UCLA signs prime freshman class

Thursday, February 5, 1998

UCLA signs prime freshman class

RECRUITS: Bruins get top high school prospects, second to
Michigan

By Brent Boyd

Daily Bruin Staff

Welcome back, UCLA.

That’s what the college football world said to the Bruins this
past season, and that’s what the top recruits told the school on
Wednesday, the first day players could sign letters of intent.

After years of watching top home-grown talent go elsewhere and
failing to attract out-of-staters, UCLA recruited one of this
year’s top classes according to several recruiting "experts."

Although most rank the Bruins’ class number two behind Michigan,
one pundit says the Bruin recruits are the nation’s best.

"UCLA has the best defensive line prospects in the nation,"
Allen Wallace of SuperPrep said. "It was extremely close with
Michigan, but signing the (running back DeShaun Foster) was the key
for UCLA."

Foster, a 6-foot, 2-inch, 200-pounder from Santa Ana rushed for
3,398 yards in 14 games last year as a senior at Tustin High
School.

But, the most touted UCLA recruit is linebacker Robert Thomas,
the Sporting News’ fourth-ranked prospect and a member of the USA
Today first-team All-American team.

Two other USA Today first-teamers that committed to UCLA include
offensive lineman Mike Saffer and defensive back Lovell
Houston.

Without a doubt, UCLA’s 10-2 season, combined with the awkward
situation at USC surrounding the firing of head coach John
Robinson, gave the Bruins a decisive edge in recruiting the
Southern California products.

"(UCLA) basically beat the pants off USC," Bobby Burton of The
National Recruiting Advisor said.

Southern Californians that were ranked in the ESPN SportsZone
top 100 that committed to UCLA include Thomas (No. 3), Saffer (No.
14), defensive lineman Ken Kocher (No. 31), Foster (No. 34), and
tight end Saia Makakaufaki (No. 73).

USC only got three commitments from the same pool.

"We are excited about this recruiting class," said UCLA head
coach Bob Toledo. "It always takes a couple of years to see how
these players will perform, but on paper, we feel we recruited
quality players at every position.

"The offensive and defensive lines were priorities for us and we
feel the young men in this class will help give us the needed
quality depth we are looking for."

Another priority for UCLA was to recruit nationally rather than
just in-state.

Only 15 of the 97 players on last year’s roster hailed from
outside California, but among the 26 recruits this year, nine are
from out-of-state.

They will be coming from all over – two from Texas, Colorado,
and Arizona and one apiece from Illinois, Pennsylvania, and
Washington.

Bruin wire services contributed to this report.