When former UCLA football coach Karl Dorrell was fired six weeks ago, some college football analysts predicted the deterioration of the top-10 recruiting class that Dorrell and his staff had built. They anticipated that the coaching changes would cause the talented high school seniors to find other schools, not wanting to fully commit to a team that had no head coach.
However, with the hiring of Rick Neuheisel, who retained several key assistant coaches, the highly touted class has stuck with UCLA and has remained, for the most part, intact.
Though nobody will definitively know the makeup of next year’s freshman class until signing day, many of the players who verbally committed long before Dorrell was fired are still planning on becoming Bruins despite any coaching uncertainties.
“Because this class was almost completely full before this school year even started, you’ve got guys that have been committed to UCLA for five months or some since March,” said Scout.com’s West Recruiting Analyst Brandon Huffman. “It’s kind of hard to say for 10 months, “˜Hey, I’m going to this school,’ then a month before you have to sign, kind of scramble and find other places to go.
“I do think that at the end of the day, the head coach probably may not have mattered as much (in recruiting) as people would have expected. But hiring a known recruiter who loves to recruit didn’t hurt them at all.”
Though there have been three players who have backed out of their commitments over the past few weeks, including linebacker Uona Kaveinga, running back Aundre Dean and wide receiver Kemonte Bateman, only Dean seemed to be spurred by the coaching changes. Kaveinga recommitted to BYU for religious reasons and Bateman’s switch was primarily due to academics, Huffman said.
“I was always a little skeptical that (Dean) would stick with UCLA, just being that he’s a Texas kid,” Huffman said. “I just thought that once a coaching staff was in place at Texas A&M, he could very well end up there. He’s probably the only one who’s publicly said that the coaching change affected his decision.”
Besides Dean, the coaching changes have not caused any recruits to jump ship as of yet. Instead, Neuheisel has been a reinvigorating force to keep players who have already committed.
“A lot of (the recruits) were saying that they love his enthusiasm and his vision for the program, and they love the fact that he’s a former player,” Huffman said. “He’s an enthusiastic guy. He’s charismatic. He’s got that excitement factor that guys are buying into.
“That’s what worked for a lot of coaches who have had success nationally. They have that same kind of enthusiasm, that vigor. That’s not something that was necessarily there in the previous coaching staff at UCLA.”
For recruits such as Crespi Carmelite four-star safety E.J. Woods, who shied away from fully committing until now, meeting Neuheisel this past weekend sealed the deal for him.
“At first I didn’t really know much about the coach,” Woods said. “I heard negative things. I heard good things. Then I went up to UCLA on Saturday and I got to form my own opinion, and he’s a great coach. He’s going to change things around and bring a Pac-10 championship to UCLA, then hopefully a national championship. I like his attitude, and he has a swagger to him.”
It was also academics that prevented Woods from fully verbally committing earlier, because he was unsure that he would qualify under UCLA’s strict standards. However, after raising his SAT scores and visiting with Neuheisel, Woods is ready to commit.
“I couldn’t qualify, so I had to have a backup plan, and that was Washington and Colorado,” he said. “But now that I qualify, I’m 100 percent.”
For the recruits on the offensive side of the ball, Neuheisel’s plan to implement a spread offense is a motivating factor in their decision to come to Westwood.
“I’ve talked to (quarterback) Nick Crissman, who couldn’t help but be excited,” Huffman said. “He knows that Neuheisel’s offenses have traditionally been very strong. … In his mind, he knows the playbook is probably going to be opened up quite a bit more.”
Crissman did not return a phone call seeking comment.
The spread offense, which emphasizes the vertical passing game, is a more effective way to showcase the talents of wide receivers such as four-star recruit Antwon Moutra.
“That’s the kind of offense (Moutra’s high school) has been running, and he has blossomed,” Huffman said. “He’s perfect for that offense. … He’ll catch the ball, he’ll make some big plays, and he’s been in that offense for the past two years (at Culver City High School).”
Others did not really care who was hired as head coach or the offensive scheme; just coming to UCLA was the prime motivation.
“UCLA has been my dream school ever since I was a little kid,” said Mission Viejo three-star offensive tackle Jeff Baca. “I was going to come to UCLA no matter who the coach was.”
For recruits who will play defense, retaining defensive coordinator DeWayne Walker and other position coaches was more influential in their decision to stick with UCLA so far. Walker was in the running for the Bruins’ head coaching position and had much support from both current players and recruits. But when Neuheisel was hired, the University of Washington offered Walker their defensive coordinator position and a significant pay raise. His decision to stay, which was accompanied by a pay raise, has been instrumental in keeping the recruiting class intact.
“He was the main reason why I wanted to come to UCLA in the first place,” Woods said. “I’ve always liked coach Walker, and I think he’s got one of the best defensive schemes in the NCAA.”
Without Walker on staff, would he even be considering UCLA?
“I’m not sure,” Woods said. “I don’t think so.”
Along with Walker, linebackers coach Chuck Bullough and defensive line coach Todd Howard have also been critical in maintaining recruits’ verbal commitments through the process of coaching changes.
“Surprisingly, coach Howard staying has been a bigger factor than people expected. Obviously Walker was the real key. That was the guy that they needed to keep on board, especially for the defensive guys like Rahim Moore, Aaron Hester and Anthony Dye. But I would say that Todd Howard ““ him staying is big for keeping Damien Holmes and keeping Datone Jones on board,” Huffman said.
Moore, a five-star No. 3-ranked safety from Dorsey High School, is the gem of his class and has remained “100 percent” to UCLA despite a very strong official trip to North Carolina.
“UCLA is all I’ve pretty much known, and I want to play with the boys,” Moore told Scout.com. “I can’t leave my UCLA boys like that. I hope the rest of the guys stick with it too.”