Class of 2023 Running Back Isaiah Carlson Commits to UCLA Football
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The Bruins have bolstered their future backfield.
Class of 2023 running back Isaiah Carlson has verbally committed to UCLA football, he announced Sunday on Twitter. The 6-foot-1, 205-pound ball-carrier out of Ferndale High School (WA) took an official visit to Westwood over the weekend, and he left a Bruin.
Carlson was also sitting on offers from Arizona, Cal, Montana, Nevada, Oregon State and Washington State.
Carlson did not enter the weekend with an offer from UCLA, but he had been targeted by the staff as early as Sept. 2021 and already stopped by campus for an unofficial visit during spring camp in April. The prospect also made stops at USC, Arizona, Cal, Oregon State and Washington.
A knee injury slowed Carlson down his junior year, robbing his recruitment of a little momentum. He returned with a vengeance as a senior, though, earning a spot on the All-WESCO First Team as both a running back and linebacker.
Carlson is a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports, Rivals, ESPN and On3. In the 247Sports Composite rankings, Carlson comes in as the No. 7 prospect in Washington, the No. 36 athlete in the country and the No. 525 overall recruit in his class.
Carlson was the No. 1 uncommitted prospect in Washington.
UCLA’s 2023 recruiting class moved up from No. 60 to No. 54 with Carlson’s commitment, which came less than a week after three-star defensive lineman Grant Buckey bumped them out of the No. 62 spot.
Carlson is the 12th high school player to commit to the Bruins for the upcoming season, and he is the only running back in that group. UCLA picked up a commitment from four-star running back Roderick Robinson II in May, but he decommitted and changed his destination to Georgia earlier this fall.
With Zach Charbonnet widely expected to leave for the NFL Draft this offseason, the Bruins’ backfield is in for some major changes heading into 2023. Keegan Jones, Deshun Murrell, TJ Harden, Christian Grubb and Colson Yankoff all have the eligibility to return, but none of them have experience as a lead back at the college level.
Running backs coach Deshun Murrell has had at least one NFL-caliber player in his position group for five years running, and it remains to be seen who will fill that role moving forward.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF ISAIAH CARLSON/TWITTER
