UCLA 2012 Recruiting

UCLA Bruins 2012 ... Head Coach: Jim Mora

UCLA Bruins

2011 Record: 6-8

Sep. 3 at Houston L 38-34
Sep. 10 San Jose State W 27-17
Sep. 17 Texas L 49-20
Sep. 24 at Oregon State W 27-19
Oct. 1 at Stanford L 45-19
Oct. 8 Washington St W 28-25
Oct. 15 OPEN DATE
Oct. 20 at Arizona L 48-12
Oct. 29 California W 31-14
Nov. 5 Arizona State W 29-28
Nov. 12 at Utah L 31-6
Nov. 19 Colorado W 45-6
Nov. 26 at USC L 50-0
Pac-12 Championship
Dec. 3 at Oregon L 49-31
Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
Dec. 31 Illinois L 20-14

2010 CFN Prediction: 6-6
2010 Record:  4-8

Sept. 4 at Kansas St L 31-22
Sept. 11 Stanford L 35-0
Sept. 18 Houston W 31-13
Sept. 25 at Texas W 34-12
Oct. 2 Washington St W 42-28
Oct. 9 at California L 35-7
Oct. 16 OPEN DATE
Oct. 21 at Oregon L 60-13
Oct. 30 Arizona L 29-21
Nov. 6 Oregon State W 17-14
Nov. 13 OPEN DATE
Nov. 18 at Washington L 24-7
Nov. 26 at Arizona State L 55-34
Dec. 4 USC L 28-14
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The Entire 2012 Recruiting Class

Top 5 UCLA Recruits To Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. DE Ellis McCarthy
6-5, 295, Scout.com 2nd ranked, five-star defensive tackle. McCarthy has tremendous size and leverage while playing with good aggressiveness. He boasts a quick first step that gets him quickly in He has a quick first step that gets him past the offensive line rapidly. He has great strength and can take on a double team without much issue. Excels in stopping the run and solid in rushing the passer.

2. QB Devin Fuller
6-0, 185, Scout.com 3rd ranked, four-star quarterback. As a junior, Devin Fuller completed 95 of 143 passes for 1,886 yards, 20 touchdowns and five interceptions. He also carried the ball 191 times for 2,306 yards and 32 touchdowns, giving him a total of 4,150 yards and 52 scores on the year. On defense, he added 65 tackles and three interceptions. He says he can bench 250-pounds, squat 450 and has a 31-inch vertical jump.

3. CB Ishmael Adams
5-10, 190, Scout.com 7th ranked, four-star cornerback. Though he plays running back, cornerback is where he's getting recruited and we ultimately feel that is his best spot. He's good in coverage, has quick, fluid hips and backpedal and a good nose for the ball. Out of the backfield, he's showed a good ability to catch the ball out of the backfield, quickness and vision.

4. LB Aaron Porter
6-2, 230, Scout.com 11th ranked, four-star linebacker. An instinctive linebacker, Porter plays faster than his speed might suggest because he anticipates and reads the play so well. He's a good pass rusher, because he times snap counts and makes plays in the backfield as he gets off the ball so well. Big enough to play inside, but his skill set might be better served outside; the closer he is to the line of scrimmage, the more effective he is.

5. WR Jordan Payton
6-2, 205, Scout.com 15th ranked, four-star receiver. Payton had 61 catches for 907 yards and 10 touchdowns while missing two games. As a 2009 sophomore at Westlake Village (Calif.) Oaks Christian, recorded 45 catches for 1,088 yards and 18 touchdowns, setting the new Oaks Christian record for touchdowns and yards in a season for a receiver. Was named First team All-League and All-County, and Second Team All-Area.

The 2012 Class Was Heavy On... Jim Mora is doing a good job keeping many of Rick Neuheisel’s recruits coming in. The Bruins loaded up two years ago and had a smallish class last season, and now it’s about bringing in as many good prospects as possible across the board. The defense has been improved over the last several seasons, and now it’s time to work harder on the offense with QB Devin Fuller a major coup, even through Brett Hundley was the star of last year’s class. The defense is getting plenty of bodies for the secondary with a tremendous group of corners coming in.

