UCLA Football Hosting More Top Recruits For Official Visits, May 13-15
The Bruins are set to host multiple defensive players, as well as a highly-ranked running back, from the class of 2023 over the weekend.
UCLA football is inviting defensive lineman Grant Buckey, linebacker Cade Uluave, athlete Jamison Patton, linebacker Jerry Mixon and running back Roderick Robinson II to Westwood for its second weekend of official visits post-spring camp, looking to further build out its upcoming recruiting class. On Saturday, the blue and gold received their first defensive commitment for the class of 2023 from safety Ty Lee, and a third commitment could be right around the corner.
The quartet of defensive players all have offers from the Bruins, while Robinson recently put UCLA in his final six.
Defensive line coach Chad Kauha'aha'a seems to be in charge of Buckey’s recruitment, while inside linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr. is spearheading the effort for Uluave and Mixon. Patton, on the other hand, was offered as a safety from the UCLA coaching staff and would likely be in contact with defensive backs coach Brian Norwood, even though he is also a dual-threat quarterback for his high school.
Running backs coach DeShaun Foster has been leading the recruitment of Robinson and will try and sway the tailback to a future at the Rose Bowl.
Here is where UCLA currently stands with the recruits visiting Westwood from May 13-15.
DL Grant Buckey
The Bruins have been involved with Buckey for a while, but face steep competition from Stanford and USC to secure the commitment of the 6-foot-5 pass rusher out of Liberty (CA).
Jeff Buckey — Grant’s father — played college football with the Cardinal before his four-year NFL career.
After Buckey visits UCLA through the weekend, he has one more visit on his schedule, which is slated for June 16 to crosstown rival USC.
According to the 247Sports Composite, the Bakersfield native is a three-star prospect, coming in as the No. 58 defensive lineman in the class of 2023 and California’s No. 31 player overall.
LB Cade Uluave
Uluave’s only FBS offer from inside his home state is from Utah State, making the Mountain Ridge (UT) product's recruitment focused mostly on out-of-state options.
Cal and UCLA are the two schools that the 6-foot-1 linebacker could be deciding between, but there is still time for other teams and new offers to emerge.
Uluave is the No. 72 linebacker in the nation and a three-star prospect, according to 247Sports, while also being the No. 12 player in Utah.
Depth on the front seven is always important to cover and UCLA is currently without a commit there for 2023, so Uluave could be the first to fill a spot and become Norton’s first commitment in Westwood.
ATH Jamison Patton
UCLA is a bit of a dark horse in Patton's recruitment coming in as the biggest contender from outside his home state of Iowa. Offering the athlete on March 10, the Bruins are primarily competing with Iowa and Iowa State to try and poach the multi-faceted player out of Ankeny High School (IA).
According to the 247Sports Composite, Patton is a three-star recruit and the No. 37 athlete in the class of 2023 while being ranked towards the top of Iowa’s best prospects as the No. 4 player in the state. Patton also plays quarterback and receiver, as well as basketball and baseball.
Norwood secured the commitment of Lee over the weekend and Patton could become the second secondary player to commit to UCLA, should he decide to come out west.
Patton is visiting Iowa on June 24, and he has been recruited as both a wide receiver and safety by his home state school.
LB Jerry Mixon
The Bruins were late in getting Mixon an offer, finally doing so back on April 8 after he took an unofficial to Westwood. The highly-productive linebacker and running back from Sacred Heart Cathedral (CA) has already visited Cal, Washington, USC and Arizona, and now he'll get a second look at UCLA as he nears his commitment.
The cousin of Cincinnati Bengals running back Joe Mixon also has offers from Arizona State, Nevada, San Diego State, San Jose State, UNLV and Washington State.
247Sports has Mixon pegged as a three-star recruit, slotting him in as the No. 49 linebacker in the country and the No. 61 player in California. Mixon was one of the two West Catholic Athletic League Utility Players of the Year, though, also making First Team All-League and earning All-State honors.
The 6-foot-2, 200-pound prospect, in terms of production, rankings and general hype, is one of the most highly-sought after recruits to come out of the San Francisco area in years. Mixon earned invites to the 2022 Polynesian Bowl National Combine and Showcase, as well as the National Preps National Combine at the NFL Pro Bowl.
RB Roderick Robinson II
On Saturday, Robinson narrowed his list of schools down to six and UCLA made the cut. The Bruins will now host the 6-foot-1 recruit over the weekend looking to leave an impression ahead of his commitment date.
Robison is a three-star prospect, according to the 247Sports Composite. On the service, the Lincoln High School (CA) tailback is the No. 28 running back in the nation and the No. 25 player in California.
Pac-12 rivals Arizona, Oregon and USC were included as finalists and are considered to be in the hunt for his commitment just as much as UCLA is. Auburn and Tennessee are also in Robinson’s group of six semifinalists and some of those schools will likely host him for an official visit as well before his decision is made.
After Zach Charbonnet leaves UCLA following the 2022-23 season, Deshun Murrell, Keegan Jones, Christian Grubb and Tomarion Harden will be the only running backs on the roster and coach Chip Kelly could be welcome for a positional battle in years to follow.
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