UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster signed his first recruiting class Wednesday, with 17 high school football players signing at the start of the early period.
The 2025 class is headlined by five four-star in-state standouts in the Rivals rankings, including Pittsburg safety Jadyn Hudson, Hesperia-Oak Hills running back Karson Cox, San Juan Hills linebacker Weston Port, Los Angeles-Loyola linebacker/defensive end Scott Taylor and Corona-Centennial cornerback LaRue Zamorano III.
Hudson is the highest-rated player in class, finishing as the 160th overall player regardless of position in the Rivals250 rankings and 14th among players in the state. He was also named a Navy All-American.
Hudson overtook the spot previously held by former commit and Long Beach Poly four-star quarterback Madden Iamaleava, who surprisingly flipped his pledge and signed with Arkansas.
High school teammate and fellow ex-commit Jace Brown, a three-star wide receiver in the class, followed Iamaleava and signed with Arkansas.
Cox made the biggest late jump in the rankings during his senior season, earning his fourth star and debuting at No. 222 in the rankings. UCLA was able to hold off a late run for Cox by crosstown rival USC.
Cox held a signing day ceremony at his high school Tuesday evening before officially being added to the class.
Port, the lone player verbally committed when Foster took over the program in February, is ranked No. 232 after earning Bravo League defensive player of the year honors.
However, Port told Bruin Blitz that he won't officially report to Westwood until near the end of 2026 as he prepares to leave for a Latter-day Saints mission.
“Even though I’ll be gone, I’ll check in from time to time,” Port said. “I feel like I have great relationships with a lot of the guys and the coaches.
“It’ll come quicker than it seems.”
Taylor was the last Bruins signee to earn his fourth star when the rankings updated Nov. 21.
“The vibe is great under coach Foster. Everyone is bought in and truly believes in what he is bringing and building at UCLA,” Taylor said.
Zamorano was among the latest additions to the class after a corresponding move by the program earlier in the week.
Two days earlier, reports surfaced that Demetrice Martin was leaving Michigan State after one season as the Spartans’ cornerbacks coach to return to UCLA.
In turn, the Bruins added Zamorano, who was rated the 24th-best overall player in the state by Rivals.
Three-star Inglewood defensive end Lucien Holland also flipped his commitment after backing off a pledge Sunday to Boise State to pave the way for his move to remain close to home.
UCLA made a strong run once offering Holland in October, and he visited campus once and attended three games while still committed to the Broncos.
Holland’s most recent visit was last Saturday’s regular-season finale against Fresno State.
“I’ve decided to choose UCLA because I believe in the plan (defensive line) coach (Tony) Washington and (coordinator Ikaika) Malloe have for me in the future,” Holland told Bruin Blitz. “I love the energy and realness and passion they bring — not only them, the whole staff. Although UCLA has had a rough year, I believe this class is going to be a huge difference-maker for the future. And not only that, this is also the No. 1 public school in the world for academics. But I’m very excited and can’t wait to get to work with this class that’s going to be coming in.”
UCLA also lost a commitment from Bellflower-St. John Bosco defensive end Epi Sitanilei, who flipped after a late charge and official visit to Ohio State last weekend.
A year after the Bruins failed to sign a high school defensive lineman among their 11-man class, they inked five who spent at least part of their high school careers up front including edge rushers Jewelous Walls (Pittsburg) and Cole Cogshell (Pasadena-Muir) and tackle Tyler Partlow.
Partlow, who prepped at Oakdale (Conn.) St. Thomas More, is one of six out-of-state players headed to UCLA. Others include quarterback Colton Gumino (Illinois), tight ends Noah Fox-Flores (Washington) and Dylan Sims (Arizona), cornerback Chase Coleman (Texas) and long snapper Halakilangi Muagututi’a (Texas/Hawaii).
“Coach Foster has been bringing good energy and been delivering the right message as he was when I committed,” Coleman said.
Added Flores: “The players want to play for (Foster) and it shows.”
The Bruins’ two offensive linemen in the class come from Northern and Southern California, respectively.
Garrison Blank (Rocklin) will come in to play tackle, while Nehemiah Johnson (Orange-Lutheran) will play center in Westwood.
Corona-Centennial cornerback Kuron Jabari Jr., meanwhile, holds the distinction of being Foster’s first commit after he took over the program in February.
Jabari gave the Bruins his pledge during a March 10 visit to campus.
Among those yet to be announced are current commits from a pair of local preferred walk-on specialists, Chatsworth-Sierra Canyon kicker Ashton Zamani and Westlake Village-Oaks Christian punter Lennox Miller.
