UCLA Football Recruiting Wish List

What if the UCLA Football recruiting process could claim any player they wanted? Since Jim Mora and his coaching staff have arrived in Westwood, they have been getting closer to that point, though thet are still fighting the big dogs of College Football for a shot at the top high school talent in the country. Though the Bruins have shown that they can pull in some of the top talent, getting everyone of their targets is a tough feat.

With National Signing Day just over a week away, we Go Joe Bruin will be looking at all angles of UCLA’s recruiting scene. Previously, GJB writer and recruiting specialist Michael Hanna had wrote about the Top 5 Remaining Targets For UCLA Football Recruiting, which I recommend. In this piece, we go a little further and pick out the guys we want to commit right now.

UCLA Football Recruiting Wish List

Chris Clark

UCLA Bruins /

UCLA Bruins

TE, 6’6″, 247 lbs.

With UCLA unsure of former commit and the #1 TE in the west Alize Jones standing true to his verbal commitment, the Bruins upped their interest in the #1 TE in the east Chris Clark. Clark had been committed to Michigan, but dropped them after things were not going so well with former coach Brady Hoke. That is when things got interesting. Now he is down to UCLA and Michigan, who he brought back into the mix.

Clark, who is a big body that has great hands and is very physical, would be a strong addition to the Bruin’s offense. What offensive coordinator

Noel Mazzone

has done for current TE/Y-receiver, junior

Thomas Duarte

, has been magical. Having two dynamic TEs on the team would make the Bruins deadly. Though his official visit to Michigan was very good with new coach

Jim Harbaugh

, UCLA had the final shot with him as he took his official visit this past weekend.

Dechaun Holiday

CB, 6’2″, 208 lbs.

Though UCLA looks to be in the lead for Holiday, Arizona State and Washington look to be in the mix for the San Marcos product. Though he is not the quickest CB, he is big body that makes good decisions in coverage and will add to the arsenal of DBs UCLA already has at their disposal. Holiday takes his official visit to UCLA next weekend and hopefully he can sees the power and glory of the #BruinRevolution.

Sotonaye Jamabo

RB, 6’3″, 210 lbs.

“Soso”, as he is known, is not only one of the best RBs out of Texas, he is one of the best in the nation. He has the kind of skills that will garner a lot of attention from several schools like Texas A&M, Notre Dame and Baylor, though 247sports.com has him down to Texas and UCLA. He has already taken his official visit back in October and since then, UCLA has been high in his list.

Jamabo is big, strong and has breakout speed. Seeing as how UCLA has done a fantastic job with their running game in the last few years, Jamabo would be able to display his talents every year he is in Westwood.

Iman Marshall

CB, 6’2″, 195 lbs.

Marshall is by far one of the best defenders in the 2015 class and is rated as one of the top CB in the state, the west region and at his position. The Long Beach Poly product has excellent vision on the field, is quick and as he puts it, has a lot of “swagger”.

Having Marshall join an already deep secondary would lift the Bruins to new heights through his development. But at the same time, he has seven teams listed as his top destinations, including

Florida State

LSU

Oregon

and

USC

. Currently, he seems to be a SC-lean, but also has an in-home with Michigan head coach Jim Harbaugh in the next week, who has been tearing it up on the recruiting trail since being hired at the end of December.

Roquan Smith

MLB, 6’1″, 209 lbs.

Smith is definitely a player UCLA could use and at the same time, the linebacker development at UCLA would take his game to new levels. He is quick, very physical and can put a hit on the opposition. Quite honestly, he has a similar game to

Myles Jack

. Imagine those two running around for the UCLA defense next year. Though UCLA is in the mix, it appears that Smith may be opting for either

Georgia

Michigan

. Smith takes his UCLA official visit next weekend.

Carlos Strickland

WR, 6’4″, 195 lbs.

The biggest thing that jumped out about Strickland is his size. If he were to commit to UCLA, he would be the tallest WR on the team. The Dallas product had been committed to Texas Tech, but decided to open up his recruitment and as of now, seems to be sold on the Bruins, though Cal and Texas are among his top choices.

Strickland has displayed good hands and because of his size, is able to bust through smaller DBs. Not to say that UCLA was weak at the WR position, but a player like Strickland on the team would add a new dimension to the Bruin’s passing game, especially with the added commitment of

Ryan Newcome

Josh Wariboko

Joseph Wicker

DT, 6’2″, 275 lbs.

UCLA has another Long Beach Poly player in their sights who happens to be one of the top defensive tackles in the state. Just the same, Wicker has the Bruins high on his list along with Arizona State and Texas Tech, though it appears as if he will choose one of the Pac-12 schools. Wicker may not be the biggest or the strongest, but he makes up for that with his explosiveness off the defensive line. Not only can he get through O-lines with ease, but can get at opposing quarterbacks.

Though the Bruins improved this season on the D-line, there was much work to be done. It also does not help that the Bruins are losing two guys on the line. Not only would Wicker help out a thin position group, but will also add some much needed punch.