UCLA Football Recruiting: 2016 Offensive Big Board 1.0

Michael Hanna

Sep 12, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Josh Rosen (3) receives the snap against the UNLV Rebels during the third quarter at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports

Having just finished the 2015 regular season, UCLA football now can turn its full attention to recruiting and putting the finishing touches on its 2016 class. With 18 of the spaces in the class already filled, the Bruins will only be looking to take a few more players to finish things off and have a few high-profile targets in mind for those last few spots.

QUARTERBACK

With the 47^th President of the United States Josh Rosen already starting (and excelling) as a true freshman quarterback in 2015 and given the modern recruiting environment in which top quarterback recruits step on campus expecting to play not too long after arriving, the Bruins were never likely to grab an elite QB prospect in the 2016 class. Most 4- and 5-star kids just wouldn’t want to bide their time sitting behind Rosen for (at least) two years, even if that might be the best recipe for developing most quarterbacks.

As a result, UCLA went for raw upside in pursuing its 2016 QB, landing 3-star dual-threat QB Matt Lynch (Broomfield, CO/Legacy). Lynch has intriguing physical tools, with a 6-foot-5 frame, solid arm strength, and really nice speed in the open field.

However, Lynch is the definition of a project: his throwing mechanics are in need of an almost complete overhaul and his quarterbacking instincts need to be properly calibrated. Right now, Lynch is an athlete playing quarterback rather than a quarterback with athleticism, and that will have to evolve in order for UCLA’s gamble on his physical talent to pay off. He’s about as boom-or-bust as it gets, with a floor that’s FCS-level and an upside that’s All-Pac-12 level.

UCLA’s father-son combo of offensive coordinator Noel and UCLA quarterbacks coach Taylor Mazzone has shown a lot of faith in their quarterback development skills by selecting Lynch over a safer bet with a higher floor but a lower ceiling like Nebraska commit Patrick O’Brien (San Juan Capistrano, CA/San Juan Hills).

It’s a bet that could determine the course of UCLA football’s immediate future, with no quarterback depth whatsoever existing behind Rosen after the loss of Jerry Neuheisel to graduation. Lynch will immediately be in the three-deep at QB the moment he steps on campus, which is a scary proposition for such an unrefined product. Obviously, for numerous reasons, UCLA would prefer to keep Rosen upright for the next two seasons; one of those reasons is to give Lynch a proper chance to undergo his hopefully considerable development outside the spotlight before Lynch gets his shot to start in 2018.

In addition to Lynch, the Bruins have promised 4-star commit Dymond Lee (West Hills, CA/Chaminade) that the first position he’ll get to try once on campus will be his preferred one of quarterback, but Lee is likely to end up at wide receiver down the road. He’s absolutely electric in the open field, has good hands, and has remarkable body control and concentration when elevating for jump balls.

With an essentially barren quarterback depth chart which currently consists of Rosen as the only scholarship quarterback on the roster, the Bruins would love to get one more quarterback on board in this class to fill out that depth chart. However, given that most quarterbacks commit to their chosen school by the spring before their senior seasons, the available pickings are slim with less than two months to go before Signing Day in early February. It will be very interesting to see whether UCLA is able to track down one more quarterback in this class to push fellow true freshmen Lynch and Lee in the future.

Next: Running Backs

Sep 12, 2015; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA Bruins running back Soso Jamabo (1) runs with the ball while running back Paul Perkins (24) and running back Nate Meadors (22) run on the outside against the UNLV Rebels during the third quarter at Sam Boyd Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Joshua Dahl-USA TODAY Sports

RUNNING BACKS

WIDE RECEIVERS

Coming off the 2015 recruiting cycle from which UCLA only signed one wide receiver currently on the roster (Stephen Johnson), the Bruins are in need of a talent infusion at the position in the 2016 class. As luck would have it though, UCLA’s highest-priority offensive position of need in the 2016 class happens to be the one at which the talent pool in California is more stocked than ever. 24/7 Sports’s Composite Rating Index has assigned 4-star ratings or higher to an incredible 12 recruits in the state of California’s class of 2016 who could project as wide receivers at the next level.

And with the Bruins being able to sell the allure of catching passes from Josh Rosen for the next two years, UCLA is poised to grab its share of those recruits and will take as many as six wide receivers in this class.

The jewel of UCLA’s committed receiver corps is 4-star Theo Howard (Westlake Village, CA/Westlake), who will be the highest-rated receiver to sign with UCLA in the Jim Mora era. With his absolutely blazing speed (running a 4.38 40-yard-dash in the spring at the Oakland Nike Camp), Howard has elicited comparisons to former USC standout Marqise Lee, but in terms of skills, style, and body type, Howard compares very well to former Colorado star (and briefly, a UCLA enrollee) Paul Richardson. If Howard is half as good at UCLA as Richardson was at CU, then some fireworks are on the way at the Rose Bowl.

In addition to Howard and the aforementioned Dymond Lee, UCLA has commitments from 4-star wide receiver Darian Owens (Fresno, CA/Clovis West) and 3-star Demetric Felton (Temecula, CA/Great Oak). Owens is an athletic, physical target on the outside, while Felton is a true home-run threat from the slot and has had one of the most impressive senior seasons of any recruit in the state.

