CB Caleb Presley Puts UCLA Football in Top 6, Announces Commitment Date

One of the top defensive backs in the West is also considering Washington, Oregon, Alabama and others.

A week out from the end of his recruitment, one of the nation's best corners has unveiled his top remaining contenders.

UCLA football was one of six finalists announced by class of 2023 cornerback Caleb Presley on Tuesday, with Alabama, Michigan State, Oregon, Texas A&M and Washington standing as the other leaders of the pack. As part of his top six announcement, Presley also said that he will be making his verbal commitment on July 5 at 5 p.m. on CBS Sports HQ.

Presley had previously narrowed his field down to 12 back in April, but Notre Dame, LSU, Michigan, Stanford, USC and Utah did not make the cut this time around. Arizona, Arizona State, Auburn, Boise State, Cal, Colorado, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Georgia Tech, Nevada, Oklahoma, Oregon State, Penn State, UNLV, Virginia Tech and Washington State also had offers out to Presley.

The Rainier Beach (WA) product has made multiple stops by Washington and Oregon – also taking unofficials and camping at Texas A&M and Alabama – and he shared photos from his recent trip to UCLA on Monday. Presley's first and only official visit was to Michigan State earlier in June, and it remains to be seen if he will cram in more before his impending commitment date.

Presley is heralded as a four-star prospect by 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN and On3. In the 247Sports Composite, Presley is the No. 1 player in Washington, the No. 9 cornerback in the country and the No. 78 overall recruit in the entire class.

Earning invites to several 7-on-7 camps and All-American showcases, Presley has emerged on a national level much like one of his outgoing Rainier Beach teammates – five-star Oregon-signed offensive tackle Josh Conerly Jr., who UCLA was pushing hard for last year.

The Ducks are viewed as the heavy favorite to reel in Presley as well, according to the experts at 247Sports and On3's Recruiting Prediction Machine.

UCLA has offers out to four uncommitted cornerbacks in the class of 2023, and Presley is the highest-rated among them. Roderick Pleasant has the Bruins in his top 13, while Maliki Crawford has them in his top-five.

That puts coach Chip Kelly and defensive backs coach Brian Norwood in the running for three four-star corners in the current cycle, and it comes at a time where the team needs to add pieces at the position.

Jay Shaw, Obi Eboh and Cameron Johnson all graduated or transferred out of the program earlier this offseason. While Devin Kirkwood and John Humphrey are back, 2023 could mark their final year in Westwood.

After only offering five corners in the class of 2022 and not earning a commitment from a single one of them, 2023 will be an important class for Norwood to bring in the next wave of top players at the position.

UCLA will find out if Presley can lead that group next Tuesday, or if they will have to go against him in future Pac-12 bouts.

On the whole, the Bruins have five class of 2023 commits, none of whom are defensive backs. UCLA's class currently ranks No. 59 in the country and No. 7 in the conference.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF CALEB PRESLEY/TWITTER