By Hannah Gordon
Daily Bruin Reporter
Don’t make a pass at Marcedes Lewis. He’s used to
the coy smile of Miami and the batting eyelashes of Florida and
he’s not interested.
“These guys were getting hit on pretty good,” UCLA
head coach Bob Toledo said of his recruiting class.
“Lewis was the first to commit in September and the first
to send in his letter this morning,” Toledo added.
Lewis, the No. 1 tight end prospect in the nation, stands out as
the gem of UCLA’s 2002 recruiting class which includes 21
Prepstar All-Americans. At Long Beach Poly, Lewis had 710 yards and
11 touchdowns his senior season.
“He will be on the field as a true freshman,” Toledo
said.
But UCLA didn’t have much luck with his Poly teammates,
losing their other four top players to USC. Running back Herschel
Dennis, defensive lineman Manuel Wright, defensive back Darnell
Bing, all Top 100 players according to espn.com, were probably
influenced by the Trojans 27-0 shutout of UCLA Nov. 27.
However, the Bruins still came out ahead of the Trojans and the
rest of the Pac-10. Espn.com’s Tom Lemming ranks UCLA’s
class at No. 6 and USC’s at No. 10.
The class has great depth with 24 letters-of-intent and two
junior college transfers. Moreover, it is balanced, with recruits
at every position.
Perhaps the quarterback position has been the one to gain the
most attention given the departures of graduating senior Scott
McEwan and junior Ryan McCann who’s transferring to
Chattanooga, along with the inconsistent play of junior Cory
Paus.
UCLA signed Matt Moore of Hart in Newhall and Drew Olson of
Piedmont High in Northern California but failed to lure blue chip
recruit Trent Edwards who signed with Stanford.
Moore was SuperPrep’s No. 8 quarterback. He played safety
as a junior and only has one year of real experience at
quarterback. But at 6 feet, 4 inches with a strong arm, he is a
prototype QB.
“He has unlimited potential and is only going to
improve,” Toledo said.
Olson has more experience at quarterback but is smaller at
6-foot-2 and earned a No. 14 quarterback ranking by Lemming.
“As far as who will play and when all remains to be
seen,” Toledo said. “One or possibly both will have an
opportunity to play as a true freshman next year.”
Other top recruits come from the secondary where UCLA signed six
defensive backs. Safeties Eric McNeal from Serra High in Gardena
and Mike Nixon of Sunnyslope in Phoenix, Ariz. headline the group.
McNeal made 80 tackles and seven interceptions as a senior and
played as a quarterback as a junior, passing for 1,452 yards. Nixon
also played at quarterback passing for 34 touchdowns and 2,636
yards, while still finding time to get 109 tackles and eight
interceptions on the other side of the ball.
“We had the biggest need at defensive back,” Toledo
said. “McNeal, Nixon, and (Jarrad) Page may come into
play.”
Depending on how the recruits and current players step up,
current freshman corner Matt Ware, who will get reps at safety in
spring ball, may shift positions.
“We would like to keep Matt Ware at corner if we can. On
the other hand he would be great at safety,” Toledo said.
The Bruins’ next biggest need is at linebacker where they
lost All-American and Pac-10 defensive player of the year Robert
Thomas and All Pac-10 honorable mention Ryan Nece.
Justin London of Roanoke, Va., SuperPrep’s No. 18
linebacker, may compete with current reserves Marcus Reese, Tim
Warfield and Audie Attar at middle linebacker, though he can play
all three backer positions.
“He is talented, physical and mature,” Toledo
said.
Glendale Community College transfer Patrick Pierre-Louis could
also contribute at linebacker. He had 49 solo tackles, 48 assists
and six sacks this past season.
Ryan Boschetti, the other junior college player to join the
Bruins, will compete for a defensive tackle position. Boschetti was
a junior college All-American at San Mateo Community College where
he had 21 sacks in his two seasons.
Both Boschetti and Pierre-Louis will participate in spring
practice. They are joined by Junior Taylor, a wide receiver from
last year’s recruiting class who was held out due to academic
ineligibility, but is now enrolled in school and participating in
winter strength and conditioning.
Toledo also noted that he will make no staff changes for next
season.
The 2002 class is especially impressive given UCLA’s fall
from national champion contender at 6-0 to a 7-4 finish and no bowl
game.
“Obviously when there was a little slide at the end it was
a concern,” Toledo said. “I’m really pleased with
our effort. We filled all of our needs.”
Handsome as he is, Miami head coach Larry Coker can quit winking
at Lewis and his classmates now.