It was a tough first night for the two Bruins who were in New York City yesterday. Neither Akeem Ayers nor Rahim Moore was selected by anyone in the first round last night. Rahim's situation was not a total surprise but many draft experts thought a team would pick Ayers in the late first round. No luck for either Bruins. UCLA now hasn't had a first round pick since 2006. Bruins have had only 1 first round pick since Dan Guerrero took over UCLA athletics. This is yet another figure showing Dan has been doing "heckuva job" in Westwood.
I guess Ayers stock dropped in recent weeks I guess due to not so impressive performances in combine. I am not a NFL scout so I will defer all the "expert evaluations" to the professionals. I do know that whoever picks these two Bruins will be lucky teams. The draft continues today starting at 3:00 pm PT. Rounds four through seven will be held on Saturday, beginning at 9:00 a.m. I believe it will shown on NFL Network and I think it will be on ESPN as well.
We have some good news though. Jon Gold is reporting that UCLA has picked up a late commitment for the incoming class of 2011. Kyle Lewis - a running back/safety from Downey - is coming to Westwood this Fall:
Lewis was an All-CIF 1st team pick for the Vikings after a 1,200-yard, 11-touchdown performance in 2010 and he won the SPARQ competition at the Long Beach Nike combine last April. Poor grades, though, put Lewis' future in doubt, and most Division-1 schools held off on offering him after it took Lewis until after signing day to get the grades up. ...
Lewis said that UCLA regarded him more for his free safety abilities, but he's considered a true athlete, and that he will sign after he graduates in June.He said he chose the Bruins primarily because of the academics, as he's back on track in the classroom and has turned a corner after hitting the books.
"I love UCLA man," Lewis said. "There isn't a higher ranked school for me. Academics is going to come first, I've been picking up my school work the last two years. I knew if I went to UCLA, I'd have a good future."
Little more on Lewis and an update on Morgan Center's football uniform debacle after the jump.
Tracy Pierson from BRO reports:
It's not a matter that Lewis was offered a scholarship back in winter. UCLA Head Coach Rick Neuheisel just offered him in late April Reportedly, so did many Pac-12 schools, such as Oregon and Washington.
It's unusual to have a player who had offers like Lewis verbally commit in April. Reportedly, Lewis had academic issues, and it took until this spring for him to be NCAA eligible, and UCLA eligible.
Here is a YouTube video on Mr. Lewis:
Let's all give him a warm welcome to Westwood.
What uniform will be Lewis will be wearing when he arrives in Westwood this Fall? It's a good question. From recent spring game photos it appeared that Bruins might have considered going back to the old look. Not so fast says the folks at UniWatch:
… How to put your money where you mouth is, Uni Watch style: Chris Cruz was so happy to see UCLA’s shoulder-stripe renaissance in the team’s spring game that he sent a note to the athletic dept., asking if the stripes were back for good. The response: "Sorry Chris – the old uniforms were worn for the spring game only. In the fall, we’ll be in the new ones" — i.e., the super-stretchies with the severely truncated stripes. "I guess UCLA’s athletic dept. won’t be receiving a donation from me this year," says Chris. …
Once again ... a heckuva job by Dan Guerrero.