Recruiting Notes: St. John Bosco's annual scrimmage

BELLFLOWER, Calif. – Powerhouse St. John Bosco held its annual scrimmage on Saturday and like every year the Braves have a bunch of talented prospects. Here are some of the latest recruiting notes from the event.

Jaiden Woodbey is planning two visits this fall. Don’t worry, Ohio State fans. Both are to Columbus.

The high four-star defensive back who remains committed to the Buckeyes said he plans to take his official visit to Ohio State when it hosts Oklahoma in early September. He’ll return to Columbus for the Penn State matchup in late October.

For much of the offseason, Woodbey had seriously considered official visits with Oklahoma, Nebraska and other schools considered but the four-star safety said he’s no longer going to take any other trips.

USC continues to pursue Woodbey – he said the Trojans are coming harder than ever – but he didn’t seem all that interested in considering any other programs.

In the last couple weeks, 2019 four-star defensive back Chris Steele backed off his UCLA pledge – and schools across the country have taken notice.

Steele, who showed this summer at the Rivals100 Five-Star Challenge presented by adidas that he could star at cornerback, said he’s looking at visits to LSU, Michigan and Nebraska so far this season.

USC and Stanford are two other programs high on Steele’s list although after he backed off his pledge to the Bruins, he’ll probably slow things down instead of speeding things up in his recruitment.

One game Steele has pegged is when LSU hosts Auburn in mid-October. The 2019 four-star also is looking at Alabama and others. Those two Big Ten trips could be huge for Steele but he doesn’t have dates locked in yet for the Wolverines or Huskers.

Colby Bowman could emerge this season as one of the top receivers in the West and the 2019 standout has had a great summer.

Recently, Bowman visited Stanford and Cal and received offers from both schools. While both Pac-12 North teams appeal to Bowman for various reasons it definitely sounds like Stanford has the edge in his recruitment. It’s always been a dream school and getting the offer before his junior season came as a complete surprise.

But don’t count out Cal – and definitely don’t dismiss UCLA, either. Bowman and a bunch of teammates visited Westwood recently to tour the new Wasserman Football Center and the 2019 three-star wide receiver loved it. The Bruins could be a major player if Bowman is leaning toward staying close.

UCLA has been pegged as an early frontrunner for 2019 four-star safety/linebacker Ralen Goforth especially since his brother, Randall, starred for the Bruins but there are definitely others involved.

While UCLA stays among the top schools, Goforth said he really has enjoyed working with USC linebackers coach Johnny Nansen this summer and that Nebraska and other schools are clearly in the mix early on.

More than anything, Goforth said he’s focused on transitioning to linebacker from safety this season and will put his recruitment on the backburner.

His brother has definitely talked highly of UCLA and Goforth has been around the program for a long time – those are definitely bonuses – but Randall Goforth, who had been committed to Arizona State early in his own recruitment, has told his younger brother to take his time to make sure he figures everything out before committing.

Penn State and Colorado are showing new interest.

Sua’ava Poti is just getting started with his recruitment but already some Pac-12 schools have piqued his interest.

The 2019 four-star defensive end said he’s been highly impressed with Oregon’s coaching staff so far and his relationship with UCLA’s Angus McClure continues to get better so those could be important moving forward.

But watch out for USC. If the Trojans offer – Poti has already visited there but USC has held off so far – then there’s no doubt he’d take a close look at the Pac-12 power.

“One of the schools that I don’t have an offer from but I’m showing a lot of interest in is USC,” Poti said. “That’s a big school for me.”

D.J. Uiagalelei is a 2020 quarterback who won’t be the Bosco starter this season because Iowa State commit Re-al Mitchell is still running the offense but that has not hurt his recruitment much.

So far, the 6-foot-5, 240-pound prospect with star potential has already landed offers from Alabama, Arizona, Arizona State, Fresno State, Indiana, Oregon, Oregon State, UCLA, USC and Utah.

He said LSU and others are also showing new interest but more than anything, Uiagalelei is interested in learning more this season from Mitchell and his coaches and refining his skills, which are plenty. He still has a long way to go and could be one of the best 2020 quarterbacks in his class.