UCLA targets make waves in the new Rivals250

Rivals.com released a new set of rankings this week, rolling out the official Rivals250 on Tuesday morning. Plenty of UCLA targets made some waves in the new round of rankings, so here were the notables.

Commits rise and fall

Six of UCLA's 12 early commitments landed in the Rivals250, with all six of them making the Rivals150 cut.

The biggest riser among the commits was four-star corner Jordan Parker, who jumped all the way from 181 to 112 this week. Krys Barnes also made a drastic jump, making his debut in the rankings at No. 130.

The rest of the Bruins' commitments, however, took a bit of a tumble. Most notably, outside linebacker Breland Brandt lost his fifth star, falling from No. 22 to No. 38. His 7-on-7 teammate at Ground Zero, Lokeni Toailoa, also slid from No. 48 to No. 76.

"Toailoa is a hard-hitting, tough inside linebacker who plays downhill and attacks the quarterback and running back in the backfield," Rivals.com West Recruiting Analyst Adam Gorney wrote. "He has a lot of ability and has shown it time and again with pads on. There have been some questions this spring about his lateral movement, though, and his speed in the open field. It's never easy for inside linebackers in 7-on-7 and camp settings but there are times when the UCLA commit needs to show a little more speed."

The other two commits in the Rivals250, receiver Darian Owens and receiver Michael Pittman, only fell a few spots to Nos. 121 and 141 respectively.

California's new No. 1

Arguably UCLA's top remaining linebacker target, Mique Juarez, made the monster leap in the rankings to No. 8 overall. He's now a five-star and the top player in California, jumping over players like Caleb Kelly, Brandt and others for the honor.

"Anytime a kid jumps off the film at you so much like Juarez does as an athlete, you see the things he can do on offense and defense, and then he backs it up during in-person evaluations, you just get that feeling that you're seeing something special," Rivals.com National Recruiting Director Mike Farrell wrote. "You see kids that remind you of others all the time, and the way he can cover like a safety but hits and pursues like a linebacker has to remind you of guys like Shaq Thompson, who are physically imposing but also athletic. Juarez might not be quite as long, but he has that kind of coverage ability and instinctual linebacker type."

Juarez is still a soft verbal to USC, but he's made no attempt to hide his huge interest in UCLA either.

UCLA leans move in the rankings too

Several UCLA leans made their mark in this week's new round of rankings as well.

Four-star Oluwole Betiku jumped up 79 spots to No. 44 after showing off probably the most physically-impressive frame of any recruit out West this spring.

"Every time we saw Betiku this offseason he developed more physically and now he looks like a college-ready player even before his senior season," Gorney wrote. "Even more impressive is that Betiku still has that outstanding speed off the edge and now he's added major power to be able to take over one-on-one reps against offensive tackles. He is still a raw football player learning the defensive end position, so the four-star still has room to grow."

Four-star receiver Dymond Lee, who looked very impressive with his school's 7-on-7 team last month, jumped from No. 157 to 135.

Four-star athlete Chase Lucas stayed steady at No. 108, just four spots down from his last ranking of 104. Alex Akingbulu saw a similar move, heading from No. 238 to No. 245. Defensive lineman Boss Tagaloa didn't move much either, going up one spot to No. 113.

Two other UCLA leans, defensive end Carlo Kemp and receiver Steffon McKnight, slid 20-plus spots each with Kemp coming in at No. 187 and McKnight falling to 174.

Other notables

-Big UCLA receiver target N'Keal Harry earned his fifth star this week. He's teammates with current UCLA-lean Lucas.

-Coveted UCLA safety recruit Lamar Jackson moved up from a three-star to No. 81 in the country after a wildly impressive spring.

-UCLA tight end recruit Thaddeus Moss made his debut in the rankings at No. 224 overall.

-UCLA-leaning defensive end Bryson Young didn't crack the Rivals250, but he was able to earn his fourth star this week.