The Hotline is delighted to provide West Coast fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Phoenix-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Sept. 18 …
Coaching change in Westwood
The alarm bells sounded for weeks. And finally, after losses to UNLV and New Mexico, UCLA’s administration finally ripped off the Band-Aid and terminated coach DeShaun Foster.
While Foster had rejuvenated UCLA’s recruiting efforts after Chip Kelly essentially boycotted the process, his firing sparked an exodus of talent from what was once a promising class.
On Sunday morning, prior to his firing, UCLA had one of the top-25 recruiting class in the country and was No. 7 in the Big Ten, according to 247Sports database.
Now? The Bruins are No. 52 nationally and 13th in the Big Ten.
They lost two of their four four-star prospects, offensive lineman Johnnie Jones and defensive lineman David Schwerzel.
Their other four-star recruits, defensive lineman Carter Gooden and offensive lineman Micah Smith, are both considering de-committing and opening up their recruitments.
The Bruins also lost commitments from edge rusher Yahya Gaad, defensive lineman Anthony Jones and linebacker Ramzak Fruean on defense and Cooper Javorsky on offense — all of them from the 2026 class.
They also lost their first commit from the 2027 class, receiver Demaje Riley.
The forecast is bleak in Westwood, with so much uncertainty about the next coach and which current assistants, if any, will be retained. The Bruins have already parted ways with defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe, who was key in the commitments for Schwerzel, Fruean, Jones, Gaad and Gooden.
This class could end up looking very Kelly-ish when it’s all said and done.
Big ‘Morning’ Kickoff
While the game was slotted into the “Big Noon Kickoff” window, Utah’s conference opener with Texas Tech on Saturday will start at 10 a.m. in Salt Lake City.
The breakfast burritos and pancakes will be plentiful as the Utes have a major chance to impress several key in-state recruits in what amounts to their biggest home game of the season.
Much has been made of Texas Tech’s talent acquisition efforts, but the Utes secured an elite tackle of their own in Kelvin Obot, the No. 1 recruit in Idaho in the 2026 class.
Now, they will have two top-rated prospects from their own state at the game in 2027 edge rusher Krew Jones and 2028 tackle Mataio Fano.
If that name — Fano — sounds familiar, he’s the younger brother of star Utah tackle Spencer Fano and fellow Ute edge Logan Fano.
He’s one of three 2028 prospects from Orem who will attend the game, with lineman Noah Seufale and tight end Steeler Wesley joining him.
Jones, the edge rusher, will be flanked by two more elite in-state 2027 prospects: athlete Bode Sparrow and cornerback Jernaro Gilford Jr., who is the son of BYU’s secondary coach.
Another name of note expected to attend: 2027 linebacker Sam Ngata, the son of longtime NFL standout Haloti Ngata. The younger Ngata already holds an offer from the Utes.
Sunday Morning Live
Speaking of games at the mercy of Fox’s string-pulling, USC and Michigan State will start 11 hours after Utah and Texas Tech tangle.
Despite the scheduled 8 p.m. Pacific kickoff, the Trojans will have a bevy of recruits in the Coliseum for their conference home opener.
Several of their 2026 commits will be on hand, but the attention is swiftly turning to the ’27 class — and a big prospect will be there: linebacker Taven Epps, a Texas commitment.
Epps, who plays for Tustin High School, is coached by former USC defensive back Chris Hawkins. He’ll be joined by his Tustin teammate Khalil Terry, who was once a pledge to Michigan State.
The Trojans also expect the No. 1 players in Hawaii in each of the next two classes to attend: 2027 linebacker Toa Satele and 2028 defensive lineman Trison Satele.
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Other key in-state targets scheduled to be in the stadium include safety Gavin Williams, safety Isala Aisa Wily-Ava and offensive lineman Lincoln Mageo.
Apple Cup: Hope for WSU
For the first time since Michael Penix Jr. out-dueled Cam Ward in Pullman in 2022, Washington State will welcome its rival to the Palouse.
The Cougars would have hosted last year under traditional circumstances, but with conference realignment impacting the rivalry, a new contractual agreement placed the 2024 game at Lumen Field in Seattle, the home of the Seahawks.
Now, with Washington State fresh off a pasting at the hands of North Texas — and a week before the Huskies host No. 1 ranked Ohio State — the century-old rivalry returns to Martin Stadium.
The Cougars need to rebound quickly because a solid contingent of recruits will attend the game, including Michael Kori, an in-state prospect who was a high school teammate of WSU freshman cornerback David Kuku.
A pair of tackles from California in the 2027 class, Avery Michael and Justin Ortiz, is also expected to attend
And in a bit of nostalgia, Colorado athlete Karson McKenzie will be there. He’s the son of former Cougar star receiver Kevin McKenzie, who had a touchdown catch in the 1998 Rose Bowl.
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