UCLA picks up pair of commits, including ex-Notre Dame OT Michael Carmody

It was no accident Sunday when a pair of “BOOM!” posts, the signal that UCLA has landed a football commitment, came from director of player personnel Ethan Young’s social media account.

The first reveal came quickly as Notre Dame offensive lineman Michael Carmody announced on Instagram that he is headed to Westwood.

As of this post, the second commitment has yet to come forward.

The announcement comes four days after the Bruins finalized the signing of nine transfers, including a pair of former Notre Dame players in wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. and safety Ramon Henderson.

Carmody’s career in South Bend, Ind., was a bit uneven. After appearing in one game as a freshman in 2020, the 6-foot-5, 291-pounder played in 10 games — including two starts at left tackle — the next season followed by just one appearance as a junior with the emergence of Joe Alt, who was a finalist for the Lombardi Award won by UCLA edge rusher Laiatu Latu.

Coupled with a hand injury, Carmody was buried on the depth chart this past season.

Carmody, who is rated a three-star transfer in the Rivals rankings, is expected to have two years of eligibility remaining. He was a four-star high school recruit out of Pennsylvania.

The offensive line was a position of concern last season for the Bruins, whose allowed 42 sacks allowed was only fewer than Colorado (56) in the Pac-12 and ranked 12th-worst nationally among 130 FBS teams.

Starting left tackle Bruno Fina and right tackle Garrett DiGiorgio are both expected to return. Fina started for the first time in his career last season and allowed five sacks to go with 11 quarterback hits, 23 hurries and 39 pressures while registering just a 15.6 pass-blocking grade from PFF on a scale of 100.