UCLA Offers One of Top Class of 2026 Prospects in Colorado

UCLA joins a growing list of universities interested in one of the best players in the Rocky Mountain Sate by offering Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais a scholarship.

Jul 29, 2022; Los Angeles, CA, USA; A detailed view of UCLA Bruins helmet during Pac-12 Media Day at Novo Theater. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Three-star class of 2026 prospect from Colorado, Tufanua Ionatana Umu-Cais, announced on social media on Friday that he received a scholarship offer from Ikaika Malloe and UCLA. Umu-Cais said that the offer was the 25th Division I offer he received, as the prospect continues to get love from all over the country.

#2GBATG🙌🏽after a talk with @MalloeMalloe I am blessed to receive my 25th D1 offer from @UCLAFootball 🐻🔵🟡🏈Thank you for the opportunity to pursue my passion to ball and to further my studies.Excited to see where this journey takes me #GoBruins  #forMAMA #Philippians 4:13 #𝐏³ pic.twitter.com/wq4TXvNRzt

— Tufanua Ionatana “TI” Umu~Cais (@umucais) January 24, 2025

Umu-Cais is getting a lot of love from the West Coast and surrounding areas as he has offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, UNLV, USC, Utah, Washington and Washington State.

According to 247Sports, Umu-Cais is the 36th best defensive lineman in his class and according to the 247Sports Composite rankings, he's the 408th best 2026 recruit nationwide. He stands at 6-3, 285 pounds and as a class of 2026 prospect, meaning he still has another year of high school ball to grow and develop.

Umu-Cais attends Cherry Creek High School in Englewood, Colorado and he is a nightmare to deal with. First off, he has such a big and physical frame that no matter what he does he'll be successful. But then when you peel back the outer layer and take a deeper dive into his play, you see a player that can be a legit 3-4 end or 4-3 defensive tackle.

He is incredibly impressive at absorbing double teams. A lot of the time, Cherry Creek would use a 3-3-5 defense because Umu-Cais was eating up two to three blockers at one time.

What is special is his acceleration in pursuit of the ball-carrier. He doesn't get fooled by jukes in space and when he takes his first step towards a ball carrier, he does so at such a wide angle, it cuts off the ball-carriers and then, the way Umu-Cais explodes into the tackle, it is a beautiful thing to watch.

He is insanely explosive for a guy at his size. Teams hesitate throwing screens because Umu-Cais can "b" line it for the quarterback before the play is ready to go. He will be a special player one day.

Oklahoma is allegedly favored to get his signature but if UCLA wants to commit some funds along with a regular role as a freshman, it may be able to wiggle him towards Westwood.

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