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It’s National Signing Day 2018!!! For many schools, today has lost its luster a little as many recruits signed during the new Early Signing Period in December. But, for the UCLA Bruins, it still looks to be a big day! That’s because new Bruin head coach Chip Kelly and staff have worked hard to tear down and re-build UCLA’s 2018 recruiting class.
The class has more than doubled in size since the Early Signing Period and the Bruins look to finish with at least 25 members of this year’s class.
It’s a great way to start of the Chip Kelly era!
Let’s look at where things stand.
Early Signing Period Signees
We should begin at the beginning at that means the recruits who signed during the Early Signing Period in December. This table lists all of the guys who signed at that time.
2018 UCLA Football Early Signees
| Recruit Name | Position | Current School | Composite Rating |
|---|---|---|---|
| Recruit Name | Position | Current School | Composite Rating |
| Bryan Addison | ATH | Junipero Serra (Gardena, CA) | 4-Star |
| Stephan Blaylock | S | St. John Bosco (Bellflower, CA) | 4-Star |
| Bo Calvert | LB | Oaks Christian (Westlake Village, CA) | 4-Star |
| Chase Cota | WR | South Medford (Medford, OR) | 4-Star |
| Kyle Philips | WR | San Marcos (San Marcos, CA) | 4-Star |
| Kazmeir Allen | RB | Tulare Union (Tulare, CA) | 3-Star |
| Alec Anderson | OT | Etiwanda (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) | 3-Star |
| Atonio Mafi | DT | Junipero Serra (San Mateo, CA) | 3-Star |
National Signing Day Signees and Commit Tracker
Now, that you’ve refreshed your memory as to who is already a Bruin, let’s take a look at the current Bruin signee and commitment list.
2018 UCLA Football NSD Signees & Commits
| Recruit Name | Position | Current School | Composite Rating | NLI Submitted? |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recruit Name | Position | Current School | Composite Rating | NLI Submitted? |
| Michael Ezeike | WR/TE | Colony (Ontario, CA) | 4-Star | Yes |
| Tyler Manoa | DT | St. Francis (Mountain View, CA) | 4-Star | Yes |
| Chris Murray | OL | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) | 4-Star | Yes |
| Dorian Thompson-Robinson | QB | Bishop Gorman (Las Vegas, NV) | 4-Star | Yes |
| Elijah Wade | DE | Arbor View (Las Vegas, NV) | 4-Star | Yes |
| Je'Vari Anderson | LB/DB | Laney College (Oakland, CA) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Matt Alaimo | TE | St. Joseph Regional (Montvale, NJ) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Baraka Beckett | OL | Palisades (Pacific Palisades, CA) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Kenny Churchwell | S | Mountain Pointe (Phoenix, AZ) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Jon Gaines | OT | Marquette University HS (Milwaukee, WI) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Elisha Guidry | DB | Vista Murrieta (Murrieta, CA) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Delon Hurt | WR | Servite (Anaheim, CA) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Martell Irby | RB | Morse (San Diego, CA) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Patrick Jolly, Jr. | ATH | Newsome (Lithia, FL) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Steven Mason | DE | Southwestern College (Chula Vista, CA) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Otito Ogbonnia | DL | Taylor (Katy, TX) | 3-Star | Yes |
| David Priebe | TE | Midway (Waco, TX) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Tyree Thompson | LB | LA Valley College (Los Angeles, CA) | 3-Star | Yes |
| Rayshad Williams | DB | Whitehaven (Memphis, TN) | 3-Star | Yes |
| CJ Parks | WR | Mater Dei (Santa Ana, CA) | 3-Star | No |
Considering that UCLA only had 8 signees and 3 unsigned commits at the end of the Early Signing Period, the Bruins’ late surge is pretty amazing. That seems attributable to the fact that recruits know what Chip Kelly did at Oregon and they want to play for him at UCLA.
Chris Murray Situation
I would be remiss if I failed to inform Bruins Nation of a situation that is in flux.
SB Nation Recruiting Analyst Bud Elliott received an email recently from the mother of UCLA recruit Chris Murray. That email indicated that Murray will not be signing with UCLA today for “personal and undisclosed reasons.”
At this point, Bruins Nation has no further information regarding this situation other than that. It remains possible that something could change and Murray could sign today, but it’s also possible that he does not.
UPDATE (6:10 PM): As of 6:01 pm PT, Chris Murray’s NLI is in to UCLA Football. Murray was a much-needed addition to the Bruin offensive line and I’m happy to report that, apparently, whatever those “personal and undisclosed reasons” were, any issues must have been resolved since Chris Murray is officially a Bruin!
Notable National Signing Day Announcements
Of course, there are still a handful of guys who will be announcing their commitments today.
2018 National Signing Day Announcements
| Recruit Name | Position | Current School | Composite Rating | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Recruit Name | Position | Current School | Composite Rating | Result |
| Martell Irby | RB | Morse (San Diego, CA) | 3-Star | Committed to UCLA!!! |
| Jarrett Patterson | OL | Misson Viejo (Mission Viejo, CA) | 4-Star | Committed to Notre Dame |
| Rayshad Williams | DB | Whitehaven (Memphis, TN) | 3-Star | Committed to UCLA!!! |
| Otito Ogbonnia | DL | Taylor (Katy, TX) | 3-Star | Committed to UCLA!!! |
| Solomon Tuliaupupu | LB | Mater Dei (Anaheim, CA) | 4-Star | Committed to Southern Cal |
| Gavin Lewis | DL | Bob Jones (Madison, AL) | 3-Star | Committed to North Carolina |
| Geordan Porter | WR | Etiwanda (Rancho Cucamonga, CA) | 3-Star | Committed to Arizona State |
| Michael Ezeike | WR/TE | Colony (Ontario, CA) | 4-Star | Committed to UCLA!!! |
Join us today as we watch the Bruin commits submit their signed letters of intent and we wait for the announcements of some of the remaining players. It’s already a good class and it could get even better.
So, grab a cup of coffee and join us for today’s announcements.
Here’s your Signing Day open thread. Have at it.
#8Clap and #4sUp.
And, of course......GO BRUINS!!!