UCLA Has New West Coast Recruiting Threat in Sacramento State

UCLA will now have to compete with another threat to their home recruiting grounds.

Sep 16, 2023; Stanford, California, USA; Sacramento State Hornets running back Marcus Fulcher (9) runs for a touchdown during the fourth quarter against the Stanford Cardinal at Stanford Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images | Sergio Estrada-Imagn Images

It's official, Sacramento State is here. We've been keeping an eye on the Hornets as they have taken massive strides to bring their football program to national relevancy, currently sitting on the doorstep to take the jump into the FBS.

UCLA may be home to the fertile college football player recruiting grounds of Los Angeles and the Southern California area, but rival USC, as well as foreign invaders, continue to pluck talent away from the Bruins.

The Big Ten and SEC have had success in recent years with Oklahoma making a massive push into the region. There's also mounting pressure from Deion Sanders and Colorado, along with the other Western-based Big 12 programs.

Now Sacramento State has thrown their hat into the mix after they signed 50 players via the transfer portal, the most in the country, as new head coach Brennan Marion looks to bring his vision to life and his go-go offense to national relevancy.

According to The Sacramento Bee's Joe Davidson, the Hornets have overhauled their roster.

"In the whirlwind nature that has become college athletics, Marion has gone to the transfer portal to rework the existing Hornets roster," Davidson wrote. "Because scholarships are only a year-to-year binding deal, change is allowed and does happen at this level.

"On top of securing the top recruiting class in the FCS during the signing period, Marion has brought in a national-leading 50 players through the portal. Some players were starters from higher-level FBS programs and were four-star recruits in high school. Some played for some of the top college programs in the country, or were at least on the roster.

"At FCS-level Sacramento State, Marion is offering players in the portal an opportunity to compete for a starting job, to be part of the rolling momentum of a program that seeks entry into the FBS and could well be a preseason Top 10 team in the FCS this fall."

While football remains a top priority, the basketball program just hired NBA legend Shaquille O'Neal as general manager and NBA veteran Mike Bibby as head coach. They also just brought in top transfer Mikey Williams.

The Hornets are here, and with an alleged eight-figure NIL war chest, they may be the biggest recruiting threat to the Bruins outside of USC.

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