UCLA Football Recruiting Profiles: Breaking Down Bruins’ Signees—Eldridge Massington

Eldridge Massington (Courtesy of Massington’s public Twitter page)

For the next installment of Go Joe Bruin’s 26-part recruiting series, we hone in on one new Bruin who has already made his way to Westwood.

Eldridge Massington, a 4-star wide receiver from Mesquite, Texas, is one of two 2013 signees to enroll early at UCLA. The other is DE Kylie Fitts, whose recruiting profile was tackled a few weeks back. Massington has already begun to establish himself by participating in UCLA’s spring practice, and he could be a serious component of the Bruins’ offensive attack next season.

Before we get to the nitty-gritty of Massington’s game, make sure to check out the inaugural post in this series for a little background on the whole undertaking. The first profile highlighted defensive back Priest Willis, who was the highest rated recruit in the 2013 UCLA class. Now, in the seventh edition of the series, we break down what Massington brings to the table.

Massington, much like his early-enrollee companion, was formerly a Southern Cal commit before switching to the Bruins late in the process. Unlike Fitts’ flip, which was a result of a widely reported wrongdoing by Trojans head coach Lane Kiffin, it’s less clear why Massington had a change of heart. It could have been an issue of enrollment availability at ‘SC, as it was for Fitts, or one of a myriad of other reasons.

Whatever the cause, the Bruins are pleased to have Massington on-board in what could be an extremely explosive group of wide receivers. As a junior in high school in 2011, Massington tallied six touchdowns on 41 receptions for 667 yards, so his ability is not in question. If he can bring a fraction of that production to UCLA, he’ll carve out a nice role early on in his career.

Measuring in at  6’1″ and 206 pounds, Massington brings some welcomed size to the UCLA receiving corps. The only other lengthy wideouts in QB Brett Hundley‘s arsenal are Shaq Evans and Jordan Payton, who both match-up about the same as Massington. The true freshman thus provides a nice third option for jump balls over the top, and should factor into the deep game in his first year.

But beyond coming out in spread sets, Massington may end up lower on the depth chart and stuck on the sidelines. After all, the Bruins do return a number of players with experience, including Evans, Payton, Devin Fuller, Devin Lucien and Darius Bell (at the Y position). So while he may not get a ton of use in 2013, expect great things out of Massington in the coming seasons with UCLA.