Two months ago, when UCLA athletic director Dan Guerrero announced he had fired Karl Dorrell, he made a point to praise Dorrell for laying a solid foundation for the program.
But Guerrero wanted someone to take the Bruins to the next level. Someone who could, as he said, make UCLA a “national player.”
Enter Rick Neuheisel.
In just over a month, Neuheisel, a former Bruin quarterback, has seemed to fulfill the standard Guerrero set.
Today is national signing day for college football players, and UCLA will welcome a class of recruits that has been called the best Bruin class of the past decade.
The class was originally assembled by Dorrell, but Neuheisel convinced the recruits to stick with UCLA after Dorrell’s ouster. He hired coordinators to elevate the program’s stature and even added a few prized players.
Now it’s Neuheisel’s Bruins who will take another step toward making UCLA the elite program Guerrero envisioned when he dismissed Dorrell.
“The momentum UCLA has built is huge,” said Brandon Huffman, a recruiting analyst for Scout.com. “They’re showing that there is a viable option in L.A. besides USC.”
The blue chip
Aundre Dean lives in Katy, Texas, more than 1,500 miles away from UCLA. Throughout the past year, experts have touted him as one of the nation’s best running backs. Scout.com rates him as the sixth-best running back in the country.
Dean was a sort of sensation in Texas, a state that lives and dies on football. He said he had to change his phone number when things really got hectic. His new phone number got out, too. The fan mail never stopped.
Dean committed to play for Dorrell in April 2007, before his senior season. When Dorrell lost his job, Dean opened his recruitment back up. He considered schools across the country, eventually narrowing his list to Louisville, Arkansas and UCLA.
Last week, he chose UCLA, again. This time he pledged to play for a different coach.
“The first time I went (to UCLA) I liked it a lot,” Dean said. “The only thing that turned me around was the coaching change.”
In January, Neuheisel went to Texas with his new running backs coach, Houston native Reggie Moore, to recruit Dean. It was that visit that convinced Dean to stick with UCLA.
“Coach Neuheisel is a great guy, and he is a smart guy,” Dean said. “I knew he was going to put together a pretty decent staff.”
The commitment of Dean was huge for the Bruins. Not only is he a running back who could play immediately, he’s also a top prospect from outside California.
“It’s been awhile since UCLA has been able to recruit blue-chip prospects from outside the state,” Huffman said.
Despite the hype surrounding his recruitment, Dean is far from arrogant. He wants to help turn things around in Westwood but doesn’t expect it to be easy.
“I don’t want anything to be given to me, I want to work for it,” Dean said. “If I play as a freshman, I’ll definitely have earned it.”
The juco
Kevin Craft currently attends Mt. San Antonio College, and he is considered one of the top junior college quarterbacks in the country.
Craft is a prototype signal-caller. He stands at 6 feet 5 inches and has good mobility. He was expected to play for quarterback guru June Jones at Southern Methodist.
But then the Bruins got a quarterback guru of their own.
With the hiring of new offensive coordinator Norm Chow, Craft quickly changed his mind. He decided to stay in California and play for the Bruins under Neuheisel and Chow.
“I’m so excited to work with Norm Chow,” Craft said. “I kind of have to pinch myself sometimes. I feel like I fell into such a great situation.”
Craft could get the chance to compete with UCLA quarterbacks Ben Olson and Pat Cowan for the starting job, and he has the talent to start for UCLA in 2008. The deciding factor may be Craft’s eligibility.
If he can practice with the team in the spring, he will have as good a shot at starting as Cowan and Olson, Huffman said.
“They’re still checking on some rules,” Craft said. “Right now, I don’t think I can practice in the spring.”
Either way, it’s certain that Craft will have two years of eligibility when he gets to Westwood. He could inherit the starting job in 2009, when Olson and Cowan will have graduated.
And even if he has to wait until the summer to enroll at UCLA and begin practice with the Bruins, Craft is confident he made the right decision.
“I’m excited that it’s over,” Craft said. “It was an easy choice.”
The local
Johnathan Franklin grew up in Los Angeles. He played running back and safety at Dorsey High in South Los Angeles. He narrowed his list to three upper-tier Pac-10 schools: California, Arizona State and UCLA.
On Monday he chose UCLA.
His commitment demonstrates what Neuheisel considers a top priority: challenging crosstown rival USC.
Franklin might not be a five-star prospect, but he’s the type of local player UCLA needs if it’s going to pose a legitimate threat to USC’s seat atop the conference.
“The school just fits me as a person and as an athlete,” Franklin said.
Franklin is known for his versatility on the field, and he could play on either side of the ball for the Bruins. He’s also passionate about academics. He plans to major in psychology, and he said UCLA was especially attractive because of its academic reputation.
“Academics is a big priority because that’s what is going to take me somewhere in life,” Franklin said. “UCLA will prepare me for the real world. Being a minority, it means a lot for me to get out of this neighborhood and to get to Westwood.”
The rest
Franklin, Craft and Dean are just three of the more than 20 players expected to sign to play for UCLA today. As a whole, the class is ranked as one of the best in the nation; a few sites have called it a better class than USC’s. Other top signings for Neuheisel include quarterback Nick Crissman and safety Rahim Moore.
Three players who plan to announce their decisions today are considering UCLA: running back Milton Knox, quarterback Kevin Prince and lineman Hamani Stevens.
While Neuheisel cannot speak about players until they have signed their letters of intent, it’s clear that the newest crop of Bruins has aspirations to do what Guerrero outlined two months ago.
“This recruiting class has a passion for football,” Franklin said. “We’re dedicated and committed to football, and we’re going to build a family at UCLA.
“With a family, anything is possible.”