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UCLA Football Recruiting: 4-star WR Kyle Philips Commits to UCLA

By Michael Hanna

Sep 26, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Jordan Payton (9) runs the ball during the first quarter against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. UCLA won 56-30. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 26, 2015; Tucson, AZ, USA; UCLA Bruins wide receiver Jordan Payton (9) runs the ball during the first quarter against the Arizona Wildcats at Arizona Stadium. UCLA won 56-30. Mandatory Credit: Casey Sapio-USA TODAY Sports /
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The UCLA Football team got their first big receiver of the 2018 class as 4-star WR Kyle Philips has committed to the Bruins.

UCLA Football got a vital recruiting weekend off to a big start on Friday afternoon, as wide receiver Kyle Philips (San Marcos, CA/San Marcos) announced his commitment to the Bruins through his Twitter account.

Philips was also heavily considering Utah, where his high school quarterback and good friend Jack Tuttle is committed, but ultimately, the lure of a UCLA education and the ability to play close to home for position coach Jimmie Dougherty and area recruiter Scott White proved to be enough to put the Bruins over the top for the dynamic slot receiver.

https://twitter.com/kylephilips17/status/855509824330637312

After a 2017 class in which former wide receivers coach Eric Yarber totally dropped the proverbial ball by failing to bring in even a single wide receiver signee, it was vital that the 2018 class get off to a solid start at the wide receiver position and that’s exactly what UCLA has done by reeling in the pledge of Philips.

At 5-foot-11 and 175 pounds, Philips doesn’t project the kind of physicality one would normally associate with a blue-chip prospect, but he is almost impossible to cover off the line of scrimmage, has sure hands, and plays with an edge and ferocity allow him to be a surprisingly vicious blocker. It’s totally appropriate that Utah wanted Philips badly, because he has a player profile reminiscent of former Ute and NFL great Steve Smith.

Next: UCLA Football: The Survival of the Offense - QBs

Now that it has Philips in hand as the first building block for the wide receiver group in the 2018 class, UCLA can operate from a position of strength in recruiting the position. And with the Bruins heavily in the mix for blue-chippers like Devon Cooley (Buena Park, CA/Buena Park), Chase Cota (Medford, OR/South Medford), Isaah Crocker (Sacramento, CA/Inderkum), Go Joe Bruin favorite Michael Ezeike (Ontario, CA/Colony), and Devon Williams (Lancaster, CA/Antelope Valley), UCLA looks poised to rebound from the 2017 debacle with a big and talented wide receiver group in the 2018 class.

Welcome to Westwood, Kyle!