Demetrice Martin built an early recruiting advantage by landing six defensive backs by Christmas and two more before the spring transfer portal closed. Andy Kwon quickly emerged as a challenger after helping secure four transfers and two four-star Florida high school prospects. New assistants and returning coaches competed internally, boosting overall recruitment across positions. The assistants recognized that winning recruiting battles would benefit the entire program. UCLA's 2026 class ranks No. 22 nationally and is on pace to be the program's best since 2018, with analysts saying on-field success could push the class into the top 20.
Demetrice Martin built an early, practically insurmountable lead. Landing six defensive backs by Christmas, the UCLA secondary coach added two more before the spring transfer portal window closed, making this race appear to be a runaway. Before long, a formidable challenger emerged. Closing fast in the battle to become the Bruins' top recruiter on an almost entirely new coaching staff was Andy Kwon. Having helped snag four transfers - a few of whom committed before his hiring - the offensive line coach went on to secure verbal commitments from two four-star high school prospects from Florida, the kind of highly coveted out-of-region talent that UCLA had seen go elsewhere in recent years.
The heated duel to see who could secure the best players, which included every new assistant and holdovers Ikaika Malloe and Jerry Neuheisel, was a welcome surprise to coach DeShaun Foster. "To be honest with you, I didn't know they were going to compete about the recruiting the way that they're doing," Foster said recently of his new assistants. "I knew that they like to recruit, but they're competing." So who's atop the leaderboard? "Meat came out of the blocks hot for a little bit," Foster said, referring to Martin's nickname, "and then Andy came in, so I'm gonna think right now it's Andy, and then coach Meat."
Along the way, the assistants understood that crossing the finish line first meant they would be helping everybody win. UCLA's 2026 recruiting class that is ranked No. 22 nationally by 247Sports.com is on pace to become the Bruins' best since they finished No. 19 in 2018, the latter success largely a result of the efforts of the staff that was in place before coach Chip Kelly's arrival. "If they win some games this year and look competitive," said Greg Biggins, a national recruiting analyst for 247Sports.com, "they could really have a legitimate top-20 recruiting class."
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