(2013 OL Nico Falah highlight tape of him bullying guys around is below.)
The 2013 UCLA football recruiting class already includes seven verbal commitments, including two solid offensive linemen in Erik Bunte and Sean Dowling (4- and 3-star recruits, respectively) from Southern California.
Another UCLA target that has the Bruins high on his list? Four-star offensive lineman Nico Falah from Bellflower, CA.
Falah’s decision should come soon, too. Via his Twitter account, the dude’s already made up his mind:
I know where iam going
— Niccs (@NicoFalah) June 15, 2012
Who’re we competing with? According to Scout, Falah also has U$C high on his list, and he recently visited Berkeley, although Scout says he has “medium interest” in playing for the Mustard Bears.
What’s Falah like? Well, he’s a tad shorter than Bunte and Dowling at 6’4”, and weighs in at “just” 275 pounds. At the same time though, scouting reports bill him as really athletic and plays aggressive as hell, especially when run blocking. And, if the highlight tapes are any indication (again, we hate to beat a dead horse here, but they are “highlight”-only tapes), the dude’s nasty:
He seems to really finish blocks strong, and the scouting reports seem to confirm that. He’s also faster than anyone else on that offensive line, which is a good indication that his explosiveness is something we can look forward to. Again, the scouting reports agree.
The knocks? Apparently, he can add to his frame and bulk up (sheesh, 6’4” and 275 pounds needs “bulking up”?), which is always crucial for a Division-I offensive lineman. Some scouts think his use of his hands is pretty raw, too.
We got to like our chances at landing Falah, considering Adrian Klemm — who’s primarily responsible for landing four out of UCLA’s seven commits — is working to bring him to Westwood, and that’s the right guy out there, considering he’s got the offensive line accumen (and, y’know, that’s the position he’s coaching).
Hopefully, we’ll get a lovely #8Clap from him soon.
GO BRUINS!!!