Skip to main content

The Bruins' run on corners keeps rolling. 

UCLA football sent out a scholarship offer to class of 2023 cornerback Aaron Williams on Wednesday. This comes not long after the Bruins offered Cole Martin and Caleb Presley on back-to-back days over the weekend, both of whom are also top-ranked cornerbacks in next year's cycle.

While Martin and Presley are both out of state prospects, Williams goes to Centennial High School (CA) in Corona. UCLA's lone 2023 commit is another in-state cornerback, Maliki Crawford from Pacifica High School (CA).

Of the 12 offers coach Chip Kelly and his staff have sent out to class of 2023 recruits, five have been to cornerbacks.

On September 2, Williams tweeted a graphic sent to him from UCLA saying he was officially being recruited by the school. Less than two weeks later, he had secured an offer, so it seems like a quick turnaround on the surface. 

Williams also has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, LSU, Oregon, Penn State, Notre Dame, USC, Arkansas, Boston College and a handful of other Power Five programs.

Two games into his junior season at Centennial, Williams has seven tackles and two passes defended. In his shortened, three-game sophomore season coming off a torn ACL, Williams posted eight tackles and 1.0 tackle for loss. He entered that campaign as a MaxPreps Preseason Second Team Sophomore All-American.

Senior cornerback Jay Shaw and redshirt sophomore defensive back Kaleb Tuliau went to Centennial as well.

Williams is rated as a four-star prospect by the 247Sports Composite, Rivals and ESPN. The 247Sports Composite gives him the highest ranking among 2023 cornerbacks at No. 12, while ESPN and Rivals have him at No. 17 and No. 18 for his position, respectively.

The 247Sports Composite and Rivals both have Williams as a top 10 player in California, but ESPN has him on the outside looking in at No. 13. Rivals pegs Williams as the No. 1 corner in the state, while the 247Sports Composite has him No. 2 behind fellow UCLA offerree Rodrick Pleasant and ESPN has him No. 2 behind Daylen Austin.

Between Williams, Martin, Presley, Crawford and Pleasant, UCLA has offered five of the top eight cornerbacks in the West and already has a commitment from one.

The Bruins have a history recruiting at the schools of the remaining three top corners in the region – Daylen Austin of Long Beach Poly (CA), Jshawn Frausto-Ramos of St. John Bosco (CA) and Justyn Rhett of Bishop Gorman (NV).

UCLA does not have a single true cornerback commit in its 2022 recruiting class, although two-way athlete Clint Stephens can play receiver, safety or corner in the future.

Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins

Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA football stories: UCLA Football on Sports Illustrated