UCLA Football: TE David Preibe flips from SMU to UCLA

UCLA football has added its second tight end to the 2018 recruiting class, as Chip Kelly and Co. went into Central Texas to pull off the flip of 3-star tight end David Preibe (Waco, TX/Midway) on Monday afternoon.

Since being hired as the head coach of UCLA football, Chip Kelly has clearly prioritized measurables in recruiting the positions that would align to the line of scrimmage, as he has stocked the 2018 class with plenty of players who are over 6’5″ with outstanding athleticism.

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On Monday afternoon, tight ends coach Angus McClure picked up another player with the physical profile to be a difference maker at the tight end position for Chip Kelly’s offense, as 3-star David Preibe flipped his commitment from SMU, where he had been committed since June, to UCLA.

Preibe’s recruitment by UCLA accelerated quickly, with Chip Kelly visiting him at his high school in Waco last Wednesday. That was apparently a productive visit by UCLA’s head coach, as Preibe returned the favor by visiting Westwood two days later, was offered on the visit, and committed a day after that visit concluded.

Listed at 6-foot-6 and 212 pounds, Preibe currently plays both the tight end and H-back positions and presents a huge target as a safety valve for his quarterbacks to hit. In addition, he’s a willing and tenacious blocker and his effectiveness as a blocker will only increase as he adds good weight to his huge frame that is currently very lean and could easily add at least another 30-40 pounds.

With Preibe now in hand, UCLA football’s tight ends group for this class is set. Joining Preibe as the other tight end in the 2018 class will be 3-star Matt Alaimo (Montvale, NJ/St. Joseph Regional), who himself committed to UCLA less than a week ago and has similar measurables to Preibe.

Alaimo seems like more of a natural receiver between the two, but Preibe is no slouch in that department and is probably the superior blocker, so the Bruins seem to be well-stocked at the tight end position for years to come thanks to the efforts of the staff in the closing stages of the 2018 recruiting cycle.

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Welcome to Westwood, David!