UCLA Football: 2012 Recruiting Class

After what transpired on National Signing Day, if I ran into UCLA football coach Jim Mora there would be two words that I would say to him:

“Well done.”

It’s a consensus that the Bruins did very well with Mora’s first recruiting class, as it is ranked 13th nationally by Rivals.com and 11th in the nation by Scout.com – second in the Pac-12 on both accounts.

Out of the 26 recruits that Mora, recruiting coordinator Angus McClure, and the rest of the coaching staff signed, 11 out of those 26 are ranked either as a four or a five-star by at least one source, and 11 of them flipped (switched) to UCLA after having verbally committed to other schools.

One recruit, Jordan Payton, had committed to USC, California and Washington before telling Mora early Wednesday morning that he will sign with UCLA.

And in an interesting note, Justin Combs’ father is fairly well known as he is none other than Sean Combs, formerly known as Puff Daddy and currently known as Diddy.

Let’s just go ahead and list these Bruin newbies that will be in Westwood this fall, with two of them planning to enroll for spring quarter:

* = Four-star

** = Five-star

PLAYER                             POSITION                   LAST SCHOOL

Ishmael Adams *                       DB                             Oaks Christian HS

Eli Ankou                                     DL             Bear (DE) Red Lion Christian Academy

Jeremy Castro *                         LB                              Vista Murrieta HS

Alexandru Ceachir *                OL                           Santa Monica College

Justin Combs                              DB                     New Rochelle (NY) Iona Prep

Colby Cyburt                              OL                               Mission Viejo HS

Ka’imi Fairbairn                          K                          Honololu (HI) Punahou HS

Devin Fuller *                              QB              Old Tappan (NJ) Northern Valley HS

Randall Goforth *                       DB                             Long Beach Poly HS

Simon Goines                              OL                           Keller (TX) Central HS

Ahmaad Harris                          WR               Suwanee (GA) Peachtree Ridge HS

Carl Hulick                                   OL                           Anaheim Esperanza HS

Nate Iese                                       LB                          Sacramento Sheldon HS

Taylor Lagace                                S                                       Arcadia HS

Ellis McCarthy **                       DT                                   Monrovia HS

T.J. Millweard                             QB                       Fort Worth (TX) All Saints HS

Fabian Moreau                           RB                             Davie (FL) Western HS

Kenny Orjioke *                           LB                           Marietta (GA) Lassiter HS

Jordan Payton *                          WR                              Oaks Christian HS

Paul Perkins                                  RB                               Chandler (AZ) HS

Aaron Porter *                             LB                                    La Habra HS

Marcus Rios *                               DB                     Elk Grove Cosumnes Oakes HS

Ian Taubler                                    TE                               Fresno Bullard HS

Kenny Walker                               WR                      Richmond (CA) Kennedy HS

Lacy Westbrook *                         OL                           Compton Dominguez HS

Javon Williams                            WR                               Chandler (AZ) HS

Not only did UCLA get quality players, needs on the offensive line, at linebacker and in the defensive secondary were filled as the Bruins signed five offensive linemen, with Ceachir and Westbrook being the four-stars among them, four linebackers, with Castro, Orjioke and Porter being four-stars, and four defensive backs, with Adams and Rios being the four-stars there.

The top recruit in the bunch, if forced to choose one, is McCarthy, who at 6′ 5″ and 311 pounds was ranked fourth in the U.S. at his position and third overall in the state.  He turned down Oregon, Florida, Michigan, Oklahoma and USC – and changed his verbal committment to Cal – to sign with the Bruins, and according to Yahoo.com reminds people of Detroit Lions stud Ndamukong Suh.

If McCarthy plays anything like Suh at UCLA, that’s an exciting thought for Bruin fans.

Now that these new guys are signed and sealed, it must be kept in mind that as much as they have done in high school, this is what they’ve done in college:

ABSOLUTELY NOTHING.

Starting with the upcoming spring practices, the real work will begin as these players need to work like unrecruited walk-ons trying to make the team rather than the decorated blue chippers that they are.

They also need to be given every chance to earn playing time, as that’s an important part of rebuilding this program; these guys should not be automatically redshirted, but given a shot to see what they can do right away.

The reason? Because that’s what UCLA needs to do in order to contend for the Pac-12 title and be relevant in college football again –  have young players on the team who are able to contribute right now.

To sum up, signing day was a good day in Westwood this year, and I’m excited to see these newbies show their stuff this spring, as well as this fall at the Rose Bowl.

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