Bruins still lead for Yandall

Carson, Calif., three-star offensive guard Wade Yandall picked up his first offer from UCLA back in mid-July. While the UCLA offer was impressive, the 6-foot-4, 280-pounder said other schools are starting to show more and more attention now, too.

"I've been really busy working with my team right now, but I've been getting e-mails from Steve Greatwood from Oregon, and some from UCLA," Yandall's the nation's No. 24 offensive guard, said.

"I still have an offer from UCLA. This has been the first time that Oregon's e-mailed me, and actually wanted to talk to me.

"I hear a lot about their uniforms and everything, but I really like their O-line there. When I watched them play against UCLA, it was pretty interesting. It seems like they're a hard-working school."

The Pac 10 schools aren't the only ones after Yandall, though.

"Nebraska and Duke are also very interested, Yandall said. "I got a call from Harvard asking my coach if I would play for an Ivy League school, and my coach told them, 'Why not?' I'm thinking about Harvard, too, and Princeton has been e-mailing me, too."

But Yandall isn't shy about admitting the Bruins might be tough to beat.

"Yeah, it's really UCLA on top," he said. "It has been a favorite school of mine. I've been watching them since I was a kid. It would be great to play ball there. It's real close to home, and I don't have to have my parents fly out anywhere to see me play. It's 45 minute drive to the Rose Bowl."

Before Yandall makes any decisions, he does plan on visiting some schools.

"I'm thinking about visiting Oregon, Harvard, and I haven't picked the other three schools yet," he said. "I've been to UCLA a lot already."

When he does get to college, Yandall said it will fulfill a lifelong dream.

"To tell you the truth, I wasn't really expecting to play college football when I came here for high school," he said. "I was just doing it to keep myself busy, so I've taken really hard classes and tried to make myself look competitive academically first. And then next thing you know, it turns out I'm a pretty good football player.

"My family is real happy for me right now, because I'm going to be the first boy in the family to actually make it to college and play football. I can kind of be a role model for my little cousins and tell them it's possible if you buckle down and work hard."

That hard work has continued throughout the summer on the field, too.

"We just got back from a trip up north to Arroyo Grande for some competition up there," he said. "The skill players in the passing league went undefeated, and the linemen came in fifth place out of 30 teams. We also had a competition in Santa Fe, and I got to meet up with my buddy Giovanni Di Poalo, and we came in third place. We beat St. Bonaventure in tug-of-war. I was happy about that."