UCLA got a much-needed dose of positive recruiting news on Wednesday, as the Bruins went down South to snag the commitment of 3-star tight end Jordan Wilson (Nashville, TN/Montgomery Bell Academy). Wilson, who only recently received a UCLA offer this past weekend while on an unofficial visit to Westwood, wasted little time in jumping on his chance to pick UCLA over the likes of Missouri, Michigan, Notre Dame, North Carolina, and Vanderbilt.
https://twitter.com/Jwils247/status/623900558227832832
UCLA Bruins
An imposing figure at 6-feet-5-inches and 215-pounds with a mind-boggling 7-foot wingspan, Wilson projects to be a dangerous pass-catching weapon in UCLA offensive coordinator Noel Mazzone‘s offense at the “Y”-slot receiving position that Joseph Fauria and Thomas Duarte have played to such devastating effect. As Wilson described to 24/7 Sports’s Barton Simmons today, “I’m playing the Y. They use their Y most of the time split out as their third wide receiver and then they move him and put him in motion. I loved it. To be moved around in that type of offense, they really showed me how that position really makes the offense go because it keeps the defense on their heels.”
With true freshman and former 5-star tight end Chris Clark, who stands at 6-feet-6-inches himself, now on the roster, the Bruins will be able to absolutely tower over defenses with multiple big bodies who can go get the ball at points that are unreachable to nearly any linebacker or defensive back once Wilson arrives at UCLA in the summer of 2016.
I filmed this sick catch by new #UCLA commit Jordan Wilson (@Jwils247) during a May camp event at Ohio State: https://t.co/0O3F9QV1xN
— Tyler Donohue (@TDsTake) July 22, 2015
As we wrote when bulldozing 2016 running back Jalen Starks committed to UCLA, the Bruins seemed to be prioritizing power players as a new dimension with which to attack opponents on top of pure speed; now with Wilson in the fold, UCLA seems to be doubling-down on height as yet another unique and diverse way to attack opposing defenses.
Also, if Wilson physically matures in such a way that he continues to grow both height-and-weight-wise to the point at which he grows out of the tight end/”Y” position, it’s entirely possible he could end up on the other side of the ball as yet another in UCLA’s bevy of long-armed defensive ends. Either way, a player with Wilson’s incredible athletic gifts projects to be a valuable contributor to the UCLA football team regardless of what the future holds for him position-wise.
Welcome to Westwood, Jordan!
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