UCLA Football Recruiting: The Final 2016 Offensive Big Board
With 22 of the spaces in the 2016 football recruiting class filled and only one more weekend left to host official visitors, UCLA football will be looking to take a select few more players to finish its class off and has a few high-profile targets it is focusing on in the final sprint to National Signing Day on February 3.
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QUARTERBACK
With the 47th 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 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 with the first committed QB in the class, as it landed 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.
As we mentioned in the first 2016 Offensive Big Board, UCLA was also very interested in supplementing its essentially barren quarterback depth chart (which currently consists of Rosen as the only scholarship quarterback on the roster) with one more quarterback in this class on top of Lynch. That prayer was answered not too long after that piece was published.
UCLA’s top QB target from last spring, 4-star Devon Modster (Rancho Santa Margarita, CA/Tesoro), decommitted from Arizona in late December and once that happened, UCLA got in contact with him about taking an official visit and potentially joining the Bruin recruiting class. Modster took that official visit two weeks ago and a day after returning to Orange County from Westwood, he announced his commitment to UCLA.
As far as his game is concerned, Modster has good arm strength, throws a tight and catchable ball, and really seems to be able to put the ball in small windows when he has protection and can set his feet. His highlight tape makes it clear that he’s a natural runner as well.
In his senior season, as an encouraging sign of his improvement from year-to-year, he showed much better touch on his deep passes. Like most young quarterbacks, he has work to do when it comes to the mental side of the game, but Modster certainly has the potential to be a top-level Pac-12 quarterback if things go right with his development.
In addition to Lynch and Modster, 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.
One of Lynch or Modster will immediately be in the three-deep at QB the moment he steps on campus, which is a scary proposition for a true freshman with a lot of development still ahead of him.
Obviously, for numerous reasons, UCLA would prefer to keep Rosen upright for the next two seasons; one of those reasons is to give Lynch and Modster a proper chance to undergo their hopefully considerable development outside the spotlight before one of them gets his shot to start after what should be a wide-open QB battle leading up to the 2018 season.
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