Team Concerns For 2012: Offense. The defense was strong last year and it should be again even though starting tackles Justin Edison and Nate Chandler are done. The Bruins have to start putting points on the board and that starts with better quarterback play from Kevin Prince. If he can get the job done, there are a slew of terrific options waiting in the wings.

Looking Ahead To The 2012 Season: New head coach Jim Mora is putting together a terrific recruiting class, but first he has to find a way to generate more production on both sides of the ball from a team that got to the Pac-12 title game. Is QB Kevin Prince ready to become more productive? There are other options to play around with this offseason, but the offense will end up needing RB Johnathan Franklin to carry the load again. Three starters are back up front, but No. 1 target Nelson Rosario is done are most of last year’s key receivers. The old regime did a good job recruiting for the defensive front, and now it’s time for Owamagbe Odighizuwa to live up to is prep billing in a rotation on the end. Both starting tackles are gone as are both outside linebackers, but leading tackler Patrick Larimore returns in the middle and all four starters are back in the secondary. Jeff Locke will be in the mix for All-America punting honors.

The 2011 Class Was Heavy On … Brett Hundley. The 2010 class was the big one in the Rick Neuheisel area, so this one was about getting a few decent players here and there. There aren’t any stars, especially compared to last year, except for Hundley, a 6-4, versatile passer who can run as well as wing it around the yard. For a program desperate to get something going offensively, Hundley will be seen as a savior. For the Neuheisel era, he had better be. The hope will be for Devin Lucien to quickly develop into a consistent target, while the defense will look to tackles Kvin McReynolds and Brandon Tuliaupupu to soon become anchors inside.

2010 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 7. That Class Was Heavy On ... Defense. Last year's class was terrific, but this one is even better. RB Malcolm Jones is the centerpiece of the offensive class and Paul Richardson is a good-looking receiver, but the focus was defense, defense, defense. Getting safety Dietrich Riley away from USC was a major coup, but that was nothing compared to getting top end prospect Owamagbe Odighizuwa to put on the Bruin hat instead of USC or Nebraska. Cassius Marsh doesn't make up for the loss of Brian Price at defensive tackle right away, but it eventually will. Locking down the secondary will be Anthony Jefferson, Tevin McDonald, and Shaquille Richardson, three talented corner prospects.

2009 CFN Recruiting Ranking: 6. That Class Was Heavy On ... cornerbacks. In a Pac-10 that’s usually flush with quality passers, the Bruins wisely answered with a quartet of really good cornerbacks. All four earned no less than three stars and were ranked in the top 50 at the position. The best of the bunch is Marlon Pollard, who fielded a slew of offers, and has an enormous upside to match his leaping ability.

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Kraft Fight Hunger Bowl
Illinois 20 … UCLA 14
- CFN Thoughts on the Kraft Fight Hunger

Illinois: The Illini came up with five sacks and held UCLA to 18 rushing yards. … Nathan Scheelhaase completed 18-of-30 passes for 139 yards and a score with a pick. He also ran 22 times for 110 yards. … A.J. Jenkins caught six passes for 80 yards and a score. … Ian Thomas made seven tackles with a sack, a broken up pass, and two tackles for loss. … Whitney Mercilus made five tackles with 1.5 sacks and three tackles for loss.

UCLA: The Bruins average 6.9 yards per pass attempt. … Kevin Prince completed 14-of-29 passes for 201 yards and two scores with a pick. … Derrick Coleman ran nine times for 39 yards. … Joseph Fauria caught five passes for 36 yards. … Jordan Zumwalt made ten stops with a pick and two tackles for loss. … Glen Love made eight tackles with a sack and two tackles for loss.

