UCLA Left Out of Top Schools For 2026 Running Back

The UCLA Bruins have been looking to improve their 2026 recruiting class, even though they have landed many different commitments in the class that could be viewed as a game changer. The Bruins have targeted some positions more heavily than others like the interior offensive line positions where two of their top three commits rankings wise reside.

The Bruins have landed the commitment of Johnnie Jones, who remains to be one of the nation's best 2026 interior offensive linemen in the class. He is from the state of Florida, and bring a lot of positives to his tape.

The Bruins landed the talented prospect over many different programs, including the Colorado Buffaloes, which in my opinion speaks for itself with how important this win really was. It is always tough to out recruit a guy like Deion Sanders and they did just that, but they defeated some more quality programs for the next guy.

That next guy is Micah Smith. Smith committed to the Bruins from the state of Florida as well, with many different key traits that fans should be happy about. He was a prize recruit for many different programs, including multiple schools in the SEC.

One of the schools being the Alabama Crimson Tide. Sure, they don't have Nick Saban at head coach anymore, but they still have a quality staff that is bringing the best of the best to the program every class. They also defeated Josh Heupel for the talented prospect, as Heupel is taking his Tennessee Volunteers in the right direction.

Nov 30, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins helmets during pregame warmups before playing the Fresno State Bulldogs at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The Bruins win many guys, but sometimes they lose guys at the positions they need most, like the running back position. The Bruins have yet to land a commitment at the running back position, and will need to do so before the class runs up. The Bruins had an uncommitted target on their board, but received some bad news last month. That bad news coming as the talented prospect left them out of his top 6.

The Bruins didn't make the list, as the six programs to make the cut include the Tennessee Volunteers, the Florida State Seminoles, the Southern Mississippi Golden Eagles, the Penn State Nittany Lions, the Liberty Flames, and the Georgia State Panthers. The prospect who released this list is Sharroid Whitehead, who has become one of the better running backs in the state of Mississippi.

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