2016 National Signing Day: UCLA live blog

It’s here, it’s today. Follow along and stay tuned to see how UCLA fares on National Signing Day. This post will be updated throughout the day.

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RECAP: Read the full breakdown of the Bruins’ successful day.

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1:32 p.m.

The most dramatic aspect of UCLA’s 2016 National Signing Day so far was probably the fact that five-star linebacker Mique Juarez announced his decision 20 minutes earlier than expected.

Otherwise, the day’s drama lay solely with the Bruins’ dominant performance in securing six of their eight top targets. By early afternoon, UCLA’s recruiting class was ranked No. 7 in the country by Scout.

Juarez, who ultimately pulled a UCLA hat from the four which sat on the table in front of him, is the centerpiece of the class. Drawing comparisons to former Bruin linebacker Myles Jack, the Torrance native is an elite athlete with a chance to step in and be a difference-maker next year.

The two misses of the day – four-star tight end Devin Asiasi and four-star athlete Aaron Hansford – weren’t devastating enough to bring down what was otherwise a positive day for the program.

There is still a chance that more players join the class and four UCLA commits remain unsigned, according to Joey Kaufman of the Orange County Register.

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12:38 p.m.

The Bruins nabbed one of their two final sought-after targets, securing a commitment from De La Salle defensive tackle Boss Tagaloa but not his high school teammate, tight end Devin Asiasi.

Tagaloa is a stout lineman with a chance to start right away for the Bruins. Asiasi would have provided a huge, athletic target for Josh Rosen to throw to over the middle of the field.

Tagaloa chose the Bruins over the Wolverines and the Huskies, while Asiasi picked Michigan from a top five that included Alabama, USC, Washington and UCLA.

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12:18 p.m.

Five-star linebacker Mique Juarez announced his commitment to UCLA around 20 minutes before his scheduled 12:30 p.m. announcement.

The No. 8 recruit in the nation, Juarez provides a huge boost to the Bruins’ class. He’s a bona fide stud who has a chance to start right away at UCLA and continue to build the Bruins’ Linebacker-U reputation.

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12:12 p.m.

The big three are coming up shortly.

De La Salle’s pair of four-star athletes, tight end Devin Asiasi and defensive tackle Boss Tagaloa, along with five-star linebacker Mique Juarez will all announce their college choices within the next half hour.

UCLA’s day had been without a blemish up until the past hour, when Aaron Hansford decided to go to College Station, Texas, instead of Westwood. Otherwise, the Bruins had received commitments from all four of their earlier targets and Scou.comt currently lists the class at No. 9 nationally.

But those four won’t be the storyline of the day. Not after Asiasi, Tagaloa and Juarez make their nationally televised picks. The 2016 class has a chance to end with a bang or – after such a good start to the day – an unexpected thud.

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11:38 a.m.

UCLA fell short of snagging a 2016 commit for the first time all day, as four-star athlete Aaron Hansford chose Texas A&M.

The St. John’s College High School, Washington D.C., product split his time at inside linebacker and wide receiver but is often listed as an outside linebacker by recruiting websites.

At the time of Hansford’s decision, Scout.com listed the Bruins’ 2016 recruiting class at No. 8 in the nation.

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10:44 a.m.

Three-star offensive guard Francisco “Paco” Perez flipped from his longstanding verbal commitment with California to join the 2016 UCLA recruiting class this morning. The Baldwin Park recruit originally committed to the Golden Bears back in July 2015, but a recent push from the rival Bruins won him over.

Perez visited Westwood in mid-January and called his visit “overwhelming” in an interview with Rivals.com. Despite the visit, he didn’t immediately flip on his commitment, which many analysts considered a good sign for Cal coming into National Signing Day.

With a pair of hats on the table Wednesday morning, though, Perez switched course and announced his commitment to UCLA.

Scout.com projects that Perez could play tackle or guard at the college level, as his strength and versatility should allow him to do either.

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7:40 a.m.

Both TCU and SMU made valiant efforts to nab four-star wide receiver Adewale Omotosho out of Plano, Texas, but UCLA held strong Wednesday. The Bruins made Omotosho their third pickup of signing day, as originally reported by a Star Local Media reporter on Twitter. Omotosho is the sixth receiver to join UCLA’s 2016 recruiting class. 

At this point in the morning, UCLA’s incoming class is ranked No. 14 nationally by 247Sports. The next announcement should be at 10:30 a.m. from three-star offensive guard Francisco “Paco” Perez.

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6:14 a.m. Wednesday, Feb. 3

We’ve got a half hour until the sun rises here in Westwood, but UCLA is already two for two in the National Signing Day frenzy. Four-star running back Brandon Stephens announced his commitment this morning – first reported by 247Sports.com – after taking his official visit last weekend.

The Plano, Texas, native was originally committed to Stanford before reopening his recruitment just last month.

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9:06 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 2

OK, so it’s National Signing Day – on the East Coast at least. Four-star athlete Brandon Burton from Gardena, California, was scheduled to announce his commitment on the 9 p.m. edition of SportsCenter but instead released a Bleacher Report video at 9 p.m. Burton, who projects to play either at receiver or defensive back for the Bruins, chose UCLA out of a top four that included USC, Arizona and Florida State.

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Compiled by Matt Cummings, Tanner Walters, Korbin Placet and Claire Fahy, Bruin Sports senior staff.