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UCLA Football : Instant Recruiting Reactions

Coach Mora and his staff have a new class of Bruins. How do they stack up? - Gary A. Vasquez-USA TODAY Sports

Bumped: Great breakdown of the 2016 recruiting class. -BN eds

Signing Day has come and gone, and what good is being a fan if we can't react instantly to anything we see? So I'm going to do that with a position breakdown of all the signees and their impact on UCLA in 2016 and beyond.

(Note: this means as of right now I won't talk about Darien Owens, who is committed but hasn't sent in his LOI, and Maxs Tupai, who is taking an official this weekend. At the same time I'll talk about Jake Raulerson, even though he is not officially part of the team yet.)

Offense


Quarterback

Boy, look at the difference a coaching change makes. Quarterback was obviously a position of need for the Bruins going into 2016, with only two quarterbacks under scholarship currently (Rosen and Mike Faulfel). Thankfully, UCLA addressed this need in spades. Devon Modster, former Arizona commit, is definitely the more-polished of the two new Bruin signal-callers coming out of high school, and if I had to guess, he'll be the first one called upon should something happen to Rosen. Matt Lynch projects as more of a project of the two commits, but he seems to have the right mindset about his position, and is willing to fight for his spot. In either case, credit to the staff, and particular new QB coach Marques Tuiasosopo for, not just salvaging this class, but turning it into a huge bright spot in the class.

Also, let's not give short shift to Dymond Lee, the QB/WR out of Chaminade. Mora has stated that Lee will get an opportunity at QB, and he could end up sticking there (his senior year tape this year shows how much he's progressed as a QB), but I think his ultimate position will be as a WR. He's incredibly quick and shifty, but we probably won't see him on the field for a few years.

Running Back

Let's be fair and talk about Jalen Starks here first. I think it says a lot about Starks that, as the #1 fullback in the nation, Starks committed to UCLA back in May of 2015. You know, that time before the 2015 season when we were running the NZone and didn't really use a fullback. Now that the offense will be adding more power concepts, the recruitment of Starks has turned into a secretly crucial pickup for the staff. On pure impact on this coming season, Starks has to be one of the top picks to make an immediate impact.

Of course, this wouldn't be a UCLA recruiting cycle under Mora without some surprises. Enter Brandon Stephens from Plano, Texas. Stephens was a former Stanford recruit who decommitted a few weeks ago. The story goes that Mora, who was in Houston at the time, found out about the decommitment and went straight to Stephens high school, where he also happened into a chance meeting with Stephens's mother. Mora was able to convince Stephens to take his only remaining official visit to UCLA instead of some of the SEC schools he was considering, and at that point he became UCLA's to lose. Stephens is incredibly similar to the RB UCLA got out of Plano, TX last year, Soso Jamabo, as he's a tall, skilled RB in space, an absolute playmaker. With how good UCLA's backfield has been, Stephens might end up redshirting to get bigger (he's at 200 pounds now but could easily get up to 225), as UCLA returns three strong RBs already, but he's a definite playmaker down the line.

Wide Receiver

UCLA needed a good class here, and boy did they get it. Credit to coach Yarber and the rest of the staff for taking advantage of Rosen's scarily-good true freshman season and securing some solid weapons for him.

Let's start with the headliner: Theo Howard. Howard is the elite WR option that UCLA has desperately needed for years, with a ton of speed and upside. With UCLA losing 4 of their top 5 passing game options from last year, you can almost slot him in as the #3 option behind Massington and Andrews (and even then, you could probably make the case for him as #2). Plus, with Howard being an early enrollee, that means he'll get to participate in spring practice and has the inside lane on making an impact next year.

The rest of the WR haul isn't bad either. Today's latest commit, Adewale Omotosho (also from Plano, TX) is a big possession receiver with deceptive speed. BillytheSid described him as a faster Jordan Payton, and I have to say the comparison is pretty apt. He should get a shot at grabbing some playing time right away.

Damian Alloway, out of Fontana, CA, is a super-quick slot receiver that UCLA has also needed in the past few years, trying a bunch of guys in that spot with middling results. The emergence of Darren Andrews last year, coupled with Howard's commitment, means Alloway could take a redshirt year to get bigger and work on his blocking, which is his one point of weakness, but that's suddenly a luxury UCLA can afford.

Demetrice Felton is a solid prospect with good speed in the slot. He's a good redshirt candidate while he puts on a few more pounds, but should be an impact player down the line.

