Teammates excited to visit UCLA
UCLA plucked Marcus Rios out of Elk Grove (Calif.) Cosumnes Oaks in the last recruiting cycle and the Bruins are lined up well with that school's top prospects for the next few years.
Sam Smith, a 2013 four-star defensive end, and 2014 offensive tackle Kameron Schroeder are heading to UCLA's spring practice on Thursday, an opening step in the recruiting process that is sure to pick up for both of them.
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Teammate Alex Van Dyke, a 2014 wide receiver, was supposed to visit as well but had to stay home because of track season.
"I talk to Angus (McClure) pretty regularly and he's been up a lot with Marcus and now that Sam is the next guy in line and then Kameron and Alex Van Dyke are 2014 kids," Cosumnes Oaks coach Ryan Gomes said.
"They're really excited to get down to see UCLA, get a chance to meet the position coaches, really spend some good, quality time down there.
"That's one of the reasons Angus told them not to come down for the junior days so they wouldn't get lost in the shuffle with all the guys. They wanted to have a little more personal time."
Having Rios at UCLA could be a factor for Smith as he considers his recruitment but Gomes said it won't be the only influence.
The 6-foot-4, 283-pound defensive end will look at all options and then make the best decision and he's hearing from many programs.
"I don't think it's a huge thing," Gomes said. "They'd obviously love to play with Marcus but it's not going to be the deciding factor for any of our guys."
Smith, rated No. 21 at strong-side defensive end in the 2013 class by Rivals.com, has Washington State and UNLV offers so far but once his academics are more in order then many other major programs are expected to jump on board. Schroeder is already hearing from numerous Pac-12 teams.