After nearly six full months without a high school commitment, UCLA has now produced verbal pledges in consecutive days.

It turned out that the more Anthony “Poppa” Jones spent time around Westwood, the more clear his once three-way deadlock became.

The 2026 Irvine (Calif.) Crean Lutheran four-star defensive end informed Rivals national recruiting director Adam Gorney of his commitment, becoming the sixth pledge of the Bruins’ class Thursday just a day after linebacker Matthew Muasau’s formal announcement.

UCLA beat out Tennessee and Washington for Jones, who is currently ranked 17th nationally at the position and the 34th-best overall recruit in California by Rivals.

The decision from Jones comes before taking his scheduled June 6-8 official visit, but he’s been anything but a stranger to campus.

After picking up an offer from UCLA at its prospect camp last June, the 6-foot-5, 260-pounder has been back on campus at least four other times and attended two games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena last season.

Jones’ commitment is a credit, first and foremost, to director of player personnel Stacey Ford. Jones told Bruin Blitz at the Rivals Camp Series Southern California stop in March that Ford was one of his stronger relationships on the staff.

“Really, the relationship is key,” Jones said. “You know, I’ve been knowing coach Stace (Ford), who is head of player personnel up there, I’ve been knowing him since eighth grade. So that’s a guy, you know, he’s always been tapped in with me.”

That was before getting the opportunity to watch the Bruins practice in the spring under the direction of new defensive line coach Jethro Franklin.

During the week of the Friday Night Lights spring practice, Jones made back-to-back visits and came away impressed with Franklin.

“(Franklin) likes the little details, fundamentals — it’s key. He always wants you, when you’re tired, you can rely on your fundamentals,” Jones said of his takeaways after watching the April 15 practice.

By May 4, the Bruins were picking up steam as the team to beat after the Volunteers were the most likely threat earlier in the spring.

“They’re moving up pretty fast,” Jones told Gorney at the Under Armour NEXT camp.

Jones joins a UCLA class that started the week made up entirely of receivers including Jonah Smith, Kenneth Moore III and twin brothers Jaron and Kennan Pula.

With a big piece in place, the Bruins are now looking to turn more of their longstanding relationships into commitments from other high-priority recruits on the defensive side. Most notably, UCLA recently hosted Kahuku (Hawaii) four-star linebacker Talanoa Ili and his large family gathering this past weekend.

The Bruins are hoping this is the start of a domino effect, with another official visit weekend on the horizon.