Tight End

If there was one position UCLA looks weak at, it would be Tight End. UCLA came down to the wire on a few big targets, but couldn't close the deal. Still, they picked up a solid prospect in Jordan Wilson. Wilson is a big body with good control and pass catching ability. Unfortunately, I don't see him playing a meaningful role in this coming season unless his blocking becomes much better than it was in college (which is possible, but definitely something a redshirt season would benefit from).

Offensive Line

It is surprising just how solid UCLA's offensive line class ended up being, considering Klemm's suspension kept him off the trail for a few months and essentially took UCLA out of the running for a ton of major OL talent. Still, the class has a lot of projectible talent for the future, while addressing some needs.

Jake Raulerson has to be considered the highlight here, specifically because you can almost slot him into the starting lineup next year at either center or guard (I'd guess center with Quessenberry shifting over to guard, where he played in 2014). Plus, Raulerson has two years of eligibility left, which lets UCLA build more line depth in the future. Seriously, of all the line recruits, Raulerson was the most important get.

Today, UCLA officially flipped Francisco Perez from Cal. Perez is a big body who could make a push onto the two-deep at guard next year, as he already has a ton of size. Perez is also a natural guard who helps fill the position thanks to Alex Redmond and Caleb Benenoch both leaving school early. Mike Alves fills a similar spot, with a big frame allowing for some room to build going forward, and I feel he has the best technique coming out of high school for any of the freshman line prospects. Alex Akingbulu (boy is that name fun to spell) is relatively new to football (had never played before his junior year), but has a ton of size and showed a host of potential in his two years, and a redshirt this coming year could do wonders to his continued development.

That said, I don't see any of UCLA's non-Raulerson gets playing much if at all next year, as UCLA's improved line depth means they can get that all-important redshirt year to bulk up.

Special Teams

I'll put these three under offense, but UCLA absolutely nailed their special teams recruitment in a year when they needed a new placekicker (to replace a Lou Groza winner), long snapper (four year starter), and punter (ok not as good as the other two but Matt Mengel did yeoman's work while thrust into duty).

JJ Molson was the #2 place kicker in North America (I have to say this because he's Canadian), but he's so talented Scout actually gave him a 4-star ranking. He enrolled early at UCLA and should be kicking extra-points (see what I did here) on September 3.

Johnny Den Bleyker was the #1 ranked long snapper in the nation according to Rubio Long Snapping, and will be the first UCLA long snapper brought in under scholarship since Christian Yount. What I'm saying here is that he's really, really good.

Finally, Austin Kent is a top-tier punter that, if last year didn't make obvious, UCLA had a need for. Kent, like the rest of this group, will be expected to start from day one.

Defense

Defensive Line

You know, before the past few weeks, I would have told you that if the defensive line class had just been Boss Tagaloa, I'd have been fine with it. Well, not fine per se, but I would have been ok with it and could rationalize if I really wanted to. Thankfully I don't have to, as UCLA closed strong to pull a surprisingly solid defensive line class.

Of course, that first paragraph should tell you that the headline of the group is still Boss Tagaloa. Tagaloa is an absolute beast, and was easily our most critical get in this entire recruiting cycle. He's the type of athlete that could slot next to Eddie Vanderdoes in the new 4-3 look and start right away, and should become a matchup nightmare for opponents down the line. Seriously, as good as Juarez is, Tagaloa makes this defensive class.

And that's not to say the rest of this group is a bunch of schmucks. Let's be fair here and start with one of our longest recruits in the 2016 class, 4 star Breland Brandt. Brandt committed back in October of 2014, and stuck with the Bruins the entire time. He's a ridiculous athlete in the mold of Deon Hollins, and as an early enrollee has the inside track to playing time next year. Brandt is an absolute talent.

Here's a last name that might sound familiar: Odighizuwa. That would be Osa Odighizuwa, younger brother of Owa. Osa has a ton of projectible talent going forward, and is also a state champion in wrestling. He's probably a redshirt target, but I don't doubt that he'll end up contributing in an impactful way just like his brother did down the line.

Marcus Moore, high school teammate of Jalen Starks (they both announced for UCLA one day apart) is another end talent with projectible room to grow. Much like Osa, I see him really contributing by his sophmore year.

The recruit I think is most under the radar in this entire class is Jake Burton. Burton has enough versatility with his size and mobility that he could end up at either end or tackle, and he's one of those high-motor kids who consistently outplays his perceived ability that fans love (seriously, he hasn't suited up for UCLA yet and I love him already). I think he could push for playing time this year, but realistically he should be able to get a redshirt year in thanks to these final two guys.