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) -- Terry Hawthorne returned an interception 39 yards for Illinois' first touchdown late in the third quarter and the Illini snapped a six-game losing streak by beating UCLA 20-14 in the Fight Hunger Bowl.

Nathan Scheelhaase added a 60-yard touchdown pass to A.J. Jenkins midway through the fourth quarter to seal the first victory for Illinois (7-6) since beating Indiana 12 weeks ago. The game between two six-win teams who have already fired their head coaches matched the underwhelming expectations as there was little excitement before Hawthorne's third-quarter touchdown that gave Illinois its first lead.

UCLA (6-8) was held to 18 yards rushing in its third straight loss. Kevin Prince threw two TD passes, including one in the closing minute to Nelson Rosario after the game had been decided.

But it was an earlier pass by Prince that proved decisive and helped give Illinois its first bowl wins in consecutive seasons in school history. Three plays after Derek Dimke missed a 37-yard field goal for Illinois late in the third quarter, Prince dropped back and threw to his left looking for Shaquelle Evans.

Hawthorne read the play perfectly and stepped in front of the throw for the interception and had a clear path to the end zone for the score that gave the Illini a 10-7 lead.

Dimke added a 37-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter and Scheelhaase and Jenkins combined on their big play to make it 20-7 with 5:36 to go. Scheelhaase finished 18 for 30 for 139 yards with 110 yards rushing to lead the Illinois offense.

Prince completed just 14 for 29 for 201 yards and the Bruins were held to a season-low in rushing, well below their 190.7 yard per game average, by the stout Illini front.

The matchup between Big Ten and Pac-12 teams on New Year's weekend at a picturesque setting in California conjures up memories of Rose Bowls past. But this game was played on San Francisco's waterfront instead of with the San Gabriel Mountains in the background in Pasadena and was between two teams that had little to celebrate this season.

Both teams fired their coaches after disappointing regular seasons with Ron Zook getting let go by Illinois after losing six straight games to end the season and Rick Neuheisel getting run out at UCLA after a 50-0 loss to rival Southern California in the regular season finale. Neuheisel coached the Bruins when they lost the Pac-12 title game at Oregon, leaving them as the first team to go to a bowl with a losing record since North Texas in 2001.

With their head coaches gone and new coaches Tim Beckman at Illinois and Jim Mora at UCLA not set to take over until January, interim coaches Vic Koenning and Mike Johnson ran the Illini and Bruins respectively.

The Illini, operating under interim offensive coordinator Jeff Brohm, opened up the playbook in the first half but still trailed 7-3 at the break. They called a throwback pass to Scheelhaase, a reverse, a fake field goal and went for it on fourth-and-1 from their own territory.

UCLA stuffed Donovonn Young for a loss on that run from the Illinois 45, setting up Prince's 16-yard TD pass to Taylor Embree for the first score of the game.

The Bruins were unable to capitalize after stopping the fake field goal. Holder Tim Russell flipped the ball over his head to Dimke, who was tackled by Shelden Price for a 4-yard loss.

UCLA then botched a shotgun snap on the ensuing drive, giving the Illini the ball at the Bruins 30. Illinois settled for Dimke's 35-yard field goal on the final play of the half.

The game, which is sponsored by Kraft, generated three meals for local food banks for each of the 29,878 tickets sold. Officials used an Oreo cookie for the opening coin toss.

Dec. 3 Pac-12 Championship
at Oregon 49 … UCLA 31
CFN Analysis: The Bruins did what they could and they put up a great effort, but they were never alive. The run defense wasn’t even close early on, and even when the D came up with a big play, it wasn’t enough. … UCLA had to be perfect, and the four turnovers and the shaky pas protection didn’t help. … The ground game pounded away a bit with Derrick Coleman running for 83 yards on 16 carries and Johnathan Franklin doing a decent job, but it wasn’t enough to control the game and keep the Oregon offense off the field. … The new head man has pieces to work with, but the first thing he needs to do is get more physical on both sides of the line. The Bruins have to be better up front. 

