UCLA Football Offers Louisville Commit, Local QB Pierce Clarkson
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The Bruins have joined the race for a highly-ranked signal-caller previously considered to be off the market.
Class of 2023 quarterback Pierce Clarkson, who announced his verbal commitment to Louisville on Jan. 28, received his first offer since April on Monday, courtesy of coach Chip Kelly and UCLA football. The 6-foot dual-threat passer out of St. John Bosco (CA) was sitting on 17 Power Five offers when he picked the Cardinals, and he has since become a keystone member of their upcoming recruiting class.
Pierce initially earned offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Colorado, Florida Atlantic, Florida International, Indiana, Kentucky, Michigan State, NC State, Ole Miss, Oregon, Oregon State, Pittsburgh, Purdue, San Jose State, UCF, UNLV, Virginia Tech, Wake Forest and Washington State, and he also picked one up from Texas A&M when they made a brief push for him in the spring.
Pierce has stuck to his initial decision thus far, however, as he helped lure several high school teammates with him to Louisville over the past few months. More than a quarter of the Cardinals' 2023 class comes from St. John Bosco, including four-star wide receiver DeAndre Moore Jr., four-star cornerback Aaron Williams and three-star athlete Jahlil McClain.
With the Bruins' staff sending out a Power Five-low 59 offers, though, it would suggest that they are taking their late pursuit of Pierce relatively seriously. There are also already four St. John Bosco products on the roster in Westwood – safety Stephan Blaylock, linebacker JonJon Vaughns, receiver Logan Loya and linebacker Jake Newman – and two more committed to their class of 2023 – four-star safety RJ Jones and three-star linebacker Ty Lee.
UCLA is in a similar position as Louisville heading into the 2023 season when it comes to the quarterback position, with both teams currently starring redshirt senior quarterbacks in their final year of eligibility – Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Malik Cunningham.
In Westwood, Clarkson would be joining a quarterback room headlined by current backup Ethan Garbers and top-ranked freshman Justyn Martin. Louisville has far less defined options post-Cunningham, with either junior college transfer Brock Domann and seasoned backup Evan Conley set to take over at the moment.
Clarkson is a consensus four-star recruit according to 247Sports, ESPN, On3 and Rivals. According to the 247Sports Composite, the Bellflower, California, native is ranked No. 215 nationally, the No. 13 quarterback overall and the No. 14 prospect in California.
As part of a two-quarterback system in 2021, Clarkson threw for 1,416 yards and 16 touchdowns on 60.2% completion while rushing for 254 yards and four touchdowns.
Entering his senior year as the undisputed QB1, Clarkson has helped lead St. John Bosco to a 7-1 overall record to open the 2022 season. Clarkson has tossed 1,104 yards, 15 passing touchdowns and five interceptions and has picked up 219 yards and two touchdowns, but missed the last game-and-a-half with an injury.
Clarkson received invitations to the 2023 All-American Bowl and the 2023 Polynesian Bowl thanks to his junior and senior year success. He was also named an Elite 11 finalist, something Thompson-Robinson earned back in his own high school days.
Clarkson is the son of a private quarterbacks coach and the founder of Steve Clarkson Dream Maker, one of the premier quarterback retreats in the country. Multiple Bruin quarterbacks have worked with the elder Clarkson, such as Wilton Speight and Brett Hundley, the former of whom played for Kelly in 2018.
Three-star quarterback Luke Duncan is the only player at his position in the 2023 class committed to UCLA, while in the class of 2024, the Bruins have four offers out to other signal-callers. 247Sports' Greg Biggins reported that Clarkson visited Westwood last year, and that quarterbacks coach Ryan Gunderson was particularly high on him.
Louisville is sitting at 3-3 midway through the 2022 season, at serious risk of posting their third consecutive losing season under coach Scott Satterfield. If the Cardinals were to make a change on the staff this offseason, Kelly & co. could be well-positioned to swoop in and sway Clarkson back to the West Coast.
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PHOTO COURTESY OF PIERCE CLARKSON/TWITTER
