UCLA Football Makes Top 13 For Class of 2023 Cornerback Rodrick Pleasant
While the Bruins aren't expected to make much noise on National Signing Day on Wednesday, they continue to make moves looking towards next year's cycle.
UCLA football made the cut when class of 2023 cornerback Rodrick Pleasant trimmed his list of contenders down to 13, he announced on Twitter on Tuesday. Pleasant visited Westwood and picked up his offer from the Bruins back in July, and the blue and gold have remained in good enough standing to move on to the next phase of the defensive back's recruitment.
Boston College, Penn State, USC, Cal, Oregon, Georgia, Texas, Michigan, Utah, Arizona, Ole Miss and Colorado are the other schools that Pleasant named finalists. Arizona State, Boise State, BYU, Pit, Purdue, San Diego State, Tennessee, TCU, Vanderbilt and Washington previously extended Pleasant offers, but they did not make his more exclusive list of semifinalists.
Pleasant has earned a four-star rating from both the 247Sports Composite and ESPN, but is listed as a three-star recruit on Rivals. 247Sports has Pleasant ranked as the No. 62 player and No. 9 cornerback in his class, also coming in at No. 7 among California prospects, with ESPN slotting him in at No. 165 in the country, No. 22 at his position and No. 15 in the state.
Oregon and USC hosted Pleasant for visits in January, and his visit with the Trojans overlapped with the big junior day the Bruins hosted at the Wasserman Football Center for nearly a dozen other 2023 prospects this past weekend.
While Pleasant is projected to play cornerback at the college level, he also lined up as a nickel back, kick returner, running back and receiver for Junipero Serra (CA) as a junior this past season. Pleasant helped lead the Cavaliers to an 11-4 record and playoff victory, playing his home games just 20 miles south of Westwood.
In addition to lining up all over the gridiron, Pleasant also doubles as a track star. The 5-foot-11, 180-pound Gardena native runs a 10.32-second 100-meter dash, faster than the 10.44-second time UCLA running back Kazmeir Allen posted when he won the California State Championships in 2018.
Pleasant boasts a mature frame and high-level hard-hitting abilities, especially taking into account just how speedy has has proven to be on and off the field.
The Bruins are going through a lot of turnover at cornerback this offseason, with Obi Eboh and Cameron Johnson graduating, Jay Shaw and Shamar Martin entering the transfer portal and Wyoming's Azizi Hearn signing on in their place. Hearn and Mo Osling III will be out of eligibility by the time 2023 rolls around, so Devin Kirkwood is the only real contributor from this past season who projects to be part of the cornerback rotation in two years' time.
The Bruins do not currently have a commit for their 2023 recruiting class, since cornerback Maliki Crawford recently decommitted. Between Pleasant, Daylen Austin, Aaron Williams and Caleb Presley, though, UCLA has several options it is pursuing to build its future secondary, with all six of the staff's offers at the position going to four-star prospects.
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