An Updated Timeline of UCLA Football’s Concerning 2023 Recruiting
Heading into December 2021, only one class of 2023 recruit with an offer from the Bruins had made a verbal commitment.
That one recruit was cornerback Maliki Crawford, who had been pledged to UCLA football since July. It was a slow, albeit efficient start for coach Chip Kelly on the recruiting trail, but one that would ultimately go downhill fast.
It started with five-star receiver Zachariah Brach committing to USC on Dec. 24. While a major gain by a crosstown rival can't feel great, it wasn't like the Bruins had much of a shot reeling in the No. 1 wideout in the nation.
Cornerback Cole Martin committed to Oregon on Jan. 1, a more substantial blow considering UCLA was one of the finalists the four-star had announced just a few weeks earlier. The Bruins already had a four-star corner in house in Crawford, though, so nothing catastrophic there.
Three weeks later, Crawford decommitted from UCLA.
Three-star running back Tybo Rogers was the next offerree to go elsewhere, as he committed to Washington on March 7. Five-star quarterback Nicholaus Iamaleava committed to Tennessee on March 21, but the Bruins were well out of the running for him at that point.
When four-star cornerback Aaron Williams committed to Louisville on April 14, that made it five targets off the board, none of which were headed to Westwood.
Five recruits is not a big chunk, all things considered, for most FBS programs. The average Pac-12 school has offers out to over 200 prospects, which is on the low end among the Power Five conferences.
UCLA, meanwhile, has only offered 54 class of 2023 recruits.
So while five prospects would represent roughly 2% of targets for most schools, that was already over 9% of the Bruins' recruiting board wiped out.
The six weeks between Easter and Memorial Day helped UCLA successfully play some serious catch up on the recruiting trail, starting with three-star receiver Grant Gray's commitment on April 17. After three-star safety Christian Pierce committed to USC on May 1 and four-star receiver Jurrion Dickey committed to Oregon on May 2, the Bruins nabbed safety Ty Lee on May 8.
Losing local four-star cornerback Daylen Austin to LSU on May 16 stung, but that pain was eased 10 days later. Four-star running back Jayden Limar committing to Notre Dame on May 26 didn't mean much considering four-star running back Roderick Robinson II committed to UCLA earlier that same day, and four-star linebacker Tre Edwards committed to the Bruins on May 27.
Eight of UCLA's targets committed between April 17 and May 27, and four of them decided to join the Bruins. The staff's hit rate had gone from zero to 31% in a matter of weeks, suddenly giving some juice to the 2023 recruiting class.
Then the summer started, and the brief high got flipped into an absolute chasm.
Four-star offensive tackle Elijah Paige committed to Notre Dame on June 10, three-star linebacker Cade Uluave committed to Cal on June 11 and three-star athlete Jamison Patton comitted to Iowa State on June 13. Later that day, three-star tight end Spencer Shannon committed to Texas, followed by three-star defensive lineman Grant Buckey committing to USC on June 15.
Three-star Hayden Moore committed to Nebraska on June 21, and three-star offensive lineman Luke Baklenko committed to Stanford an hour later. Even though three-star quarterback Luke Duncan committed to UCLA later that night, that hit came on the heels of seven straight whiffs.
That was nothing compared to what went down in the ensuing month, though, which included 12 consecutive misses.
Three-star athlete Vincent Holmes committed to Washington on June 25, four-star quarterback Jaden Rashada committed to Miami (FL) on June 26, three-star offensive tackle Elisha Jackett committed to Washington on June 26 and three-star offensive tackle Heath Ozaeta committed to Oklahoma on June 27.
July didn't start off any better, with three-star cornerback Warren Smith committing to Washington State and three-star interior offensive lineman Simione Pale committing to Stanford on the first day of the month. Four-star receiver Rico Flores Jr. committed to Notre Dame on July 3, four-star cornerback Caleb Presley committed to Oregon on July 5, five-star quarterback Dante Moore committed to Oregon on July 8, four-star athlete Collins Acheampong committed to Michigan on July 8, four-star edge rusher Jayden Wayne committed to Miami (FL) on July 9 and four-star tight end Walker Lyons committed to Stanford on July 23.
Three-star defensive lineman AJ Fuimaomo committed to UCLA on July 26 to end the streak of failures, only for three-star defensive lineman Cameron Brandt to commit to Stanford on July 30.
So with 34 of their targets having made verbal commitments, only six are pledged to the Bruins. That leaves 20 prospects on the board, and a good chunk are already out of reach.
Five-star offensive tackle Samson Okunlola did not include UCLA in his top nine, and five-star edge rusher Matayo Uiagalelei and five-star tight end Duce Robinson are not expected to be considering the Bruins at this time.
That doesn't mean UCLA's recruiting cycle is over, since there are still a few candidates the staff is pursuing.
Four-star cornerback Roderick Pleasant has the Bruins in his top six, while three-star offensive tackle Raymond Pulido put them in his top five back in June. Even Crawford is back in the picture, with the four-star corner including UCLA in his top three earlier in July.
The linebacker group alone could add four-star Blake Nichelson or three-star Jerry Mixon, who both pegged the Bruins pegged as finalists earlier this summer.
But even if UCLA was able to secure commitments from all five of those targets, that would still only leave them with 11 players in their 2023 recruiting class. After only signing 11 recruits in 2022, that would be back-to-back very small classes for Kelly.
The 2023 roster is set to be gutted by graduating players, with quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, running back Zach Charbonnet, receiver Jake Bobo, receiver Kazmeir Allen, tight end Michael Ezeike, offensive lineman Jon Gaines II, center Sam Marrazzo, offensive guard Atonio Mafi, offensive tackle Tyler Manoa, defensive lineman Martin Andrus Jr., edge rusher Bo Calvert, linebacker Ale Kaho, linebacker Shea Piits, cornerback Azizi Hearn, safety Stephan Blaylock and defensive back Mo Osling III all set to leave next winter. Add in the ones who declare early for the NFL draft and the ones who leave via the transfer portal, and a rebuild appears to be just over the horizon.
Instead of stockpiling young players, Kelly seems content to go year-by-year, patching up holes with transfers in favor of building out a consistent, growing program.
The recruits who have committed to the Bruins are fine pieces, especially Robinson and Edwards, but boasting the No. 68 class in the nation and No. 10 class in the Pac-12 is inexcusable for Kelly as he enters year five on the job.
It almost feels like it's too late for him to turn things around on this front, with only about 15 real targets left for him and his staff to go after. Kelly will have to commit to changing his philosophy for the 2024 class, and hope that he can win enough in 2022 and 2023 to keep his job that long.
If he isn't able to do so, whoever comes in after him will be working with a near-empty cupboard and one of the thinnest rosters of scholarship players in the country.
Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube
Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA football stories: UCLA Football on Sports Illustrated
