Is Hale a Bruin

When we talked to Los Alamitos (Calif.) linebacker John Hale last week, he said he had a trip up coming to UCLA and if the Bruins offered a scholarship, it would tough for him pass that up. Did the athlete get his dream offer?

"Yeah, they offered me at lunch on Saturday and I committed on the spot," Hale said. "Coach Dorrell pulled me and my dad aside and said he usually has his meetings with players on Sunday but since he was going to be leaving early to fly out for a home visit, he wanted to talk to us on Saturday.

"He just told me that he really liked me a lot, liked how hard I played and felt I would be a great addition to the team. Then he told me he wanted to offer a scholarship and wanted to know if I was ready to be a Bruin. I just smiled real big and told him I've wanted to be a Bruin my whole life. So I shook his hand and said, 'yeah, I'm a Bruin.'

"I'm really excited about this. Like I said, UCLA is the school I followed my whole life. They told me they really liked the way I play and compared me a lot to Spencer Havner, which is a great honor. They told me I'll be competing for backup minutes behind Havner next year and I can't wait to get out there in the fall and get going."

Hale, 6-3, 225 pounds didn't play linebacker as a junior and as a result, flew below the radar on the recruiting scene. He had some big games this past season and was especially impressive in CIF semi-final and final games against Lakewood and Long Beach Poly. Boise State and Fresno State were Hale's other choices.