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Jason Fraychineaud
What a whirlwind last couple weeks for Bruin fans. New Coach Jim L. Mora has effectively injected tons of excitement into the program. Before taking over, UCLA’s recruiting class was ranked at the bottom of the conference. Today, Scout.com has UCLA’s class ranked first in the Pac-12. The class is also nationally ranked in the top 10.
That’s in large part to Mora and the staff he’s put together.
The talent level attending this weekend for official visits is truly staggering, maybe the biggest collection of talent at UCLA in years. Even P Diddy will be present due to the excitement! (okay okay, actually because his son Justin Combs is a commit).
Here’s a look at the recruits that Mora has reeled in…
CB ISHMAEL ADAMS/Oaks Christian High School:
Adams is a flat out stud and a big time get for Mora and the Bruins. The 4-star CB has offers from all over the country and was thought to be a Cal lean for a long time before committing to the Bruins the day after Christmas. Generously listed at 5’10, the Oaks Christian has great coverage skills but also displays impressive physicality at the line of scrimmage. He compares favorably to former UCLA great Ricky Manning. The fact that they were able to sway him away from long time favorite Cal was also huge. He starred at the US Army All American Bowl game, where he was named Defensive MVP. He’ll instantly be in the two deep come fall and should see some play time at nickel back.
OT ALEXANDRU CEACHIR/Santa Monica College:
The powerful OL was a one time commit to Utah, until Adrian Klemm came onboard the UCLA coaching staff. He was able to poach the JC OL from the Utes and now Cheachir is in line to possibly start at Right Tackle for the Bruins this upcoming fall. “Cheech” brings not only athleticism but a toughness that’s been lacking up front for the Bruins. He’s a big time get and will most likely start right away. The Bruins had competition for him and along with fending off Utah, Cal, Colorado, and Arkansas also threw their hats into the ring for Ceachir. A fun fact is that he was born in Moldova and raised in Russia, and recently moved to the United States in order to play football.
OT COLBY CYBURT/Mission Viejo High School:
Cyburt comes to UCLA at a big position of need: offensive tackle. Similarly to Ceachir, he’ll be ready to come in and try and compete for playing time right away. At 6’5 265, he’s somewhat light and will most likely need to gain weight, but the Bruins like him a lot. He’s a very cerebral player and has lots of upside. An added plus is that he comes from a powerhouse program that UCLA traditionally doesn’t recruit well.
OG/C CARL HULICK/Esperanza High School:
If one were to look at a picture of Hulick, you’d think he’s a 35 year old NFL veteran. The center/guard prospect just epitomizes what Mora wants to instill: tenacity and effort. He’s just plain mean on the field. He’s a warrior that you’d want to go to battle with in the trenches and absolutely personifies physicality. The one-time SMU commit was swayed to Westwood by Klemm, his former coach-to-be at SMU. Although he’s not highly ranked, he’ll make the people around him better and UCLA needs more hard-working, character guys like Hulick.
S TAYLOR LEGACE/Arcadia High School:
Legace, the one time Washington commit was lured to Westwood by new DB Coach Demetrice Martin, who was previously at Washington. Legace is a very good athlete at 6’1 195. He’s a two way player with sneaky speed and good athleticism. For the Bruins, he’ll start out at Safety and will most likely redshirt his freshman season.
DT ELLIS MCCARTHY/Monrovia High School:
This guy right here is potentially the recruit that might be responsible for the UCLA turn around. He’s an absolute animal, plain and simple. The 5-star Defensive Tackle was recruited by every major program nationally and had his pick of where he wanted to attend college. McCarthy was also said to be a Bruins fan growing up, but didn’t get enough love by the former coaching staff and that made him look at other options. He committed to Cal, but that didn’t stop the new staff from going after him hard. With the departure of Cal DL Coach Tosh Lupoi, McCarthy committed to UCLA the same day. At 6’5 300, he’ll play right away for the Bruins on the defensive line. He’s a superstar in the making and might be able to do what Sean Cody did for SC at the start of the Pete Carroll era.
