Devin Fuller to UCLA: Jim Mora Jr. Recruiting with the Best of Them out West

Everybody who had doubts about head coach Jim L. Mora, raise your hands. Seriously, very few people expected a head coach who had nearly the same amount of college coaching experience as you and I have to be doing what he's doing.

Mora isn't just competing in the Pac-12 when it comes to his first year of recruiting; he's arguably putting together the best class in the conference. And depending on what recruiting site you're looking at, UCLA has one of the best classes in the country (No. 8 overall on Scout.com, No. 24 on ESPN.com and No. 12 on Rivals.com).

Did anybody predict this would happen when they fired head coach Rick Neuheisel a few months ago? If so, I need you to pick my lottery numbers next week.

The latest big pickup for the Bruins is quarterback Devin Fuller. He's one of the top quarterbacks in this year’s class and he should add a lot of excitement to a football team that was ranked 88th in the country last year in points scored.

He's a dual-threat quarterback, who runs the 40 in about the 4.7 second range and is a better passer than the typical dual threats we're used to seeing. He has solid accuracy, even on the run, and is a competitor who will lead this team from day one.

While everybody is concerned where Gunner Kiel is going and leaving, Fuller is a quarterback who may have deserved a bit more attention.

But that's not the only solid player UCLA is picking up. They've also landed a solid linebacker in Jeremy Castro, cornerbacks Ishmael Adams and Marcus Rios and then of course there's 5-star defensive tackle Ellis McCarthy.

McCarthy was committed to California, before backing out when the Golden Bears lost members of their coaching staff. The top defensive tackle had offers from Florida, Oregon, USC and Oklahoma, but instead joined UCLA and a first-year head coach.

How does he do it? Who knows? What we do know is this was a goal he had set for himself when he first took over as the head coach of UCLA.

“Something I am looking forward to ... is recruiting. I think it’s a great challenge to me. It’s something new and I thrive on the competition. I thrive on the challenge. I’m looking forward to learning about it. I am looking forward to attacking it. As soon as we’re done today, I’m going to get on it.”

Mora has passed this challenge and with more top players considering the Bruins, he may not be done as we rapidly approach National Signing Day. This could possibly end up as the best recruiting class this university as ever put together as far as the football program is concerned.

There will still be doubts about a first-year head coach whose only college coaching experience was a year as a graduate assistant at Washington. But if he's able to produce with the talent he's bringing in, those naysayers will quickly turn into believers.

Randy Chambers is a B/R Featured Columnist that covers College Football and the NFL. You can contact him @Randy_Chambers or [e-mail]