Odighizuwa commits to UCLA

Three-star defensive end Osa Odighizuwa visited UCLA last week and then saw his brother Owamagbe, a former Bruin, get selected in the third round of the NFL Draft.

It was a whirlwind sequence of events, and the younger Odighizuwa decided to add onto that Tuesday night by committing to UCLA.

"It feels good; it takes a lot of weight and stress out of the process for me," Odighizuwa said. "Now I can focus on school and on my senior season. I looked at the education and even though all the schools I was talking to had great things on the engineering side, UCLA was definitely the best football program out of the teams that offered.

"I was very comfortable with the coaching staff and decided that was it for me."

The 6-foot-2, 250-pound prospect from Portland (Ore.) David Douglas noted that his brother's experience in Westwood played a factor in his college choice, but it wasn't the most important thing.

"I know since he went through some of the stuff that I would eventually go through, it should go smoother for me than it was for him," Odighizuwa said. "I'll have someone to lean on and he can be there for guidance, for sure."

Odighizuwa also held offers from Boise State and Oregon State. He mentioned assistant coach Angus McClure as a person he's connected well with throughout the process, and that certainly helped the Bruins land their ninth commitment in the 2016 class. Odighizuwa is the first true lineman in that group.

"Coach Angus is a very good line coach and I could play either defensive tackle or end for them," Odighizuwa said. "Wherever they put me I'll be able to help the team. It's great because I know he would coach me up well, so I need to work my hardest to do big things in that defense like my brother did."

Odighizuwa said UCLA is scheduled to drop by his school later this month, and he's got a return trip in mind for June to compete at the Bruins' Elite Camp.

And while his pledge to McClure is strong, Odighizuwa noted he won't close any doors if other programs come knocking.

"I'm not just going to blow off any coaches that reach out, but with this commitment I'm just going to be able to focus on doing well in class and on the SAT," Odighizuwa said.