UCLA lands commitment from 2024 linebacker Blake Tabaracci

When Park City, Utah linebacker Blake Tabaracci spoke with Bruin Blitz last week, after his official visit to UCLA, he indicated that he would not be moving swiftly through the recruiting process and was content to take his time to decide. Just a few days later he is now committed to the Bruins.

The three-star recruit announced his commitment to the Bruins early Saturday evening less than a week after wrapping up his official visit to Westwood.

So, what changed?

“Honestly, nothing really. I was about to commit to them when I was still there,” Tabaracci told Bruin Blitz an hour after his announcement. “Just wanted to discuss it with my parents before I made it official.”

Tabaracci had a scheduled official visit to Cal coming up later this month, but he decided not to wait for that visit to make his college choice.

UCLA blew Tabaracci away on his official visit, and that trip to Los Angeles left a strong impression on the 6-foot-1 prospect.

“The whole experience was amazing,” Tabaracci told Bruin Blitz after his visit. “I saw exactly what I wanted to see. The campus and facilities are out of this world. Being in Westwood and around all the amazing places, can’t go wrong there.”

Tabaracci represents the second linebacker commitment for the Bruins in as many weeks following a decision by Yelm, Washington standout Isaiah Patterson, who picked UCLA over offers from Oregon, Arizona State, Washington State and BYU among others.

Meanwhile, Tabaracci had a number of options on the table himself including most of the schools in the Pac-12 including USC, Utah and Colorado plus offers from programs such as Michigan, Michigan State and BYU.

He is the sixth member of UCLA's 2024 class that has been heavily focused so far on offensive linemen and linebackers. Only four-star defensive back Khristian Dunbar-Hawakins plays a different position.

Tabaracci was part of a big official visit weekend at UCLA that took place over the Memorial Day holiday and included defensive end Elijah Rushing, running back Cameron Jonesand receivers Peyton Waters and Kwazi Gilmer. Also on the trip were fellow three-star recruits athlete Davis Andrews and defensive end Keona Wilhite and unranked safety Faletau Satuala.

UCLA's class now ranks No. 34 overall in the Rivals team recruiting rankings for 2024 and is rated second among schools in the Pac-12.

Tabaracci had 43 tackles, 4 tackles for loss, an interception and fumble recovery as a junior at Park City in 2022.