UCLA Football Recruiting: Texas QB Aaron Sharp Flips From Kansas State to UCLA

The football commitments keep rolling in for the Bruins. One day after Miami offensive lineman Malcolm Bunche decided to transfer to UCLA, another of the past weekend's visitors has decided to commit to becoming a Bruin. After returning home from his trip to Westwood, Humble (Summer Creek HS), TX quarterback Aaron Sharp has decided to end his recruiting process by decommitting from Kansas State to become a UCLA Bruin.

#UCLA has its quarterback commitment in 2014, flipping three-star quarterback Aaron Sharp. http://t.co/09Wgz2DP4k

— Bruin Report Online (@BruinReport) January 21, 2014

Aaron comes in at 6'3, 190 lbs, though going by some of the group shots from the past weekend, the height might be a touch optimistic [Edit: he measured at 6'2.5, 188 lbs last spring at NFTC-Dallas]. He is rated as a 3-star recruit by all of the major scouting services - he was rated as the #60 QB overall by Scout.com, and the 18th best dual threat QB in the nation by Rivals.com. He might not be the most highly ranked prospect at quarterback, but he has played at a high level as a 3-year starter in Texas high school football. Per his profile at Scout.com, as a sophomore he led his high school team into the Texas HS playoffs in only the school's second year of existence.

His leadership skills are one of his strengths. But he is also a heck of an athlete - Aaron is the defending Texas state champion in the 200-meter dash, as well as part of two state-champion relay teams. His championship-winning time of 21.19 seconds in the 200m was the 33rd fastest time in the country last year - and a full four-tenths of a second faster than 5-star super athlete Adoree' Jackson's best time in the event.

While Sharp has elite speed, as he told the Houston Chronicle on the occasion of being named the paper's high school track athlete of the year, he does not think of himself as a running quarterback.

Q: What kind of quarterback are you?

A: "More the pocket-passing quarterback that whenever it's time to use your legs, you use them. I try to stay in the pocket and look at all my decisions, all my routes. If anything is not open or the pocket is just collapsing on you, that (kind), whenever it's time, to tuck the ball and run."

Wescott Eberts wrote up a lengthy scouting report on Aaron last summer for SB Nation. It is definitely worth taking a few minutes of reading to get a better idea of our new Bruin's talent. Along with his speed, it is his touch and release throwing the ball that are his greatest strengths on the football field.

In terms of general mechanics, there aren't any noticeable deficiencies in Sharp's game, though his arm strength does often appear to be slightly above average rather than a major asset and he can be a bit deliberate at times. What is an asset is his touch, which allows him to stretch the field in the intermediate passing game that requires dropping the ball over and between defenders. Aside from his athleticism, the ability to make those throws may be his greatest strength.

Hudl.com has some of his game videos, with some of his other highlights embedded below. Starting with some junior year tape via TexasHSFootball.com.

Here are his senior season highlights as edited by Scout.com:

And a short interview that he did with Texan Live over the summer;

With Aaron in the fold, Noel Mazzone and Coach Mora have their quarterback for the 2014 class. I had pretty much figured that longtime target Brad Kaaya was solid in his commitment to the Miami Hurricanes, and Sharp's commitment should mark the end of that pursuit. Best of luck to Brad in Coral Gables, and of course to Aaron Sharp in his four or five years to come at the greatest university in the world. Welcome to Westwood Aaron, and...

GO BRUINS!