UCLA Football Recruiting (2/12) – NSD 2018 and looking to 2019

Go Joe Bruin takes a look at the week that was (2/6-2/10) in UCLA football recruiting, which just happened to occur before, during and after National Signing Day.

It was a huge week for UCLA football recruiting as National Signing Day came and went and in this edition of the weekly recruiting update, we will take a quick look at the class that Chip Kelly brought in, analyze what hits and misses he made and take a look at what the Bruins need to focus on going forward.

RELATED: The Top 30 UCLA Football Players of All-Time

To start, UCLA landed 27 total national letters of intent which is huge considering they only had 8 NLIs (and one commitment) during the early signing period. Kelly and his staff went out and pounded the pavement before National Signing Day and brought in several players that should thrive in the new system.

Since our last UCLA Football Recruiting weekly update (2/5), the Bruins added five commitments, which led to the 27 total NLIs, so it was a fun ride through NSD, especially with a few surprises UCLA was able to unveil (Jon Gaines, David Priebe, Michael Ezeike, just to name a few).

Before we get into that, let us take a look at the signees (and one commitment). For further analysis, click on the links below to see what transpired on National Signing Day in our…

And get a detailed break down in…

National Letter of Intents Received

4* QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson 6’1, 195 lbs., Bishop Gorman HS (Las Vegas, NV)
4* ATH Bryan Addison 6’5, 180 lbs., Junipero Serra HS (Gardena, CA)
4* WR Chase Cota 6’3, 195 lbs., South Medford HS (Medford, OR)
4* LB Bo Calvert 6’3, 218 lbs., Oaks Christian HS (Westlake Village, CA)
4* S Stephan Blaylock 5’10, 185 lbs., St. John Bosco HS (Bellflower, CA)
4* OG Chris Murray 6’3″, 300 lbs. (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, CA)
4* TE Michael Ezeike 6’5, 220 lbs., Colony (Ontario, CA)
4* DE Elijah Wade 6’5, 240 lbs., Arbor View (Las Vegas, NV)
4* WR Kyle Phillips 5’11, 176 lbs., San Marcos HS (San Marcos, CA)
4* DT Tyler Manoa 6’5, 260 lbs., St. Francis (Mountain View, CA)
3* RB Kazmeir Allen 5’10, 185 lbs., Tulare Union HS (Tulare, CA)
3* WR Delon Hurt 6’0, 190 lbs., Servite (Anaheim, CA)
3* TE Matt Alaimo 6’5, 235 lbs., St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, NJ)
3* CB Rayshad Williams 6’4, 183 lbs., Whitehaven (Memphis, TN)
3* DT Otito Ogbonnia 6’3, 300 lbs., Taylor (Katy, TX)
3* S Kenny Churchwell 6’2, 180 lbs., Mountain Pointe (Phoenix, AZ)
3* ATH Patrick Jolly 6’1, 177 lbs., Newsome HS (Lithia, FL)
3* OT Alec Anderson 6’5, 283 lbs., Etiwanda HS (Rancho Cucamonga, CA)
3* DE Steven Mason 6’8, 250 lbs., Southwestern College (Chula Vista, CA)
3* CB Elisha Guidry 6’0, 177 lbs., Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, CA)
3* S Je’Vari Anderson 6’0, 220 lbs., Laney College (Oakland, CA)
3* TE David Priebe 6’6, 212 lbs. Midway (Waco, TX)
3* OT Jon Gaines 6’5, 270 lbs. Marquette (Milwaukee, WI)
3* RB Martell Irby 5’8 204 lbs., Morse (San Diego, CA)
3* DT Antonio Mafi 6’3, 360 lbs., Junipero Serra HS (San Mateo, CA)
3* OG Baraka Beckett 6’4, 280 lbs., Palisades (Pacific Palisades, CA)
3* LB Tyree Thompson 6’3, 235 lbs., L.A. Valley College (Van Nuys, CA)

Commitments

3* WR CJ Parks 5’11”, 186 lbs., (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, CA)

Total NLIs Received: 27

5-star: 0 | 4-star: 10 | 3-star: 17

QB: 1 | RB: 2 | TE: 3 | WR: 4 | OL: 4 | DL: 5 | LB: 2 | DB: 6

AZ: 1 | CA: 18 | FL: 1 | NJ: 1 | NV: 2 | OR: 1 | TN: 1 | TX: 2 | WI: 1

Signing Analysis

We will try not to repeat information already given in our NSD live tracker, recap and report card (see links above), so we will keep this brief. UCLA landed a lot of regional talent, especially from California. Kelly and his coaches are trying to create and strengthen several pipelines, which is going to help in the next few seasons.

Its been said plenty of times, the Bruins did not land any five-star recruits, but instead landed the players they need. Kelly wanted long and fast players and added a lot of them on both sides of the ball. His coaches were also able to stock up in certain positions groups (WR/TE, DL and DB) giving them excellent depth.

They also missed out on two groups in need of a lot of support (OL and LB). That should be addressed by 2019.

Additionally, UCLA still has a commitment from 3-star WR CJ Parks, but has not sent in his NLI. It is currently unknown what is going on with his recruitment.

2018 Recruiting Class Rankings

UCLA finished 18th in the 247Sports 2018 football recruiting composite team rankings. According to these rankings, they came in 4th in the Pac-12 behind #4 USC, #13 Washington and #16 Oregon.

National Signing Day 2019

The needs for 2019 are already being addressed. As of today, UCLA does not have players committed to the 2019 class, but there are several that have the Bruins on their radar, especially after receiving offers from UCLA.

More from Go Joe Bruin

As stated above, offensive line and linebackers are in need of bodies and the coaches have already made several offers, so the process is beginning.

According to 247Sports, UCLA has 14 offers out to tackles, three to guards and one offer to a center. Most are “cool” on UCLA, but three tackles seem to have the Bruins among their favorites: 3-star Sean Rhyan San Juan Capistrano, CA), Bryce Benhart (Lakeville, MN) and Barrett Miller (Aurora, CO).

As for the linebackers, the Bruins have offered one inside linebacker who is warm on them, 3-star Maninoa Tufono (Honolulu, HI), and seven outside linebackers highlighted by 5-star Henry To’oto’o (Concord, CA) and 4-star Mase Funa (Santa Ana, CA).

Though the Bruins loaded up at wide receiver, they are still going after some top players and one in particular, 4-star WR Theo Wease, already has the Bruins in his top 7.

UCLA also has their eye on other offensive positions, despite the depth UCLA possesses. At QB, 4-star pro-style Hank Bachmeier (Murrieta, CA) is warm on UCLA as well as 4-star RB Austin Jones (Oakland, CA).

Next: UCLA Football Recruiting: Five signees that could get early playing time in 2018

Its a long way until the next NSD, so a lot of things can happen. Early commits, flips and finding those diamonds in the rough that flew under the radar of many college programs are all a part of the recruiting game. Though 2018 was good for recruiting, we can expect it will be even better in 2019.

UCLA Football Recruiting weekly update (2/12) – National Signing Day 2018 and looking to 2019

By Mike Regalado | Feb 12, 2018