Maybe there’s a reason why the saying goes good things come in threes, because the fourth time wasn’t the charm for Rick Neuheisel.
The UCLA football coach who had reeled in three consecutive top-10 recruiting classes ““ many of the recruits signing in the final hours ““ couldn’t pull the rabbit out of his hat for this year’s national letter of intent day.
The Bruins finished Wednesday with 16 recruits committed for the 2011-2012 season, a number that pales in comparison to the 24 signees they averaged in Neuheisel’s first three years. The class ranks at No. 60 according to Scout.com.
The small number could partially be attributed to the fact that the Bruins lost only four starters to graduation, three of them from the offensive line.
“If you saw our seniors on senior night, there wasn’t a long line of them. It’s a product of that,” Neuheisel said. “I think we filled our needs, and I’m looking forward to getting these guys in and getting after a bigger class next year.”
But according to Scout.com college football recruiting analyst Brandon Huffman, part of UCLA’s recruiting conundrum can be attributed to the fact that the future doesn’t look as bright as it did in seasons past.
“Two years ago he could sell the vision and the future,” Huffman said. “In year three, they take a major step backwards and you can’t use that anymore because you’re three years into the job. There’s a feeling that by year three, you should have a stamp put on your program.”
The class is littered with three-star recruits, eight of them to be exact. Wide receiver Devin Lucien out of Crespi Carmelite High School is the only four-star recruit in this year’s class whereas last season’s class had 11.
“They weren’t offering a lot of guys because they didn’t have a lot of scholarships to give,” Huffman said. “But when you couple that with the poor season that they had, the top guys became disinterested.”
This year’s signing day, however, wasn’t all bad for Bruin fans. Outside of Lucien, the only signee that has a ranking greater than three stars is quarterback Brett Hundley. Huffman said that Hundley saved this year’s UCLA class from being a failure.
Hundley is a five-star recruit from Chandler High School in Chandler, Ariz, and he committed to UCLA in early September despite numerous attempts by other schools to lure him elsewhere after another 4-8 season in Westwood. Hundley’s other choices included Oregon, Washington and Texas A&M.
“It was a real hard choice between Washington and UCLA, but I’m glad that I came here, and I’m happy to be here, but it came down to the wire,” Hundley said.
Hundley is “happy to be here” because he’s already enrolled in winter quarter classes at UCLA and is beginning to work out and train with the current team. Defensive end Sam Tai and linebacker Aaron Wallace Jr. have also enrolled early.
Neuheisel paid greater attention to the offensive side of the ball this year after 13 defensive players were signed last season.
Hundley said he’s pleased with the five offensive linemen that signed. He also said he played a role in swaying a number of this year’s prospective signees to UCLA.
“As a quarterback, you want the best recruiting class you can get so it’s a big thing for me,” Hundley said before signing day. “I’m not doing as much as the coaches are doing but I’m putting in my two cents.”
Offensive tackle Torian White fulfilled his verbal commitment to UCLA on Wednesday afternoon after choosing USC on Fox Sports’s Signing Day Show earlier in the day. White had been verbally committed to UCLA since last summer.
Neuheisel said he was unable to contact White on Tuesday night for the first time, causing concern for the coach and his staff.
“Obviously, when he picked up the other hat, I was depressed but I later received a call that he still hadn’t settled,” Neuheisel said. “I’m just thrilled that he felt that way, and I’m thrilled that we built enough of a relationship that this felt right.”
UCLA still doesn’t have a defensive coordinator, a position vacant since Dec. 18. Neuheisel said the search for a coordinator could have factored in to this year’s class.
“There’s no question that the 4-8 season, the departure of some coaches and the uncertainty of position coaches all could lend themselves (to lesser signees),” Neuhesiel said. “But you can’t hurry this process along just to satisfy individuals at the sake of the program.”