Three-star commits with contingencies
Three-star defensive end Rykeem Yates (6-2, 235, 4.7) from Fresno (Calif.) Edison if all goes well could join his high school teammates in college as he went on his first official visit this past weekend.
"My trip to UCLA went really well," Yates said. "I committed.
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"The campus is really nice and the educational center is really big," Yates said. "The student advisors are really cool, too. They explained the whole get down to me like how everything is going to work with my education.
"The UCLA team was really like a family," Yates said. "That reminded me of how things are here at Edison and just sealed the deal overall.
"I really liked the team," Yates said. "They were really close like brothers and the coaches treated them like they were their own sons. So I felt I could end up being really successful at UCLA."
Like many athletes that UCLA looks at, Yates is very versatile and could end up playing a variety of positions once he gets to UCLA.
"They had multiple positions they want me to play," Yates said. "I would say the main positions are linebacker, fullback and possibly D-line if I put the weight on."
Did it help UCLA's cause that Yates has two high school teammates committed to UCLA in three-star cornerback/wide receiver Tevin McDonald and three-star defensive tackle Wesley Flowers already committed to the Bruins?
"You can say that," Yates said. "That's fair to say."
Though Yates is excited about his future with UCLA. He may end up being a candidate for a greyshirt as he has some things academically he needs to take care of first.
"We discussed some things," Yates said. "We still have to talk more about so I can't really go into more details about it.
Yates first burst onto the scene when ran away with the Palo Alto NIKE Camp defensive line MVP award and then he showed that it was no fluke with a dominating senior season after racking up 96 tackles and 16 sacks earning all-league, all-section and all-area honors.
Besides UCLA, Yates has offers from hometown Fresno State and Nevada.