National Signing Day 2014: Grade and Analysis for UCLA
California’s top running back and the second nationally, Joe Mixon, faced a late run from the Bruins, who have needed help at running back since losing Johnathan Franklin to the NFL after the 2012 season. Mixon, who committed to Oklahoma back in January, ultimately stayed true to his verbal pledge and signed with the Sooners.
With Mixon heading to Oklahoma and high-profile local targets Adoree’ Jackson and Juju Smith picking USC, the result was that UCLA wound up signing just one of California’s top 10 recruits in the Rivals state-by-state rankings. Anyway you dice it, that’s not a good sign for Jim Mora and company, who have made significant gains within in the state, including defeating arch-rival USC twice in a row.
That said, 2014 was a down year for the state of California, which forced Mora to focus on out of state prospects for areas of need.
Outside of Dupre, Thomas and Evans, the Bruins did have success with imports, as they added Louisiana linebacker Kenny Young on Signing Day, and signed key offensive contributors Nathan Starks from Colorado and Austin Roberts from Indiana.
As mentioned, the Bruins had a big need at running back and receiver, making Starks possibly the biggest get of the Bruins’ haul. The 5-foot-11 back from Englewood, Colo. was the 15th ranked running back per Rivals, and has some muscle on him at 200 pounds. With a top-flight college strength and condition program on the way, Starks should develop into key cog in the Bruins’ offense.
As for receiver, missing out on Dupre stings, but Austin Roberts, Alex Van Dyke and Jordan Lasley should give quality depth and talent. During the local FOX Sports special in Los Angeles, Scout’s recruiting analysts were adamant that Lasley could be one of the most underrated prospects in Southern California.
More importantly for UCLA, Lasley comes to the Bruins from Serra High School in Gardena, Calif., which has turned into a USC pipeline of late, producing Robert Woods and Marqise Lee, in addition to Adoree’ Jackson.
With Lasley and Serra linebacker Dwight Williams signed in this class, the Bruins now have an anchor set at Serra, with two five-star 2015 prospects –linebacker John Houston and defensive tackle Rasheem Green– that will likely find themselves torn between both USC and UCLA. Therefore, Mora tapping into Serra could not be understated.
Other areas that UCLA focused on included the linebacker corps, highlighted by the aforementioned Dwight Williams.
He’s one of four linebackers in the class, as UCLA is saddled with the task of replacing All-Everything linebacker Anthony Barr, and his under-appreciated mate Jordan Zumwalt. Four-stars Kenny Young and Zach Whitley, in addition to Williams, should get a chance to contribute early on defense as freshmen, which has been a big mantra for Mora in years one and two at UCLA.
On the whole, Jim Mora’s third class at UCLA is solid. It’s not quite as impressive as the first two, but there’s progress at areas like linebacker and receiver that could help the Bruins down the line. The main needs were addressed, and the only things keeping this from an A is the letdown of missing out on Dupre, Evans and Mixon, who could have made his class phenomenal.
GRADE: B
| Name | Pos | Ht/Wt | Stars | Rank |
| Matt Dickerson | DE | 6-5/260 |   | 16 |
| Denzel Fisher | DB | 6-2/175 | | 39 |
| Cameron Griffin | LB | 6-3/210 | | NR |
| Jordan Lasley | WR | 6-2/180 | | 55 |
| Kolton Miller | OL | 6-8/290 | | 31 |
| Adarius Pickett | DB | 6-0/185 | | 8 |
| Austin Roberts | WR | 6-2/210 | | 13 |
| Ron Robinson | DB | 6-2/190 | | NR |
| Aaron Sharp | QB | 6-3/190 | | 17 |
| Nathan Starks | RB | 5-11/200 | | 15 |
| Ainuu Taua | DT | 6-1/270 | | 18 |
| NaJee Toran | OL | 6-3/263 | | 29 |
| Jacob Tuioti-Mariner | DE | 6-3/255 | | 15 |
| Alex Van Dyke | WR | 6-4/200 | | 37 |
| Jaleel Wadood | DB | 5-11/165 | | 7 |
| Zach Whitley | LB | 6-2/222 | | 7 |
| Dwight Williams | LB | 6-1/212 | | 25 |
| Kenny Young | LB | 6-2/220 | | 5 |