UCLA is bringing in two junior college transfers on the line, and crazily enough, they were both JC teammates. Nick Terry is a DT prospect who was actually at Boise State for a few years before leaving. He has good size and is known for his run-stopping ability, so he should see some playing time immediately. UCLA also picked up a surprise signing today with Terry's teammate Chigozie Nnoruka, who only has two years of football under his belt but showed a ton of promise and upside. From the stories I've heard, Nnoruka fell under the same weird JC admissions issues that allowed UCLA to grab Takk before anyone knew about him, and Nnoruka has a ton of untapped potential.

Linebacker

This might be, without exaggerating, one of the best linebacker classes UCLA has ever put together. Someone go get Coach White his cup of coffee.

Yes, Mique Juarez is the headliner, and by all accounts he should be. He's a ridiculous athlete who does well in coverage, but has the size to defend the run brilliantly. Honestly, the easy comparison here is Myles Jack, but the comparison probably isn't as far off as you'd think (hell, Juarez was playing RB and QB besides linebacker the past few years). The only reason I'd say Tagaloa is ranked higher in my list of need recruits is that Juarez is more of a luxury compared to the absolute need Tagaloa represented, but I don't think that sells Juarez short. Juarez should, barring any setback, see the field this year, and it wouldn't shock me to see him take a starting spot by the end of the year.

Then you look at the pair of ILBs we brought in. Last year showed how thin the depth at ILB had become thanks to injuries, so Scott White went out and brought in two of the best ILBs in the country in Krys Barnes and Lokeni Toailoa. Barnes, from Bakersfield, is really the Jaleel Wadood in this class, as he committed to UCLA as soon as he got an offer, and became one of UCLA's biggest recruiters in the class. Barnes has the size and ability to play either inside or outside in college, which is good if UCLA does make the switch fully to a 4-3 defense, and could compete for playing time right away. Suffice to say I think he becomes a fan favorite by the time his Bruin career is over.

Lokeni Toailoa is the elder of the two Toailoa brothers UCLA brought in this year, and is another immediate impact guy. For me, his best comparison would be to one Eric Kendricks, as Lokeni is high-moter and extremely football-savvy. He's excellent in the run, and has gotten much better in coverage. A future starting line of Juarez-Toailoa-Barnes is ridiculous, and something any coach in the country would envy.

(And for the record, Breland Brandt probably belongs in this group as well. Brandt is really a DE/OLB hybrid, but I think he'll see most of his time at DE so I put him there.)

Secondary

Secondary didn't have to be as big of a hit as it has been in recent years, simply because it was really good in recent years (also the secondary class out west wasn't very deep, but that's another story). That said, there are some good prospects here, including one guy who will be in the next section.

Leni Toailoa, younger brother of Lokeni, might be the steal of the class. Leni is incredibly instinctual in coverage, and was a two-way player in high school. In addition, he's a year younger than his brother, and has room to grow. He'll probably get to redshirt, but he should become an impact safety down the line.

Keyon Riley is an interesting recruit to me, because there was a point in November when it seemed like both sides did not want to push for a union. Beyond that, Riley missed his junior year, which actually turned out to be a blessing for UCLA, as it kept a bunch of teams off of him. Riley is a bigger defensive back who can play corner but probably ends up at safety, and the depth in the secondary means he can take his time to grow and get better acclimated to the college game.

Athlete

As of right now, Brandon Burton is the only athlete UCLA has coming in, but he's incredibly talented and should make an immediate impact. If he was only going to play one position, I'd guess at safety, but Burton is also a very talented receiver, and should also see immediate playing time as a kick returner. He's one of those athletes where you want to get the ball into his hands and see what he can do with it.

Overall

28 current signees (and possibly more coming) has this as a class that can fill a ton of needs for UCLA going forward. There's a good mix of immediate impact talent (Tagaloa, Juarez, Howard) and projects (most of the offensive line & secondary) that make this one of the better classes in Mora's tenure. As always, the key will be to put these players in the best possible position so that they can succeed, but it always helps when you start with a higher talent level, and Mora has absolutely raised that bar in his time at UCLA.

This is a FanPost and does not necessarily reflect the views of BruinsNation's (BN) editors. It does reflect the views of this particular fan though, which is as important as the views of BN's editors.

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