Two-Way Utah Recruit Cade Uluave Earns UCLA Football Scholarship Offer

The Bruins have reached the next step in their recruitment of one of the more intriguing two-way prospects in the West.

UCLA football sent a scholarship offer to class of 2023 linebacker and running back Cade Uluave on Wednesday, he announced on Twitter. The Mountain Ridge (UT) product has had high-level success on both sides of the ball, but considering his offer came from inside linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr., the Bruins appear to be looking at him as a defensive player.

Uluave also has offers from Boise State, Cal, Duke, Nevada, San Diego State, Utah State, Washington State, Weber State and Wisconsin. Notre Dame and Stanford are recruiting Uluave as well.

After an amazing call with THE Coach Ken Norton Jr. I am beyond excited and incredibly blessed to have received an offer from UCLA!! #GoBruins🐻 @UCLAFootball @UCLAFBRecruit @Coach_DanFields @mtridge_FB @CoachMeifu @JackPay17 @Coach_Matthews_ @adamgorney @GregBiggins @bangulo pic.twitter.com/JB0R4pHBsd
— Cade Uluave (@cadeuluave) April 20, 2022

The first visit Uluave took was a camp at Weber State in June 2021, a few weeks after he earned an invite to last year's Polynesian Bowl. After getting a gameday visit to Stanford last fall, he has made stops at Cal, Utah State and Boise State over the past six weeks.

Uluave racked up 54 tackles, 4.0 tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries as a junior at Mountain Ridge this past fall. Adding in the nine games from his sophomore campaign, Uluave has 76 tackles, 7.0 tackles for loss and 2.0 sacks in his varsity career.

On the other side of the ball, Uluave stood out as his team's lead back with 806 yards and 15 touchdowns on 146 carries. Uluave has 1,293 yards and 21 touchdowns on 241 attempts in his high school career, while also adding 104 yards and a touchdown on 10 receptions.

As it turns out, Uluave can toss the ball as well, attempting one pass in 2021 and converting it into a 41-yard touchdown.

Uluave actually contributes in all three phases, as in addition to his success as a ball-carrier and linebacker, he also attempted 25 punts last season. Uluave also returned three kickoffs for a total of 62 yards.

The concept of a two-way star is far from foreign to UCLA fans, with linebacker-running back hybrid Myles Jack putting up All-Pac-12 worthy numbers back when he was suiting up for the Bruins in the early 2010s. Uluave is not the nationally-ranked prospect Jack was, but he does have passing and punting on the newly-minted Pittsburgh Steeler.

247Sports and Rivals both have Uluave pegged as a three-star recruit. Uluave is the No. 12 prospect in Utah and No. 71 linebacker in the nation, according to 247Sports.

Uluave is 6-foot-1 and 230 pounds with a 4.75-second 40-yard dash. The Herriman, Utah, native has been named to the First Team All-Region in each of the past two campaigns.

UCLA has more long-term stability at linebacker than nearly anywhere else on its defense, with Kain Medrano, Darius Muasau, JonJon Vaughns, Damian Sellers, Jeremiah Trojan and Jalen Woods all projected to stick around through 2023. Beyond that season, there isn't much locked in, but the Bruins should be able to ease any prospective linebacker recruits into the fold slowly.

Should Uluave get a shot at a running back role as well, Zach Charbonnet will be leaving and a major void is set to open up. A full-time linebacker likely wouldn't be able to become an every-down back, but it could be interesting to see how UCLA might adjust its rotation post-Charbonnet if an intriguing prospect like Uluave were to commit.

The Bruins have one class of 2023 commit as of Thursday, with receiver Grant Gray making his decision Sunday night. Uluave is one of five linebackers in his class with an offer from UCLA.

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