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BOOM! Texas OL Jake Raulerson To Transfer To UCLA

By Michael Hanna

Dec 5, 2015; Waco, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Jake Raulerson (50) celebrates the win over the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium. The Longhorns defeat the Bears 23-17. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports
Dec 5, 2015; Waco, TX, USA; Texas Longhorns offensive lineman Jake Raulerson (50) celebrates the win over the Baylor Bears at McLane Stadium. The Longhorns defeat the Bears 23-17. Mandatory Credit: Jerome Miron-USA TODAY Sports /
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UCLA has solidified its interior offensive line for the next two years, as Texas transfer Jake Raulerson announced on Monday that he has chosen to become a Bruin.

After an offseason of seemingly unending attrition on the offensive line, UCLA has followed up the incredible news that left tackle Conor McDermott would be staying for his senior season with a huge pick-up for its offensive line in center Jake Raulerson, who took an official visit to UCLA this past weekend and announced his commitment to become a Bruin 24 hours later.

The Bruins beat out the likes of Michigan, Oregon, and Stanford to reel in the highly-coveted graduate transfer from Texas.

Raulerson, a former 4-star recruit from Celina, Texas who committed to the Longhorns as part of former coach Mack Brown‘s final recruiting class in 2013, will be taking advantage of the graduate transfer rule to have immediate eligibility once he arrives at UCLA.

Related Story: UCLA Football: Conor McDermott Is Staying For His Senior Season

After becoming accustomed to having a high academic achiever from the Dallas-Fort Worth Metroplex with a large beard named Jake at center for the last four seasons, Bruin fans will only have to get used to their center having a different last name, as Raulerson profiles as an extremely similar player and person to UCLA’s longtime offensive line captain Jake Brendel.

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At 295 pounds, Raulerson, much like Brendel, is a bit of a lighter offensive lineman whose strengths lie in his athleticism and his headiness in his line calls.

Raulerson’s commitment is definitely huge news for the UCLA football program. In addition to projecting as a natural replacement at center for Brendel, Raulerson’s addition helps to fill out UCLA’s depleted offensive line depth chart with an immediate-impact talent.

By inserting Raulerson at center, the Bruins will be able to move returning offensive lineman Scott Quessenberry to guard and allow redshirt freshmen Tevita Halalilo, Andre James, and Josh Wariboko-Alali a little bit more time to develop physically and mentally as backups before having to start as upperclassmen.

Raulerson also brings the added bonus of being the rare graduate transfer to have two years of eligibility remaining, thanks to his incredible academic prowess that enabled him to get his business degree from UT-Austin in a rapid three years, so he is much more than a short-term band-aid for UCLA’s offensive line depth.

Welcome to Westwood, Jake!