Tag: UCLA football recruiting

Elijah Vaicona is exactly what USC football needs right now

Elijah Vaicona would not only give USC a quality offensive tackle; he would require less developmental work.

Offensive tackle Elijah Vaicona, a 6-foot-8, 368-pound powerhouse from the 2025 class, has caught the attention of several schools in the West. With seven former Pac-12 schools already offering him scholarships, Vaicona has emerged as a highly sought prospect. USC is very much in the mix for Vaicona, which is very encouraging and a sign that Josh Henson means business in recruiting.

“He’s had a busy spring, collecting most of his bigger offers in the last couple of months;” Bruin Report Online explained.  “He unofficially visited Washington’s campus while he was in Seattle for the Under Armour Next Camp and he was offered in person by the UW staff. He’s also gotten some interest from the likes of Ohio State and USC.”

Recently, USC extended a scholarship offer to Vaicona just two days after UCLA did. The Trojans have shown a clear preference for massive offensive linemen, as evidenced by their recent official visit with 6-foot-8, 288-pound Aaron Dunn. Some pundits believe USC is the frontrunner for Dunn’s services in 2025. In the previous class, USC signed Hayden Treter, a 6-foot-7, 330-pound guard from Colorado, alongside two 6-7 tackles from the 2023 class, Elijah Paige and Tobias Raymond.

It is evident that USC is making a conscious effort to increase the size of its offensive line, and Vaicona fits perfectly into that strategy. Head coach Lincoln Riley went out of his way to state that the decision to get bigger was a necessity to play championship football, whether the Trojans entered the Big Ten or not.  Either way, the Trojans are continuing this trend with their latest offer.

In the ongoing recruiting process, it remains to be seen which schools will make Vaicona’s final list. While he expressed a desire to make a decision before August, it has to be noted that in this linked article, Vaicona hinted that he might extend his evaluation period, possibly due to the anticipation of receiving new offers. With several Power Four schools expected to join the competition before December, the race for Vaicona’s signature promises to heat up.

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It’s still early in the 2024 recruiting cycle, but UCLA has some work to do

Of the 16 schools which will play #B1G football in 2024, UCLA is ahead of only one school–Indiana–in current recruiting rankings.

We are naturally focused on USC football recruiting, which is going really well at this point in the 2024 cycle. However, we couldn’t help noticing that UCLA football is far down the list of Big Ten football recruiters in early July.

It’s true that the landscape is constantly shifting. One or two recruits can significantly move the needle. The rankings are in a constant state of flux. The 2024 cycle is far from over, too. Alabama is a good example of a program which doesn’t have a lot of commitments right now but is expected to close very strongly and get a top-three class. Things can and do change.

All that having been said, UCLA is not Alabama. Can the Bruins be sure they can close with a significant collection of recruiting wins? Can they rely on the transfer portal to fill enough roster spots?

They have some work to do.

On the morning of July 4, UCLA is (per 247Sports) No. 15 out of the 16 schools which will compete in Big Ten football in 2024. The only school the Bruins lead is Indiana. That’s the only one out of the 15 schools UCLA will compete against in the Big Ten. It’s hard to avoid noticing at this point.

We will see how the landscape changes in the coming months.

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Georgia football flips UCLA commit, 4-star RB

UGA flips four-star running back Roderick Robinson, who was previously committed to the UCLA Bruins.

The Georgia Bulldogs have landed a commitment from four-star running back Roderick Robinson, who was previously committed to the UCLA Bruins.

The Bulldogs offered Robinson a scholarship on May 17, 2022. The Dawgs entered into the mix for Robinson late, but Kirby Smart and company did not give up.

Robinson visited the University of Georgia for the Auburn game. He had to be impressed with the environment in Athens compared to UCLA’s sparsely full stadium. Robinson’s visit helped give him the confidence to commit to the Bulldogs.

The four-star running back’s decision is tough news for UCLA, who now has just six commitments in the class of 2023. Roderick Robinson was UCLA’s highest-ranked commit.

The Bruins are off to an excellent start to the 2022 college football season. However, that has not resulted in success on the recruiting trail. UCLA and head coach Chip Kelly has the No. 80 recruiting class in the country.

Robinson is considered the No. 15 running back in the country and No. 18 recruit in California per 247Sports. The four-star is the No. 270 recruit in the country.

Robinson plays high school football for Lincoln High School in San Diego, California.

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound running back was also considering the Texas A&M Aggies. He announced his decision to flip his commitment via Twitter:

Robinson mentions that he is shutting down his recruitment. The Lincoln standout is Georgia’s first commitment from a running back in the class of 2023. Georgia has 21 total commitments in the class of 2023 and the No. 2 recruiting class in the country.

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USC 2023 target Roderick Robinson makes preseason watch list

Roderick Robinson is currently committed to UCLA, but as we saw with Maliki Crawford’s recruitment, USC has a definite flip opportunity here.

Four-star California running back Rodrick Robinson of Lincoln High in San Diego is considered the No. 1 running back in California. He will try to lead the Hornets to the CIF San Diego Section Open Division title. Robinson is a walking highlight reel and one of the best running backs from San Diego in the past decade.

Robinson was recently named one of the Top 12 Mr. Football State Player Of The Year Contenders by Calhisports.com and is expected to be a front-runner for the 2022 Player of The Year Award in San Diego as well, competing with junior quarterback Julian Sayin and his teammate, receiver Justin Johnson.

Robinson has offers from Tennessee, USC, Auburn, Arizona and Georgia, just to name a few, but is currently committed to UCLA. The 6-1, 238-pound bruiser is an old-school power back who had 1,273 rushing yards and 17 touchdowns in 2021. Though Robinson is committed to UCLA and has a close relationship with former UCLA running back and current Bruin assistant Deshaun Foster, I could still see Robinson flip to a SEC school or USC in the future.

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UGA football among top schools for 4-star RB

Four-star running back Roderick Robinson set his commitment date and named his top eight schools.

The Georgia Bulldogs are among the contenders to land four-star running back Roderick Robinson, who recently set his commitment date and named his top eight schools.

The Bulldogs offered Robinson a scholarship on May 17, so Georgia may be entering into the mix too late. Robinson is considered the No. 16 running back in the country and No. 20 recruit in California per 247Sports.

The four-star running back plans to make his decision on where he will play college football on May 26 at 1 p.m. EDT. Robinson ranks Arizona, Auburn, California, Georgia, Oregon, Tennessee, Texas A&M and UCLA in his top eight.

Robinson plays high school football for Lincoln High School in San Diego, California. Where will he play college football?

The 6-foot-1, 230-pound running back is favored to sign with UCLA, but he could go in several directions. This is an interesting recruiting battle between Pac-12 and SEC schools. Can the SEC lure another top California talent away from the state?

Georgia and Texas A&M should be considered long shots to land a commitment from Robinson. The four-star running back recently visited Auburn, Tennessee, USC, Arizona and Stanford.

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