The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a weekly dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting analyst for 247Sports.
The following information, in his words, was provided to the Hotline on March 2 …
The dead period is over; the quiet period has started. For the next six weeks, players can visit college campuses, and a lot of West Coast prospects are going to national programs. Several are heading to Texas and Texas A&M, for instance.
With two major events in Southern California this weekend, both UCLA and USC will be hosting a number of recruits. Oregon is also welcoming a big weekend with players from the state of Washington, while Cal will be hosting its Junior Day.
*** Let’s start with the Bears.
With all of the coaching changes during the offseason, this is a chance to get players on campus and in front of the new and old faces.
Their running back commitment in the class of 2025, four-star prospect Jojo Salis from San Bernardino, will be there. So will their 2024 tight end commitment, three-star recruit Camden Jones.
The Bears will also host a few players who are committed to other schools. Three-star quarterback Hauss Hejny, who’s from Texas and is pledged to Duke, will be there.
Same with three-star safety Kingston Lopa from Sacramento, who is committed to Arizona but playing at Grant High School for former Cal cornerback Syd’Quan Thompson. The Bears are trying like crazy to land him.
Two of the best players in the Bay Area this year both play at Fremont High School in Oakland. One is four-star linebacker Naki Tuakoi, who has dozens of scholarship offers, including Notre Dame and Oklahoma, but the Bears would obviously like to keep him home.
They have offered a scholarship to his teammate, three-star prospect Sefo Akuila, who plays quarterback for Fremont but is being recruited as a linebacker.
Mardale Rowe out of Phoenix, a three-star edge rusher, is also expected to be in Berkeley this weekend.
*** Oregon has a handful of visitors coming in. It’s not a huge weekend for the Ducks — they will have one of those in April at their spring game. But a number of players from the Pacific Northwest are coming to campus.
Three of them already have offers from Oregon, and two are in the class of 2024: Tacoma three-star running back Unterrio Latin-Henley and three-star offensive lineman Marquise Thorpe-Taylor.
The Ducks are making a big push for both.
*** USC’s group this weekend includes the No. 1 player in Oklahoma, four-star defensive lineman Xadavien Sims, who’s a top-10 player nationally at his position. And they have a four-star safety from Texas scheduled to visit, Kenyan Kelly.
The No. 2 tailback in the country will be on USC’s campus this weekend, as well, but he’s not from Texas …read more
Source:: The Mercury News – Entertainment
