-UCLA RB commit Jalen Starks – He suffered a shoulder sprain against Lawndale last week and told us he’ll miss the next four-to-six weeks because of the injury. So there appears to be a chance the next time we see Starks running with the football could be when he’s wearing a UCLA jersey.
-UCLA DL commit Wole Betiku – Here’s what Adam Gorney had to say about the Bruins’ top 2016 commitment so far: “Betiku is still planning a round of official visits with Notre Dame, Florida State, Texas A&M, Florida and now Tennessee being considered. Vols defensive line coach Steve Stripling has apparently been actively recruiting Betiku so the four-star defensive end from Serra is interested in taking a trip to Knoxville, Still, sources say, the Bruins remain in great shape with Betiku and they don't see him flipping his pledge.”
-Four-star ATH Brandon Burton – Here’s what Gorney had to say about UCLA’s top ATH recruit after seeing him: “Four-star defensive back Brandon Burton showed a lot of guts Friday night. During a play in the first half, the Serra defensive back was inadvertently kicked in the jaw and a gash opened up. Instead of sitting out in a tight game, trainers patched him up, Burton strapped his helmet on and contributed on both offense and defense. Burton did not take his Ohio State official visit last weekend but he is going to reschedule with the Buckeyes probably for the Michigan State weekend in late November. The four-star will also visit Oklahoma, Alabama, Notre Dame and Florida State as planned. Burton is also really high on UCLA and the Bruins could be in very strong shape here but need to dodge the gauntlet of him taking all his trips.”
Early enrollees
UCLA kicker commit JJ Molson told BSR this week that he’s officially been accepted to early enroll at UCLA. We asked around to a few other commitments to see if they had early enrollment plans, and it appears for now Lokeni Toailoa and Breland Brandt are the only two who are serious candidates to join Molson as early entrants.
Short Shots
-Five-star linebacker Mique Juarez visited both USC and UCLA’s games on Saturday. His mom posted on Instagram after the UCLA game:
-UCLA finally offered 2017 Bishop Gorman slot receiver Tyjon Lindsey this week. Tate Martell’s pseudo brother could be the top slot receiver in the country in his class.
