With the 2018 UCLA football recruiting class making it to Westwood for summer, Go Joe Bruin gives you a quick overview of who the newest Bruins are.
Chip Kelly’s first UCLA football recruiting class was a mixture of both his selections and former coach Jim Mora’s. During the transition, the Bruins lost several commitments, gained a few and had several stick with their pledges to the program.
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Either way, it amounted to the 18th best class in the nation and the 4th best in the Pac-12, according to 247Sports.com. It was not the most star-studded, but something you will find about Kelly, he doesn’t look for stars, he makes them.
So who is he going to be working with this fall? Let us revisit the class.
UCLA Football 2018 Recruiting Class
★★★★ QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson
6’1, 195 lbs., (Bishop Gorman HS/Las Vegas, NV) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★★ ATH Bryan Addison
6’5, 180 lbs., (Junipero Serra/Gardena, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★★ WR Chase Cota
6’3, 195 lbs., (South Medford/Medford, OR) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★★ LB Bo Calvert
6’3, 218 lbs., (Oaks Christian/Westlake Village, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★★ S Stephan Blaylock
5’10, 185 lbs., (St. John Bosco/Bellflower, CA)- Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★★ OG Chris Murray
6’3, 300 lbs. (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★★ TE Michael Ezeike
6’5, 220 lbs., (Colony/Ontario, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★★ DE Elijah Wade
6’5, 240 lbs., (Arbor View/Las Vegas, NV) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★★ WR Kyle Phillips
5’11, 176 lbs., (San Marcos/San Marcos, CA)
★★★★ DT Tyler Manoa
6’5, 260 lbs., St. Francis (Mountain View, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ TE Matt Alaimo
6’5, 235 lbs., (St. Joseph Regional/Montvale, NJ) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ CB Rayshad Williams
6’4, 183 lbs. (Whitehaven/Memphis, TN) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ DT Otito Ogbonnia
6’3, 300 lbs. (Taylor/Katy, TX) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ S Kenny Churchwell
6’2, 180 lbs., (Mountain Pointe/Phoenix, AZ) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ RB Kazmeir Allen
5’10, 185 lbs., (Tulare Union/Tulare, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ WR Delon Hurt
6’0, 190 lbs., (Servite/Anaheim, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ OT Alec Anderson
6’5, 283 lbs., (Etiwanda/Rancho Cucamonga, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ ATH Patrick Jolly
6’1, 177 lbs., (Newsome/Lithia, FL) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ DE Steven Mason
6’8, 250 lbs., (Southwestern College/Chula Vista, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ CB Elisha Guidry
6’0, 177 lbs., (Vista Murrieta/Murrieta, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ LB Je’Vari Anderson
6’0, 220 lbs., (Laney College/Oakland, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ TE David Priebe
6’6, 212 lbs. (Midway/Waco, TX) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ OT Jon Gaines
6’5, 270 lbs., (Marquette University/Milwaukee, WI) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ RB Martell Irby
5’8, 204 lbs. (Morse/San Diego, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ DT Atonio Mafi
6’3, 360 lbs., (Junipero Serra/San Mateo, CA) – Go Joe Bruins Analysis
★★★ OG Baraka Beckett
6’4, 280 lbs., (Palisades Pacific/Palisades, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ LB Tyree Thompson
6’3, 235 lbs., (L.A. Valley College/Van Nuys, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
★★★ P Collin Flintoft
6’1, 185 lbs., (Loyola/Los Angeles, CA) – Go Joe Bruin Analysis
Revisiting the 2018 recruiting class/in-coming freshmen
Kelly (and Mora) had stayed local when it came to a lot of their recruits. Between the prospects from California and the three surrounding states, UCLA landed 23 out of their 29 total from the west coast.
The coaching staff(s) also addressed depth concerns with a position groups in dire need of bodies. The offensive line is getting help from four youngsters, most notably, Chris Murray who has the skill to start on this offensive line and just might, especially at center. The linebackers get three this fall, although two have already made it to Westwood as JUCO transfers Tyree Thompson and Je’Vari Anderson have been with the team since spring break.
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Commits By State
AZ: 1 | CA: 19 | FL: 1 | NJ: 1 | NV: 2 | OR: 1 | TN: 1 | TX: 2 | WI: 1
Commits By Rankings
5-star: 0 | 4-star: 10 | 3-star: 19
Commits By Position
- Quarterbacks: 1
- Running Backs: 2
- Receivers/Tight Ends: 7
- Offensive Line: 4
- Defensive Line: 5
- Linebackers: 3
- Defensive Backs: 5
- Special Teams: 1
Two other players have already put in time with the Bruins as WRs Chase Cota and Kyle Phillips also entered during spring. Cota even had a touchdown reception during the Spring Game. Kelly will also have five more receivers/tight ends to work with and all of them have strengths which will help boost the offense.
Speaking of boosting the offense, there are two players that several Bruins fans are looking forward to seeing this season: QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson and RB Kazmeir Allen.
Revisiting the 2018 recruiting class/in-coming freshmen
DTR seems tailor-made for Kelly’s offense. He has a great arm, always-moving feet and incredible field vision. Unfortunately, the starting spot is not yet his as he will have to battle it out with four other QBs.
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As for Allen, there should be plenty of playing time for all the running backs Kelly looks to utilize as his schemes require several players to participate. The thing about Allen is that he is fast, fast, fast. Not only will he give the run game a boost, he will turn heads while doing it.
We briefly went over the LB situation, but let us talk about the stock pile of DLs and DBs. In the trenches, the Bruins will need very fast and aggressive players and they got that with the likes of Elijah Wade and Tyler Manoa. UCLA is not necessarily thin up front, but they do need players that will easily adhere to the new defensive schemes.
UCLA also continued to thicken up the defensive backfield as they landed five players to an already deep position group. This class is highlighted by the signing of Stephan Blaylock who could see time on the field during his first season win blue and gold.
Next: UCLA Football: 10 bold predictions for the 2018 season
Kelly and the Bruins have more than enough to get this era going, but Kelly is still planning ahead. Though this class has a lot of talent, he is already shaping his 2019 class as he is being quite selective about who he wants on the team. Eventually, this will all add up to a lot of success. Go Bruins.