Nov. 26 at USC 50 … UCLA 0
CFN Analysis: Could UCLA have played this game without much fire knowing that the main goal of playing for the Pac-12 title was accomplished? Maybe a little bit, but it’s still USC and it’s still a rivalry game that matters. It was such a blasting that Rick Neuheisel will still be in trouble unless he pulls off the stunner against Oregon. … Kevin Prince moved the passing game completing 21-of-33 passes for 261 yards and a pick, but too many drives stalled and the O couldn’t keep up the pace. … Nelson Rosario had a nice game with seven catches for 118 yards, but his game was dwarfed by the big performances by the USC receivers. … It might have been an ugly loss, but UCLA gets to take its cuts at Oregon for the Pac-12 title. One big win and nothing else matters.
 
Nov. 19 at UCLA 45 … Colorado 6
CFN Analysis: This is how the offense is supposed to work. It might have only come against Colorado, but the attack was dominant with Kevin Prince coming up with a near-perfect performance completing 15-of-19 passes for 225 yards and four scores while running for 84 yards on ten carries. ... Johnathan Franklin ran for 162 yards on 15 carries as part of the team’s 328 rushing yards. The offensive line paved the way, and Franklin and the rest of the offense did whatever it wanted. … The defense kept Tyler Hansen from taking off and bottled up Rodney Stewart. The line didn’t give up a thing. … The nine penalties were too many, but they didn’t matter. Everything else was clicking. … It’s this simple; beat USC, play for the Pac-12 title.  

Nov. 12 at Utah 31 … UCLA 6
CFN Analysis: Was UCLA frozen by the snow? Nothing worked offensively with the passing game failing to keep the chains moving and the running game bottled up. The lines got whipped by the Utes. … The 12 penalties for 91 yards didn’t help. The team played like it was in a funk all game long. … The Colorado game next week should be a win to get to six and a bowl game, and considering Arizona State is slipping and sliding, a shot at the Pac-12 title is still there for the taking. However, a little bit of consistency would be a positive after two great wins before this clunker. 

Nov. 5 at UCLA 29 … Arizona State 28
CFN Analysis: Where did this come from? After getting pantsed by Arizona, the season and the Rick Neuheisel era appeared over. Instead, the Bruins bounced back with a win over a mediocre Cal team and then it took control of its own destiny in the South with this shocking win. Can the Bruins really win the division? If they beat Utah, Colorado, and USC, or win two of the three and get an ASU loss, they’re going to Stanford or Oregon to play for the Rose Bowl. That’s getting ahead of the game. For now, UCLA can revel in one of the best games under Neuheisel, with Kevin Prince throwing for an effective 196 yards and Johnathan Franklin running for 119 yards and two scores. The defense gave up yards, but the offense came up with the late scoring drive it needed and the D held up late to force the long, ill-fated field goal attempt. This looked like a real, live team for the second week in a row.

Oct. 29 at UCLA 31 … California 14
CFN Analysis: UCLA keeps on teasing. Just when it seemed like the team was ready to go into the tank – with the Arizona loss a brutally painful blowout – then it came up with a terrific, dominant game. Bruin defensive back Tevin McDonald became Cal’s best receiver, picking off three passes, while the offense did what it could with a depleted receiving corps coming up with just enough plays to keep the chains moving to offset a huge day from Kevin Prince. He only threw for 92 yards, but he ran wild, taking off for 163 yards and 19 carries, while Derrick Coleman ran for 80 yards and three scores. At 4-4, the next four weeks will determine the direction of the program. The team is just good enough to beat Utah and Colorado to get to a bowl, but beating Arizona State and USC is a must to create a buzz and to instill confidence in the Rich Neuheisel era. To have any shot against the Sun Devils, the takeaways have to keep on coming.  

