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UCLA Football Recruiting Profile: WR Logan Loya

Loya turned heads at The Opening Bay Area after putting up impressive numbers at St. John Bosco

Oregon State v UCLA Photo by Harry How/Getty Images

The UCLA Bruins spring football segment is just one of hundreds of events cancelled for this spring sport semester, and with that cancelled our first in-game look at some of the newest members of the UCLA football family. Most notably, wide receiver and early enrollee Logan Loya, a four-star recruit from St. John Bosco High School.

Loya, who committed to UCLA in November of last year, signed during the Early Signing Day period and enrolled in classes this January. He, like so many other Bruins, have had an incredibly unique spring semester with the coronavirus and the cancellation of so many events across the country and world. So while our first look at him was canned, there’s nothing stopping us from looking a bit further back, to his time in high school, where he dominated at St. John Bosco and Orange Lutheran.

Loya finished his senior season with 71 catches for 1,109 yards and nine scores during the Braves state championship-winning season. His final box-score lines per game, considering the immense talent level he put these statistics up against, is nothing short of astounding:

Sure, he was receiving passes from the nation’s No. 1 pro-style quarterback in DJ Uiagalelei but the numbers he put up against national powerhouses in De La Salle and Mater Dei in the state semifinals and state championship game are just absurd. Both of those teams ranked in the top 10 nationally among all high schools at the time of their meeting, making Loya’s individual performances stand out even more.

They stood out, so much so, that 247Sports even moved Loya from the three-star range into the four-star prospect ranking following their end-of-season ranking adjustments.

He plays incredibly quick and looks to have a sharp route tree. Loya broke free during multiple games but really set the tone with a strong outing against DeMatha Catholic when they met the Maryland team. His nine receptions and 162 yards were featured in an isolation video of just his snaps across the whole outing, and they’re something else.

Loya showcased strong hands at the catch point as well, proving that during even his time at Orange Lutheran as well.

He consistently found a way to get open during his high school career and did have the benefit of having very talented quarterbacks throwing him the ball, including Ryan Hilinski while at Orange Lutheran. Hilinski is the current starting quarterback of the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Still, even with solid quarterback play at his disposal, his effort across his routes and with his hands were put on solid display at The Opening, as mentioned earlier.

All of his highlights prove to be a receiver who plays much bigger than his frame suggests at 5’11, 185 pounds. There seems to also be no fear in Loya’s game from his tape as well, which could potentially prove invaluable to him if he were to find a home in the slot and working routes over the middle.

Loya has the quicks to run by linebackers tasked with covering him but also has the footwork necessary to beat defensive backs in press or off coverage.

We wish we could have seen him in action this spring but since he’s an early enrollee, he at least has a full slate of winter workouts in him with his new team. And that will only bode well for the Bruins in the future.

And only will mean trouble for opposing defenses in the very near future.