Local CB Marcelles Williams Includes UCLA Football in Top 12

The Bruins remain in the running for one of Southern California's top defensive prospects.

Class of 2024 cornerback Marcelles Williams revealed his 12 semifinalists Sunday afternoon on Twitter, and UCLA football was one of his top remaining teams. The St. John Bosco (CA) defensive back is also still considering USC, Ohio State, Louisville, Oklahoma, Tennessee, Colorado, LSU, Texas A&M, Miami (FL) and Washington.

Williams had additional offers from Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Auburn, Boston College, Florida Atlantic, Florida State, Kansas, Liberty, Michigan, Michigan State, Nevada, Notre Dame, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oregon State, Souther, Stanford, Texas, Texas, UNLV and Utah.

🙏🏾 @Hayesfawcett3 pic.twitter.com/lyZEdyXVbz
— Marcelles Williams (@cellesthegreat1) March 12, 2023

Williams has visits booked to LSU, Oklahoma, Ohio State, Washington, Tennessee, Georgia and Alabama over the next month, and SB Live is reporting that he will also visit Colorado and Miami at some other point this spring.

UCLA hosted Williams for an unofficial visit in spring 2022, and he goes to a high school that has a knack for producing Bruins. Safety Stephan Blaylock, nickelback Jaxon Harley, linebacker JonJon Vaughns, wide receiver Logan Loya, linebacker Jake Newman and linebacker Jalen Woods all went to St. John Bosco.

The 6-foot, 175-pound defensive back is a two-year starter for the Braves, racking up 42 tackles and seven pass deflections in 2021 en route to All-Trinity League First Team and MaxPreps' Sophomore All-American First Team honors. His junior year, Williams added 46 tackles, two interceptions and four pass deflections before being selected as a MaxPreps Junior All-American and a Los Angeles Rams High School All Star.

Williams is a four-star recruit, according to 247Sports, Rivals, On3 and ESPN. In the 247Sports Composite, Williams is ranked as the No. 7 cornerback in the country, the No. 9 prospect in California and the No. 67 overall recruit in his class.

Among cornerbacks in California, Williams ranks No. 1.

Since UCLA offered Williams back on May 12, 2022, the program has made several changes to its defensive staff. Former Sacramento State assistant Kodi Whitfield came in as the Bruins' cornerbacks coach on Jan. 24, defensive backs coach Brian Norwood moved to safeties coach and D'Anton Lynn replaced Bill McGovern as defensive coordinator.

The new-look staff still appears to be giving Williams a decent amount of attention on the recruiting trail, given that the Bruins have made it this far in his process.

UCLA has two commits for its 2024 recruiting class – four-star Mater Dei (CA) defensive back Khristian Dunbar-Hawkins and three-star Eastlake (CA) offensive tackle. The Bruins' two-man class ranks No. 40 in the country and No. 4 in the Pac-12.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF MARCELLES WILLIAMS/TWITTER