UCLA lands four-star DB

The plan was in place for Colin Samuel to take his official visits, sit through his in-homes the next two months and then make a decision.

Yet the newly-minted four-star cornerback woke up Tuesday morning and decided that would no longer be his map. Instead, Samuel knew he wanted to be a Bruin, so he called up Demetrice Martin.

"I kind of got over the recruiting process," Samuel said. "I pretty much knew where I wanted to go. So I just decided to go ahead and do it."

The 6-foot-2, 180-pound cornerback committed to UCLA and became the first true CB to pledge to the Bruins in the 2015 class. He had recently landed huge scholarships from Michigan, Oklahoma and Mississippi State, but none offered Samuel what UCLA did.

"UCLA being pretty much down the street from my house and it being a great education for what I want to major in and I just had a good connection with all the coaches," Samuel said of why he chose the Bruins. "And it being in the Pac-12 and a passing conference, that's just perfect for me and my position. So I just felt like that would be the right decision for me to make."

Plus, it didn't hurt that Martin was able to sell UCLA well to his mom on an in-home visit last week.

"My mom liked him," Samuel said. "He gave her a lot of information and after he came, my mom pretty much liked UCLA a lot. That was where she wanted me to go to, so we both liked UCLA so I just went out and did the commitment."

Samuel said he believes his recruiting process is over now. Other than an official visit to UCLA, and a possible in-home with Martin and Jim Mora this week, the four-star DB will spend the next few months preparing to be Martin's next tall and long cornerback prospect in Westwood.

"I can come in and, if I work for the spot, I can definitely play," Samuel said. "I have the body, I have the talent and (Martin) said I'd definitely thrive at UCLA and he has a lot to teach me and I'm excited for things to come."