UCLA got a huge commitment from yet another Texas native, with 5-star RB Soso Jamabo (Plano West, TX) giving his pledge to the Bruins on National Signing Day. For the past month or so it was thought to be a battle between UCLA and Texas, while prior to that Notre Dame and Texas A&M had also been in the mix for his signature.
UCLA Bruins
Jamabo is a top 50 recruit nationally who gives the Bruins an instant playmaker in the backfield. He’s incredibly tall for a running back at 6’3, but is still one of the best open field runners in the class of 2015. To put it simply, a guy that big should not be able to run the way he does, and that’s what makes jim the top running back in the class. Along with elite speed, he has a great set of hands coupled with the willingness to run through an oncoming tackler.
One of the only gripes with Jamabo is his tendency to run upright, where he isn’t always in the best position to break a tackle and usually ends up being taken to the ground too easily. If that isn’t fixed sometime while he is working with
Kennedy
Polamalu
we might see Soso make a switch to receiver.
He joins Bolu Olorunfunmi (Clovis North, CA) as the only two running backs in UCLA’s 2015 class. But after reeling in the big fish with Soso Jamabo the Bruins look to be set at the position for at least a year or two, with Bolu being the power back the Bruins needed for goal line situations and Soso being the dynamic runner who can take it all the way on any given play. With the emergence of Paul Perkins as UCLA’s workhorse, look for Jamabo to make his plays as a third-down back or as relief to Perkins.
Welcome to Westwood, Soso!