Oct. 20 at Arizona 48 … UCLA 12
CFN Analysis: If UCLA doesn’t rally in a big way over the final five games of the season, this will be forever known as the straw that broke the camel’s back. Arizona might have been inspired after losing the head coach, but the team isn’t that good that emotion should trump everything else if the Bruins were able to execute. Instead, the offensive line was dominated in the ground game, and the defensive front didn’t do nearly enough to get to Nick Foles to slow down the Arizona passing game. There’s still time to bounce back with three home games in the next four, including a winnable date with Cal next week, and bowl game is still all but certain, but the inconsistencies have to stop. Fortunately, the Bruins have alternated wins and losses throughout the year, following up each loss with a win. 

Oct. 8 at UCLA 28 … Washington State 25
CFN Analysis: Kevin Prince came in to boos and concerns that the offense was done, but he was fantastic at leading the way to the win and keeping the season alive completing 8-of-13 passes for 173 yards and two scores with a pick while running for 25 yards to spark the way for the win. Johnathan Franklin ran for 110 yards and helped carry the offense for a stretch. This was the big moment to possibly turn things around with winnable games against Arizona and Cal coming up next, and with Colorado coming soon. More of a pass rush is a must and the special teams need to be better, but the focus going forward will be Prince. He needs to be steady and he has to keep the chains moving, but most importantly, he has to come up with scoring drives on a consistent basis like he did late.  

Oct. 1 at Stanford 45 … UCLA 19
CFN Analysis: UCLA doesn’t have the offense to keep up with a team like Stanford, and if the running game isn’t controlling the clock and the tempo, forget about it. Richard Brehaut had a nice game as the full time starter throwing for 202 yards and two touchdowns, and Johnathan Franklin averaged eight yards per carry, but the offense didn’t get the ball enough. The defense couldn’t get off the field as Andrew Luck and the Stanford offense converted third down play after third down play. Beating Washington State next week is a must to have any hope of going to a bowl, but the pass rush has to finally show up and the special teams need to be better. 

Sept. 24 UCLA 27 … at Oregon State 19
CFN Analysis: UCLA has to take the wins when it can get them. This might not be a good team, and it might have a whole slew of major flaws, but there are enough winnable games on the schedule to hope for a good season after catching a beating next week against Stanford. The Bruins can’t generate a lick of pass rush, meaning Andrew Luck should be able to pad the Heisman stats, but on the positive side, the offense might have found its guy under center. Richard Brehaut was excellent, completing 7-of-11 passes for 146 yards and a touchdown, and he kept drives alive and kept the chains moving. UCLA doesn’t need Tom Brady under center, but it does need someone who can keep the mistakes to a minimum. Against Stanford, UCLA will have to be physical on both lines. It’ll be a test of where the team is at toughness-wise, but for now, just getting a road win is a plus.  

Sept. 17 Texas 49 … at UCLA 20
CFN Analysis: UCLA’s defensive front is killing the team right now. There aren’t enough plays behind the line and there wasn’t nearly enough pressure on the Texas quarterbacks. The offense wasn’t a prize with four turnovers, including three picks on an awful day from Kevin Prince, and Johnathan Franklin wasn’t able to pick up the slack with the running game. One positive was the kickoff return game, a sticking point early on this year. Josh Smith did a nice job on his four chances averaging close to 29 yards per pop. 

Sept. 10 at UCLA 27 ... San Jose State 17
CFN Analysis: It took way too much effort to get by a lousy San Jose State team, but the offensive line did the job needed to take control in the second half, and Derrick Coleman took over with 135 yards and a score in the second half. Richard Brehaut is never going to bomb away and he’s never going to make the passing game a plus, but he was able to run for 44 yards and he let the ground attack take over. The return game is struggling a bit, and the defensive front isn’t getting in the backfield enough, but the running game has gotten the job done and most of the mistakes made against Houston stopped. There were two fumbles, and the team has to be perfect to have a shot against Texas next week.  and UCLA is in huge trouble.
 
