Five-star headed to UCLA
Breland Brandt talked at length with reporters after his game on Thursday and he gave no hint that he was considering a commitment.
But after spending even more time in the last few days thinking about everything the 2016 five-star from Los Angeles (Calif.) Windward came to the realization that his mind was made up.
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On Sunday, Brandt committed to UCLA.
"I finally sat down to kind of think about what I wanted to do and in the process I looked at UCLA and I looked at the things I wanted to do after college and what I wanted to get my degree in," Brandt said.
"I felt like the Anderson School of Management was a great school for me to get my business degree in as well as the coaching staff. They were recruiting me very heavily and I felt like I had a great relationship with them."
Brandt, rated as the No. 16 prospect in the 2016 class by Rivals.com, has developed an especially good relationship with defensive coordinator and inside linebackers coach Jeff Ulbrich early in the recruiting process.
That played a major factor in Brandt's decision this weekend.
"I got a lot of time to talk with coach (Jeff) Ulbrich and sit down with him and discuss things that weren't always so much about football but about life in general," Brandt said.
"UCLA so happened to be the place I was most comfortable and the place I felt I could see myself walking through the campus and playing on that field and wearing that Bruin blue."
As for a position, Rivals.com ranks Brandt as a weak-side defensive end but he can also be utilized at outside linebacker. It's there that UCLA sees him making the biggest impact.
"(Ulbrich) sees me as a hybrid Anthony Barr-type coming off the edge, dropping back into coverage every now and then but mostly just going and getting that quarterback," Brandt said.
Alabama, Arizona State, Cal, Colorado, Miami, San Diego State, USC, Utah and Washington had also offered. Many other programs across the country were recruiting the five-star prospect.