EXCLUSIVE: Three-Star WR Daylen Sharper Talks Recent Offer From UCLA

UCLA's new wide receivers coach, Burl Toler III, has been making a strong effort in the recruiting department in his first offseason with the program.

The former Cal coach recently extended an offer to one of the top class of 2026 prospects from Arizona, Daylen Sharper, a three-star wide receiver from Phoenix.

I spoke to Harper earlier this week, who had very positive things to say about the new Bruins coach.

"I just think he's a super genuine guy, he's down-to-earth, he kept it real with us, and I feel like he's a very easy person to talk to," Sharper said. "He just treats me like a regular guy but is also very interested in my football skillset. But I just really like that he's very easy to talk to. And so, I feel like he's on to good things and that I could trust him."

Sharper spoke on Toler's history with Cal, saying he "grew up around" the program, even before his playing and coaching days with the Golden Bears.

"He [Toler] felt like he needed to grow a little bit more and he wanted to go on to bigger things," Sharper said. "So, he moved to UCLA just to kind of ramp up everything for him and, hopefully, get UCLA receivers ready for next year."

Through their conversation, Sharper was able to get to know Toler on a personal level.

"He just said he really likes me as a player and as a person," Sharper said. "But yeah, we were just talking, getting to know each other, getting to know about him and his family and what's been going on in his life, so yeah, it was a good talk."

Sharper, who has received a number of Division I offers from programs such as Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, USC, Oregon, Wisconsin, UNLV and Washington State, acknowledged that UCLA is in a "rebuild" stage.

The prospect said "it doesn't matter at all" to him whether a program is more established or in rebuilding mode.

"I mean, I would like to rebuild it with them," Sharper said. "If they want me as one of their key pieces, I would definitely love to rebuild a team and do whatever I need to do to be a part of a successful program."

Sharper, son of former NFL player Darren Sharper, is both a football and basketball star at Brophy College Prep in Phoenix. With his senior year looming, Daylen still has much he hopes to accomplish before his high school career concludes.

"I'm looking forward to, first of all, finishing off this high school basketball season off well," Daylen said. "We've been playing pretty good recently. And then, next year, I'm just looking to do anything I have to, whether it's go for 1,000-plus yards or do something on special teams, just anything I need to do to win a state championship my last year of high school football."

Daylen thinks he's going to decide on his future school "sometime next year, right before football season."

"I look at schools for really just -- are good at developing players and a school that will want the best success for me and the team," he said. "I also like going to schools that, like I said, kind of tell me straight up what my role would be, and hopefully, I can be a big part of their team."

Daylen was just recently in Los Angeles for a visit to USC. He plans to visit UCLA in the future.

"I definitely want to visit. I'm definitely going to take an official visit there, maybe even an unofficial."

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