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Bruce Feldman - one of the best reporters in college football - just tweeted this short post less than an hour ago suggesting family health issues kept Eddie Vanderdoes in CA:
Eddie Vanderdoes, the five-star defensive tackle recruit who earlier this week announced tat he was headed to UCLA instead of Notre Dame, the school he signed with in February, will make the case that extenuating family health circumstances have played a role in his desire to go to college in his home state of California, a source told CBSSports Saturday.
... Vanderdoes is hoping these circumstances, along with the fact that he would be close to more family in the Los Angeles area, will greenlight his appeal.
It should be interesting how this all plays out once more facts around his appeal come out. Given that we are Bruin homers we could easily see this latest nugget of info. helping Eddie's case. But without the Bruin hat on, a fair question would be if family health is a concern for staying close to him, why not attend another Pac-12 program closer to his home town (Auburn). Just something to think about.
Either way, we are delighted that Eddie wants to be part of the Bruin family. If he can play immediately - awesome. If he can't and have to wait for another year, that's fine too. We will take him either way.
UPDATE [P]: Bruin Report Online has taken Tracy Pierson's story on Eddie's decision to come to UCLA from behind its subscription firewall.
Eddie Vanderdoes, the five-star 2013 defensive lineman, has tried to get out of his National Letter of Intent to Notre Dame because his grandmother is seriously ill, according to sources.
Shortly after Vanderdoes signed the NLI in February his grandmother took ill. Once he learned the seriousness of the illness, Vanderdoes determined he wouldn't want to be so far away from her or his family.
... When asked how seriousness the illness, a source indicated that the next year and half would be an important time for Vanderdoes to be close to his family.
Tracy has been on this story for quite a while, noting - to the subscriber base at BRO - a couple of weeks ago the basics of this story, though without the details. With today's stories by both Feldman and Pierson, it may be that the Vanderdoes family has realized that Brian Kelly and Notre Dame are not going to free Eddie on their own, but hope that public opinion may convince them to change their minds.
GO BRUINS.