Bruins find 12th recruit in Stokes

The UCLA football team landed their 12th recruit of the 2006
recruiting class in defensive lineman Reggie Stokes. Stokes, a
6-foot-3, 230-pound defensive end out of Carver Senior High School
(Montgomery, Ala.), joins defensive end Dylan Rush (Hawaii) as the
only UCLA recruits from the 2006 class to come from outside
California. “It’s far away from home, but I have some
family that lives in Los Angeles,” Stokes told the L.A. Daily
News. “I’ve always liked UCLA. I’ve watched them
on (TV) a lot. It’s just the right place for me.”
Stokes had 137 tackles and 9.5 sacks during his junior year in high
school and earned an All-State Honorable Mention. Stokes played
linebacker and defensive end in high school, and although he is
projected as a defensive end, he could end up seeing playing time
at UCLA as a linebacker as well. However, Stokes is likely to
remain a defensive end for the Bruins, according to scout.com.
Stokes had many options to consider aside from UCLA. He also had
scholarship offers from Mississippi State, Vanderbilt, University
of Alabama-Birmingham and West Virginia.

WOMEN’S VOLLEYBALL RECRUITS SHINE: Incoming women’s
volleyball recruit Mary Nellie Spicer, a 5-foot-9 setter from
Barrington high school (Barrington, Illinois), was named Most
Valuable Player for leading her team, Sports Performance, to a
national championship at the USA Volleyball’s Junior
Olympics. Spicer, the No. 9 recruit in the nation, according to
PrepVolleyball.com, will probably contend for the starting setter
position and is expected to be an immediate contributor on the
Bruin women’s volleyball team next year. Katie Mills, a 2007
recruit, was named to the All-Tournament team, as her
Colorado-based Front Range won the National Championship in the
girl’s 16-and-under division.

DEPARTING BRUINS: Mil’Von James, a junior cornerback who
played on special teams for UCLA last year, has requested and been
granted a release from his UCLA scholarship. James plans on
transferring to the University of Nevada at Las Vegas, according to
his brother Malik. NCAA rules would require James to sit out a year
before resuming his remaining two years of eligibility. Kevin
Harbour, a redshirt junior defensive tackle who missed all of last
season with torn knee ligaments, will also not be returning to the
Bruin football team. Harbour did not enroll at UCLA during last
spring quarter due to a previous academic problem. Former UCLA
defensive tackle C.J. Niusulu, who was suspended indefinitely
during spring practice in March for a violation of team rules,
enrolled at Portland State and will be eligible to play for the
Division I-AA school this season.

Compiled by Ben Azar, Bruin Sports senior staff.