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UCLA Football Recruiting: Early Signing recap, Signing Day preview

By Mike Regalado

BERKELEY, CA - OCTOBER 13: Head coach Chip Kelley of the UCLA Bruins stands on the sidelines during their game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
BERKELEY, CA - OCTOBER 13: Head coach Chip Kelley of the UCLA Bruins stands on the sidelines during their game against the California Golden Bears at California Memorial Stadium on October 13, 2018 in Berkeley, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images) /
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With only two days to go until National Signing Day, Go Joe Bruin takes a look back at the players that signed with UCLA football early in December, the latest commitments and needs.

It has not gone the way most UCLA football fans had hoped, but it is going. Chip Kelly and his staff had to play catch up in their first full recruiting cycle which put them behind the eight ball with some recruits, but they have also been able to snag a few players that could immediately compete for starting spots in 2019.

RELATED: Taking a Look at the Offensive Line

But the staff is not done yet, especially since we have one more important recruiting date coming up… National Signing Day.

With that in mind, let us take a quick look at what UCLA already has coming into the 2019 season, the committed players they expect to sign and what other needs they must address for NSD 2019.

Players That Have Signed their NLI (15)

  • Sean Rhyan, OT ★★★★ (San Juan Hills/San Juan Capistrano, CA) 6’5, 302
  • Sharmar Martin, CB ★★★ (Morse/San Diego, CA) 5’11, 170
  • William Nimmo, S ★★★ (Mater Dei, Santa Ana, CA) 6’1, 190
  • Duke Clemens, OG ★★★ (Punahou/Honolulu, HI) 6’3, 268
  • John Ward, LB ★★★ (Palmdale/Palmdale, CA) 6’3, 227
  • Datona Jackson, DE ★★★ (College of the Desert/Palm Desert, CA) 6’4, 270
  • Beau Taylor, OG ★★★ (Bishop Gorman/Las Vegas, NV) 6’5, 286
  • Chase Griffin, QB ★★★ (Hutto/Hutto, TX) 5’10, 186
  • Jahmon McClendon, RB ★★★ (Monte Vista/Spring Valley, CA) 6’2, 210
  • Siale Liku, DT ★★★ (Oakland/Oakland, CA) 6’4, 330
  • Carl Jones, S ★★★ (Bakersfield/Bakersfield, CA) 6’1, 195
  • Kain Medrano, WR ★★★ (East/Pueblo, CO) 6’4, 205
  • Hayden Harris, LB ★★ (Eastside Catholic/Sammamish, WA) 6’5, 225
  • Jaylen Erwin, WR ★★★ (Hutchinson CC/Hutchinson, KS) 5’11, 173
  • Josh Carlin, OG ★★★ (Sierra Canyon/Chatsworth, CA) 6’4, 292

Current Non-Signed, Committed Players

  • Michael Martinez, TE ★★★ (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, CA) 6’6, 246
  • Charles Njoku, WR ★★★ (Wayne Hills/Wayne, NJ) 6’5, 200
  • Noah Keeter, DE ★★★ (FW Buchholz/Gainesville, FL) 6’5, 224

2019 Recruiting Class Composite Rankings

National: 43rd | Pac-12 Conference: 7th

Commitments by Position Group

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

Remaining Positional Needs

QB: 1 | RB: 0 | WR: 0 | TE: 1 | OL: 1-2 | DL: 1 | LB: 1-2 | DB: 0

For the most part, the Bruins seem to be set with most of their positional needs, though they still have a few positions that need attention.

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UCLA could do with another QB, but as it looks, Chase Griffin may be the only signal caller in this class, which puts pressure on the coaching staff to land one for the 2020 class.

At running back, UCLA will finally be able to bring in Keegan Jones, who committed before last season, but officially signed during the Early Signing Period. Along with Jahmon McClendon, the Bruins are set at RB, but that will not stop them from going after a few more like 4-star all-purpose back Jordan Wilmore, though he looks to be leaning toward USC and Utah.

The Bruins seem to have fulfilled their quota for receivers as they signed Jaylen Erwin late during Early Signing Day. They also just received a commitment from a very big WR two weeks ago, Charles Njoku. UCLA also has a commitment from TE Michael Martinez, who committed last year but did not sign early, though he is expected to on Wednesday.

The offensive line looks like it is in good shape, but ideally, they might want to bring in at least one more, but from where is unknown.

The defensive line got two big surprises during the early signing period as they flipped Datona Jackson from USC after the Trojans pulled his offer the night before he was expected to sign. They also landed Siale Liku and got a recent commit from Noah Keeter.

Linebackers seem to be an on-going issue as they only have two signed. With depth being a concern, they have to try and land two more. Daniel Heimuli is warm on the Bruins, but he has been eyeing Washington for some time. Tuasivi Nomura is another option, but he might be heading to USC.

UCLA did well landing several defensive backs in 2018, so there wasn’t much urgency to grab a lot of players, though they are in good hands with the three they currently have committed.

Next. The 30 Greatest UCLA Football Players of All-Time. dark

Stay with Go Joe Bruin this Wednesday as we will have day-long coverage of UCLA football’s National Signing Day campaign.