UCLA football has added its second pure safety in the 2018 recruiting class, as Chip Kelly and Co. went into neighboring Arizona to reel in the pledge of 3-star safety Kenny Churchwell (Phoenix, AZ/Mountain Pointe) on Friday morning.
Most great college defenses seem to have a player who stands out as that unit’s “enforcer”- the guy who is going to physically punish offensive skill players for daring to cross into their area of the field.
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On Friday morning, defensive coordinator Jerry Azzinaro and defensive backs coach Paul Rhoads picked up the player who projects to be their future enforcer for the Bruin defense, as Phoenix safety Kenny Churchwell announced his commitment to UCLA.
Committed pic.twitter.com/DoaByg8SHJ
— KennyChurch23 (@KennyChurch23) January 26, 2018
Listed at 6-foot-2 and 180 pounds, Churchwell is a devastatingly vicious hitter who should help provide the Bruin defense with the kind of physical edge it has sorely lacked since thumpers like Jordan Zumwalt, Myles Jack, and Tahaan Goodman donned the true blue and gold.
Churchwell profiles as a player best used coming downhill to make plays on the ball and ballcarriers. That would seem to nicely complement the style of fellow UCLA safety commit Stephen Blaylock, who is more fluid and adept in a backpedal and could basically act as an auxiliary cornerback in a pinch when lined up in man coverage. It’s almost Legion of Boom-esque, with Churchwell playing a Kam Chancellor-type role and Blaylock being the Earl Thomas of the two.
With Churchwell now in hand, UCLA’s defensive backs class in the 2018 cycle looks to be just about set. 3-star cornerback and Bruin legacy recruit Elisha Guidry (Murrieta, CA/Vista Murrieta) is likely to commit once he completes his official visit this weekend. Joining those two in the class, if Guidry commits as expected, will be the aforementioned 4-star safety and early signee Stephan Blaylock (Bellflower, CA/St. John Bosco) and recent 3-star cornerback commit Patrick Jolly (Lithia, FL/Newsome).
Next: UCLA Football: WR Delon Hurt Commits to the Bruins
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Welcome to Westwood, Kenny!