(Photo Courtesy of Jaxon Harley/Twitter)
Local Safety Jaxon Harley Makes Late Commitment to UCLA Football
While most eyes have turned to next year's recruiting cycle, the Bruins have picked up a late addition to their 2022 class.
St. John Bosco (CA) safety Jaxon Harley committed to UCLA football on Tuesday, he announced on Twitter. The 5-foot-9, 165-pound defensive back is the teammate and classmate of another incoming Bruin, linebacker Jalen Woods.
Harley had offers from Boston College and Kansas before his junior season, and he got another from Nevada in the offseason leading up to his senior campaign. Harley never publicly announced a UCLA offer, and one was not recorded in either the 247Sports or Rivals databases, meaning he could be coming to Westwood as a preferred walk-on.
247Sports and Rivals both have Harley penciled in as a three-star recruit. The 247Sports Composite has Harley ranked as the No. 146 recruit in California, the No. 133 safety in the country and the No. 1,736 overall prospect in the class of 2022.
Across three seasons at St. John Bosco, Harley played in a total of 22 contests. Harley racked up career highs with 35 tackles, three passes defended, 1.0 TFL and one interception in 10 games as a senior, and he finished his high school career with 77 tackles.
Three current Bruins played with Harley and Woods back in 2019 – linebacker JonJon Vaughns, receiver Logan Loya and safety Jake Newman.
Harley's pledge marks the first commitment the Bruins have picked up from a non-transfer or special teamer since safety Kamari Ramsey flipped from Stanford just ahead of the early signing period in December. UCLA did not sign a single player on February's traditional National Signing Day, and their class of 2022 remained at an undersized 11 members.
None of those other incoming freshmen are shorter than 6 feet, let alone 5-foot-10. The Bruins did have one defensive player come in at the same 5-foot-9 mark as Harley last season, though, in Martell Irby. However, the turnover on UCLA's defensive staff removed the striker position Irby played, leaving it undetermined where he – or Harley, for that matter – will line up in the fall.
But what Harley lacks in size, he more than makes up for in speed.
Harley was part of St. John Bosco track & field's state record-breaking 4 x 200m relay squad, helping to post a time of 1:24.15 on Friday. The record, which was previously held by Long Beach Poly, had stood for 23 years.
Harley was one of three senior football players on that relay team, and they also came in second in the 4 x 100m later that meet.
At the first meet of the season, which featured St. John Bosco competing against Mater Dei, Orange Lutheran and Santa Margarita Catholic, Harley took home first-place in the 100-meter dash. Harley set a new personal best that day with a 10.98-second time.
Early enrollee quarterback Justyn Martin – who was the first current Bruin to celebrate Harley's commitment on Twitter – recently posted the results from a speed test at UCLA's Monday morning practice to Instagram. Slot cornerback Alex Johnson was the fastest defensive back, reaching a top speed of 19.85 miles per hour, while safety William Nimmo Jr. and cornerback Devin Kirkwood also surpassed 19 miles per hour.
Harley was moving at an average of 20.37 miles per hour during his PR 100-meter dash in February, meaning he will be in the running to be the Bruins' fastest player the second he steps foot on campus.
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