UCLA Football: Bruins Miss Out On Elite 2025 Safety Prospect

Just last week, your UCLA Bruins entered the fray of Brunswick School (Greenwich, CT) 2025 safety Ethan Long's recruitment. It turned out to be far too late, as Long today announced his commitment to Notre Dame.

The Fighting Irish had been the leader in Long's recruitment for quite some time, with Ohio State perhaps being a close second, given the amount of time he spent on campus in Columbus.

Thank you God, I'm HOME🍀🍀 @Marcus_Freeman1 @Coach_OLeary @CoachAlGolden @CoachMickens @coachdrebrown @Coach_Wayne55 @Coach_SSStan @CoachLett10 @Rivals @On3sports @NDFootball @RivalsFriedman @247recruiting pic.twitter.com/A6ZDaJkns2
— Ethan Long (@Ethan_Long8) January 9, 2024

Long, by all intents and purposes, is an elite prospect. From a size/speed perspective, a technical perspective, and academic perspective, Long checks all the boxes for programs like Notre Dame and UCLA, both of which have an above average academic standard for their recruits in comparison to other top college football programs.

The 6-foot-2, 185-pounder's top schools prior to his commitment were Michigan, Notre Dame, Ohio State, Penn State, and Wisconsin. He told 247 Sports in a recent interview that "You don't choose Notre Dame, Notre Dame chooses you".

UCLA still has yet to lock down any commitments for their 2025 class. The Bruins also currently hold just ten signed letters of intent from recruits in the 2024 class. Many in the industry cite UCLA's high academic standards as a big barrier to a lot of the top prospects.

Also worth noting is Chip Kelly's disposition to leverage the transfer portal any time he can. Ethan Long would've been a huge get for the Bruins, as he strikes me as somebody who is interested in sticking around should he not get playing time right away. But the Bruins will have to look elsewhere for their safety of the future.