Just what is going on with UCLA Football recruiting?
Four-star defensive end Hunter Echols became the fifth recruit to decommit from UCLA’s 2017 recruiting class on Friday evening when he sent out this tweet.
I have officially de committed from UCLA. I want to thank The coaches and Fans for the love and support
— HUNTER (@hunter_tyb) July 23, 2016
To be fair, Echols still plans to consider UCLA, but, usually, when a recruit decommits, you don’t see them recommit to the same school.
In an article on Scout Recruiting, Echols told Greg Biggins:
It just felt like the right thing to do. When I first committed, I felt like I rushed in to it a little because UCLA was my dream school and it is where I always wanted to go. I still wanted to take my official visits and UCLA was always good with that but I think it's best for me to take a step back here and make sure I'm doing the right thing.
I'm still going to consider UCLA and I have a good relationship with Angus McClure, we talk all the time. I'm still planning to come up and visit the school and they're still high on my list but in order for me to make sure they're the best school for me, I feel it's best to start over and re-evaluate all my options here.
Later in the article, Echols adds:
I just want to be sure of what I'm doing and I think the most fair way to do that is to de-commit and then see if UCLA is still the best spot for me.
Well, you certainly can’t fault a kid for that. In fact, it makes me like him more to know that he wants to be sure about his decision.
It doesn’t change the fact, however, that he’s the fifth recruit to decommit from the Bruins. The others are Rahyme Johnson, Jaquan Henderson, Will Ferrar and Rhedi Short.
Whenever that many recruits choose to decommit from a program, it makes folks start scratching their heads as to exactly what’s going on with recruiting. I don’t have an answer to that, but I do know that, when you combine that with a very quiet summer, the 2017 recruiting class is shaping up to be disappointing at this point.
Of course, that could change very quickly with commitments from a few big recruits like Jack Sears who should be nearing a decision very soon.
Go Bruins!