With less than two months remaining until Signing Day, the Bruins still have three more wide receivers they’re targeting and could possibly land all three when all is said and done. The first is 3-star Adewale Omotosho (Plano, TX/Plano East), an under-the-radar recruit with all the physical tools to absolutely thrive at the next level, who has been a favorite of UCLA’s coaching staff for a while in this recruiting cycle. Given the effort the Bruin staff has put into his recruitment, Omotosho seems likely to be the next Texan to make the trek to Westwood.

UCLA is also heavily recruiting 4-star slot receiver Damian Alloway (Fontana, CA/Summit). An absolute speedster with good hands and increasingly impressive toughness, Alloway has had a topsy-turvy recruitment that has fleetingly drawn him toward and away from UCLA, but the Bruins remain the local favorite to land Alloway and will likely secure his commitment over Notre Dame in the near future.

Finally, the Bruins have been a consistent favorite for 4-star Steffon McKnight (San Diego, CA/Mira Mesa) over the last few months. McKnight has to fill out and add muscle in order to succeed at the next level, but with his agility, fluidity, and acceleration, his upside is absolutely undeniable. He’s named UCLA as his leader at multiple points in the past, but no one is truly certain which way McKnight is leaning at the moment and if he holds off on committing until Signing Day, the Bruins might be full at receiver or no longer attractive to McKnight in light of the glut that will likely exist at the position in UCLA’s class by then.

Next: Tight Ends

Nov 7, 2015; Corvallis, OR, USA; UCLA receiver Thomas Duarte (18) picks up a first down on a pass play during the first half in a game against Oregon State at Reser Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Troy Wayrynen-USA TODAY Sports

TIGHT ENDS

After the turbulent and short-lived UCLA career of former 5-star tight end Chris Clark, the Bruins have a need to fill out the tight end depth chart. To that end, the Bruins went some way towards filling that need when they brought in 3-star tight end Jordan Wilson (Nashville, TN/Montgomery Bell Academy). 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.

In addition to Wilson, the Bruins have focused on two remaining tight end recruits who have the ability to be dominant defensive linemen in college but are intent on playing tight end in college: 4-star Devin Asiasi (Concord, CA/De La Salle) and 3-star Thaddeus Moss (Charlotte, NC/Mallard Creek).

Asiasi visited UCLA this past weekend with close friend and UCLA lean Boss Tagaloa, a 4-star nose tackle who also hails from De La Salle. The Bruins are able and willing to sell Asiasi on the Bruins’ need for a large, in-line tight end after the (comical) departure of the mercurial Clark from the program, but it remains to be seen how competitive UCLA will be for Asiasi, with Alabama and USC both firmly in the picture for him as well and Asiasi focused on being the only in-line tight end a school takes in its class.

Moss is the son of legendary wide receiver Randy Moss, but is much thicker than his father and won’t be the same speedy game breaker. However, Thaddeus definitely got Randy’s hops and nose for the ball, pulling off a series of highlight-reel catches as part of a senior season that established Thaddeus as a tremendous football player in his own right. UCLA is very much in the picture to land Moss and will be battling NC State and Arizona State until Signing Day.

Next: Offensive Line

Aug 30, 2014; Charlottesville, VA, USA; UCLA Bruins offensive linemen line up against the Virginia Cavaliers at Scott Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports

OFFENSIVE LINE

After bringing in the top-rated offensive line class in the nation in 2015, UCLA probably thought it would be able to take it easy with offensive line recruiting in this cycle. However, as we have seen during the 2015 football season, the trenches are where games are won and lost. With ongoing upheaval on the line after the departures of Jake Brendel (graduation), Fred Ulu-Perry (transfer), and possibly Conor McDermott (draft), the Bruins need to reload with offensive line talent now as much as ever. To that end, they have already secured the commitments of 3-star guard Michael Alves (San Diego, CA/St. Augustine) and 3-star offensive tackle Alex Akingbulu (Harbor City, CA/Narbonne).

Alves is a pure road-grading guard who plays the game with bad intentions. He looks to physically dominate at the point of attack and grind the person he’s blocking into the ground.

Akingbulu, on the other hand, is a pure tackle prospect who’s dripping with physical upside. At a towering 6-foot-6, he has long arms and incredible bend. However, he is going to need to gain a lot of weight when he gets to UCLA, as his year-long athletic schedule (he’s also a high-level basketball player) leaves him extremely lean and light. He’s a prospect reminiscent of former UCLA left tackle Torian White, who had similar hurdles to overcome in order to become a Bruin starter but also possessed the same freakish upside.

Next: UCLA Football: The Top 10 Bruin Quarterbacks of All-Time

To round out the offensive line class, UCLA offensive line coach Adrian Klemm seems to have focused in on 3-star lineman Francisco Perez (Baldwin Park, CA/Baldwin Park). Perez is currently committed to Cal, but UCLA is putting the full court press on him, visiting his home yesterday, and you can never count out Klemm in a recruitment once he locks in on a target.

Michael Hanna

UCLA football and basketball fanatic who dabbles in lawyerly things on the side. It should probably be the other way around...