UCLA football looks to be playing catchup with USC on the recruiting trail. The Westwood Big Ten school just delivered two moves at the wide receiver spot that’ll surely grab the Trojans’ attention. One of whom is a name USC and head coach Lincoln Riley is already familiar with.
The Bruins, now led by former James Madison head coach Bob Chesney, started Friday by landing a four-star win: Earning a verbal commitment from Matthew Gregory. But grabbing the blue chip Pennsylvania talent isn’t the only eye-grabbing move near Pasadena.
USC later found out its historic rival is attempting to pull off a massive flip that impacts the 2027 recruiting class.
UCLA Aiming to Pull Recruiting Stunner
The Bruins jumped into the race suddenly for four-star wideout Eli Woodard. The same Woodard who decommitted from USC during May, becoming the first recruiting casualty for Riley and his coaching staff.
But Tracy McDannald of Bruin Report Online via On3/Rivals confirmed Friday that Woodard and UCLA are indeed talking.
“Temecula (Calif.)) Chaparral four-star WR Eli Woodard told me just now that he is following through with a June 19-21 official visit to UCLA, which added a fourth receiver to its class earlier today,” McDannald posted on the social media website X, formerly known as Twitter.
This is a major new development that’s arisen in the zany world of recruiting. California and Miami surfaced first as the clear cut favorites for Woodard. But now Chesney and the UCLA coaching staff really want to stick it to Riley and USC without even facing each other yet on the field.
How Eli Woodard Landed in This Position
Woodard once emerged as a prized local pickup for USC via the Temecula powerhouse. He also chose a school that historically has done wonders with Southern California wideouts. Makai Lemon (Los Alamitos High graduate) ranks as the most recent local talent to thrive. USC also dominated with Amon-Ra St. Brown (Mater Dei High) and Drake London (Moorpark High) recently. All three now will prepare for NFL training camp this fall.
But Woodward ruffled feathers in the land of troy. Particularly with Riley and the front office led by general manager Chad Bowden.
Woodard’s agency wanted their client to explore other schools before signing his letter of intent. But USC instituted a no-visit clause for committed recruits. Another words, recruits who commit to USC are barred from taking visits elsewhere. Those who violate the policy wind up decommitting.
Woodard reopened his recruiting process before June. But now the Bruins are attempting to deliver one last sales pitch to keep him from drifting away from So Cal.
UCLA Flipped USC Talents Before
Landing Woodward becomes an even larger coup that grabbing the Owen J. Roberts High standout Gregory. UCLA swoops up a local talent who was supposed to lead USC’s 2027 wideout room post Lemon if it wins over Woodward.
But flipping Trojan recruits is nothing new in Westwood. UCLA successfully changed the mind of four-star linebacker Bo Calvert in 2018, which arrived before December signing day.
Woodard to Westwood is one to watch now.
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