UCLA Bruins on a recruiting tear, moves into top 10 of team rankings

Bob Chesney has wasted no time revamping the UCLA program since he arrived in December, and the Bruins are already reaping the rewards.

Just a few months removed from not signing a single blue-chip recruit in the 2026 class after the coaching change, UCLA has a top-10 class in 2027. And they’ve already landed eight four-star commitments, something that hasn’t been done in Westwood since 2016.

That class ultimately finished No. 13 nationally in the Rivals Industry Team Recruiting Rankings, but this one has the makings of being a program-definer for Chesney.

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The two latest additions came Friday and Saturday, beginning with four-star offensive lineman Jackson Roper. A Greenwood Village (Colo.) Cherry Creek product, he committed to the Bruins over Oregon, Ohio State, Texas A&M and USC, as well a host of other Power 4 offers. UCLA wasn’t even previously scheduled to receive an official visit from the versatile lineman, but a recent trip to Westwood changed his recruitment in a big way. He ultimately decided to get on board before taking any of his official visits.

Just a few hours later, four-star cornerback Jerry Outhouse Jr. completed his flip from Georgia to the Bruins after decommitting on Thursday. Outhouse made his first visit to Westwood early last month, and the ball rolled quickly from there.

“The UCLA staff makes me feel like a big priority to them, especially when they can get me out there week after week, and going on the visit, seeing what they have going on shows me where I could play,” Outhouse told Rivals’ Sam Spiegelman. “They have a lot of seniors right now, so spots will be open and ready to fill up.”

Saturday, two more major pieces joined the fold in Rivals four-star running back Jayshon Gibson and top-100 cornerback Juju Johnson. The addition of Johnson, once considered a lean to Oklahoma, pushed the Bruins from No. 12 up to No. 10. And they now sit just behind Notre Dame and Georgia as they look to move up even further.

Bruins rolling on the trail right now

The quartet of Johnson, Gibson, Roper and Outhouse joined Thursday’s big commitment — top-100 defensive lineman George Toia — to give UCLA five major additions over the span of 48 hours.

They joined a group already featuring four-star safeties Pole Moala and Khalil Terry, as well as linebacker Colton McKibben and tight end Zac Fares. The Bruins class also sits at No. 4 in the Big Ten, trailing only Oregon, USC and Ohio State at this point.

UCLA has now beaten out Notre Dame (Khalil Terry), Georgia (Outhouse), Oklahoma (Toia), and the long list of programs mentioned above for Roper. Chesney and his staff have breathed a new life into the program and now have them set up for one of their best classes in at least a decade — if not longer.