Sept. 3 at Houston 38 … UCLA 34
CFN Analysis: The Bruins showed heart coming back after getting bombed on in a 31-14 first half, and the defense put the clamps down, and it was even more impressive that it came when QB Kevin Prince was knocked out with a concussion. Richard Brehaut did a terrific job completing 17-of-276 passes for 264 yards and two touchdowns, along with 87 rushing yards and a score, and Johnathan Franklin had a great game with 128 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries, but the team couldn’t stop screwing up in key moments. The ten penalties were a disaster, the blocked extra point hurt, and the missed field goal was a disaster. The seat will be even hotter now for Rick Neuheisel, but there were some positives. Yes, if the mistakes can stop, beating Texas in two weeks will be on the table. 

The 2011 Class Is Heavy On … Brett Hundley. The 2010 class was the big one in the Rick Neuheisel area, so this one was about getting a few decent players here and there. There aren’t any stars, especially compared to last year, except for Hundley, a 6-4, versatile passer who can run as well as wing it around the yard. For a program desperate to get something going offensively, Hundley will be seen as a savior. For the Neuheisel era, he had better be. The hope will be for Devin Lucien to quickly develop into a consistent target, while the defense will look to tackles Kvin McReynolds and Brandon Tuliaupupu to soon become anchors inside.

Five UCLA Recruits You Should Care About
Player writeups by Scout.com

1. QB Brett Hundley
6-4, 217, Scout.com’s 3rd ranked quarterback. A big, strong quarterback with exceptional footwork and balance. With his combination of size and strength as a runner, he's tough to knock off of his feet or to wrap up as he pulls through tacklers. Has a bit of a wind-up in his release that seems to disappear when he throws on the run. Has good arm strength and shows good touch on deep passes to compliment the good touch he puts on the ball while on a bootleg.

2. DT Kevin McReynolds
6-3, 280, Scout.com’s 24th ranked defensive tackle. A massive defensive tackle, McReynolds gets a tremendous push up the middle with a straight bull rush where his quickness, strength, and size overpower offensive linemen. He's quick enough off the ball to get penetration into the offensive backfield, and he's strong enough to occupy a double team, which teams will most certainly need to control him in the middle of the trenches. Big athlete that shows off body control as a TE.

3. WR Devin Lucien
6-0, 190, Scout.com’s 44th ranked receiver.

4. C Jacob Brendel
6-4, 265, Scout.com’s 8th ranked center.

5. LB Aaron Wallace
6-3, 215, Scout.com’s 40th ranked outside linebacker. More natural stopping the run than in coverage, Wallace has improved by leaps and bounds this offseason in coverage. Has ideal 3-4 OLB size, with tremendous athleticism. May be the most athletic outside backer in the West in this class. Good instincts and high football IQ (father played in the NFL for a decade).

2011 Entire Recruiting Class
Jacob Brendel C 6-5 265 Plano, TX East
Ryan Hofmeister LB 6-2 220 Riverside, CA Riverside City
Brett Hundley QB 6-4 210 Chandler, AZ Chandler
Devin Lucien WR 6-1 190 Encino, CA Crespi
Steven Manfro RB 5-10 187 Castaic, CA Valencia
Conor McDermott OL 6-8 245 Nashville, TN Ensworth
Kevin McReynolds DT 6-2 281 Washington, DC St. John's College
Raymond Nelson TE 6-5 215 Modesto, CA Christian
Jerry Neuheisel QB 6-1 185 Los Angeles, CA Loyola
Will Oliver OT 6-8 295 Brentwood, CA Heritage
Mike Orloff LB 6-2 205 Danvers, MA Lawrence Academy
Sam Tai DE 6-4 234 Henderson, NV Liberty
Brandon Tuliaupupu DT 6-1 296 Claremont, CA Claremont
Aaron Wallace LB 6-4 215 San Diego, CA Rancho Bernardo
Torian White OT 6-6 280 Lakewood, CA Lakewood
Ben Wysocki OG 6-5 280 Los Alamitos, CA Los Alamitos