Eddie Vanderdoes ditches football scholarship to Notre Dame, will sign with UCLA

Eddie Vanderdoes will be a UCLA Bruin soon. But when he will play is the question. (Kent Horner/Getty Images)

Eddie Vanderdoes, one of the nation's top prep football recruits, has reversed course. The five-star defensive tackle announced Tuesday that he will ditch a football scholarship to Notre Dame and instead sign a letter of intent to play for the UCLA Bruins for "very personal reasons," according to tweets from ESPN's National College Football Reporter Joe Schad. Vanderdoes signed his LOI with the Irish on February 6, 2013 before having second thoughts about his choice.

According to a report from the Sacramento Bee, Vanderdoes made the decision at least in part to be closer with his family, who live in California. He wrote in a text that he is thankful Notre Dame allowed him to take an athletic scholarship with UCLA.

But as Schad reports, Nortre Dame did not allow the 6-foot-4, 305-pound All-American defensive end a release from the letter of intent his signed with the school. His family is hopeful that once he becomes a student at UCLA, which is expected to happen today when he is assigned classes at the university, Notre Dame will soon follow with a release from his letter of intent.

According to Schad, Vanderdoes can now only play three out of the next four years with the Bruins if he accepts a scholarship from UCLA. He can practice this season, for example, but he will not be eligible for any games as a freshman.

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