Citing a combination of hard work and effort on part of the coaching staff and “soul searching by the players and their families,” UCLA football coach Rick Neuheisel announced the signing of 22 football players to letters-of-intent or grant-in aids on Wednesday.
“Our staff worked extremely hard to identify, recruit and sign a class that we expect will enjoy great success as Bruins, both on and off the field,” Neuheisel said in a statement.
With a late surge in the afternoon on Tuesday, UCLA was able to land significant recruits on defense in defensive end Owamagbe Odighizuwa of Portland, Ore., linebacker Josh Shirley of Fontana, Calif., cornerback Anthony Jefferson of Los Angeles, and safety Dietrich Riley of La Canada, Calif..
The Bruins’ 2010 class, which also includes highly-touted recruits Anthony Barr of Los Angeles, running backs Malcolm Jones of Westlake Village, Calif. and Jordon James of Corona, defensive tackle Cassius Marsh also from Westlake Village, and linebacker Jordon Zumwalt of Huntington Beach, Calif., received a number of different rankings from various news sources. Scout.com ranked the Bruins’ class as the No. 6 class in the country (the top in the Pac-10), while Rivals.com ranked the Bruins No. 8 and ESPN No. 10.
Going into the recruiting season, Neuheisel pointed to the defensive front as a high priority. With the loss of three of the team’s top defensive tackles to graduation and junior defensive tackle Brian Price to the NFL Draft, the interior line possessions on defense were a point of emphasis. With the signing of Marsh and defensive tackles Seali’i Epenesa of Honolulu, Hawaii, and Wesley Flowers of Fresno, Neuheisel said he felt he filled that area.
Defensive end Derrick Bryant of Columbus, Ohio, was highly-recruited in the Midwest region, Neuheisel said, and only adds to an impressive list of recruits along the defensive line.
Linebacker was another position of interest to Neuheisel, especially with the loss of two seniors in Reggie Carter and Kyle Bosworth.
“We had to get players who had the possibility of playing right away,” Neuheisel said.
The surprise of the day came with Shirley’s announcement because UCLA was not listed as one of the schools in the running heading into Wednesday’s signing day. Yet, according to Neuheisel, he and Shirley had been in discussion and, at Shirley’s request, it remained a secret.
“I’m thrilled he’s coming with us and I’m sure his teammates in the class are thrilled as well,” Neuheisel said.
Neuheisel said that while Shirley did not make an official visit to the campus (he will at the end of the month), he did make a number of unofficial visits.
The Bruins also nabbed the No. 1 kicker in the nation according to Rivals.com in Kip Smith of Broomfield, Colo..
On the defensive side, Neuheisel said that Marsh and Epenesa will have an opportunity to play early, and that he would “love to see” Odighizuwa, the No. 2 defensive end according to ESPN, get that opportunity as well.
On offense, Jones (UCLA’s first Gatorade Player of the Year) and James will get the opportunity.
At the end of a day that began at 4:30 a.m., Neuheisel was tremendously pleased with the incoming batch of UCLA football players.
“When you add the last two classes, we are building the program close to where we need to be to compete for national championships.”