*Another big factor was McCarthy’s dad. He is a huge UCLA fan and had been pushing for the Bruins hard throughout his recruitment.
QB T.J. MILLWEARD/All Saints’ Episcopal School; Fort Worth, Texas:
Millweard represents a big commit for UCLA. The Texan will add depth to a position that needs it dearly. A one time commit to Virginia Tech, he decommited in favor of ASU, largely in part to current UCLA Offensive Coordinator Noel Mazzone. When Mazzone left ASU to go to UCLA, he called Millweard and expressed an interest. The QB visited this past weekend, fell in love with the school and committed yesterday to the Bruins. At 6’5 230, he’s a big, physically imposing QB that’s in the mold of ASU QB Brock Osweiler. He’s a gunslinger and can stretch the whole field with his arm. ESPN rates him as the #6 QB in the country.
RB/WR FABIAN MOREAU/Western High School; Davie, Florida:
The speedster represents the new style of offense employed by Mazzone. It focused upon getting guys into space and utilizing the quicker, smaller players who can ‘juke’ and ‘spin’ their way to the end zone. Moreau is one of those types of players. He’s currently one of the fastest rising players in the country. At 5’11 180, he has very good speed and a second gear which allows him to run away from defenders. He also has a great academic standing, which has resulted in offers from not only UCLA, but also Northwestern and Boston College. He recently visited UCLA and ended up committing less than a week later. Moreau, who played RB in high school will be employed as a slot receiver for UCLA.
OLB KENNY ORJIOKE/Lassiter High School; Marietta, Georgia:
Orjioke is an absolute physical specimen who isn’t done growing yet. He’s a 16-year old senior with immense upside. He’s actually a Southern California native who moved to Georgia a year ago, but is anxious and excited to be coming back to UCLA. He represents a change in recruiting philosophy by Mora, which includes getting stud rangy, athletic players who are versatile. Orjioke, at 6’4 225 played safety in high school. At UCLA, he’ll be transitioned to OLB in their new 3-4 scheme. Orjioke had multiple SEC offers and will visit Arkansas this weekend. Despite that, he’s 100% solid to UCLA and has been actively recruiting players to UCLA over twitter.
RB TAIREN OWENS/Muir High School:
The diminutive Owens, much like Moreau, represents the change in the offensive philosophy. He’s a scat back with incredible quickness and agility. He was a one-time commit to Washington, but (just like Legace) switched his commitment to UCLA after Demetrice Martin led the charge for his pledge. He’ll be used similarly to how Jamal Miles at ASU is used. That entails screens, reverses, pitches, draws, punt returns, and kick returns. His speed is a welcomed sight for the Bruin squad that’s been lacking in that department.
FB CHRISTIAN POWELL/Upland High School:
Another part of the Mora recruiting philosophy besides getting speedy athletes would be his desire for physical and smash-mouth players. Powell fits the mold to a tee. The jumbo athlete is very impressive. At 6’ 250, he plays both fullback and defensive tackle for his high school team. With Mazzone’s offense providing multiple looks, a fullback is needed. Powell will become the only true fullback on the roster when he steps foot on campus. Many Pac-12 schools were after the Upland athlete, and SC even wanted him as a defensive tackle. But he turned them down in favor of playing fullback at UCLA.
CB MARCUS RIOS/Consumnes Oaks High School:
Rios has got to be the most enthusiastic and energetic Bruin commit currently. He’s taken the title of ‘ringleader’ for this recruiting class and has been instrumental in contacting UCLA commits and fostering friendships. Rios has completely bought into Mora’s vision and has been running with it. As a player, he’s a lock down cover corner with great length and athleticism. The 4-star corner was previously committed to Boise St, but the academics provided by UCLA were too much to pass up.
