With quarterback Ben Olson already having announced his
intentions of coming to UCLA, the next big question surrounding the
football program is who will join him.
That question will be answered today, the first day of the
football signing period.
Besides Olson, who is already enrolled in classes and
participating in team functions, this year’s class is
headlined by four top recruits who have already given verbal
commitments to UCLA: safety Shawn Oatis of Chino High, offensive
lineman Aleksey Lanis from Crenshaw, cornerback Aaron Ware of Oak
Christian and West Hills’ tight end Logan Paulsen.
Lanis is considered one of the best offensive lineman in the
country, while Oatis is rated as one of the top 10 safeties in
nation. And Ware is the brother of former UCLA standout cornerback
Matt Ware. But after those four highly heralded players, the Bruins
appear to have focused on lesser-known recruits.
“This is a bit of a mystery class, as last year was a bit
of a mystery class,” said Tracy Pierson, a recruiting analyst
for BruinReportOnline.com. “While there were (running back)
Chris Markey type-guys who turned out to be solid players, there
are still guys in that class who are a bit of mystery.”
The Bruins have seemingly filled their holes in the offensive
line to an extent with Lanis, but they were not able to score any
big-name linebackers, who will sorely be needed after the
graduation of Spencer Havner and Justin London, who are both
seniors next year.
However, UCLA did fill what will be their biggest weakness in
upcoming years ““ a solid quarterback ““ with Ben Olson,
who recently returned from a two-year Mormon mission.
After Drew Olson, no relation to Ben, graduates next year, the
Bruins would have only Pat Cowan and incoming freshman Osaar
Rasshan to man the position.
“He’s huge, an NFL potential quarterback,”
Pierson said. “He is the biggest recruit for UCLA since
(running back) DeShaun Foster. He’s that kind of impact guy.
UCLA hasn’t had a real elite talent at quarterback in a
really long time. Ben Olson gives them that opportunity to win at a
higher level because now they have an elite quarterback. That was
one of their biggest needs.”
The Bruins are still waiting to hear from three potential elite
prospects: tight ends Erik Lorig from Rolling Hills and Adrian
McCovy of Lakewood High along with Charles Brown from Diamond Ranch
High.
But according to Pierson, all three should be considered
long-shots to become Bruins. Lorig just returned from a trip to
Notre Dame and is also considering Cal, Stanford and USC.
Meanwhile, McCovy is leaning towards Arizona and Brown is likely
going to USC.