UCLA Football: Recruits Who Will Fill Bruins' Biggest Needs

With about a month until national signing day on Feb. 4, the UCLA football program is sitting pretty in terms of fulfilling needs on the roster with its current recruiting class. 

This piece will speak about the current crop of future Bruins and how some of these athletes fill needs for the team heading into 2015. 

Without further ado, here's some insight into current prospects committed to the UCLA Bruins—and how they figure into the plans down the line in Westwood. 

The Heir Apparent to Brett Hundley: Josh Rosen

The quarterback position poses the biggest and most fascinating question heading into next year. 

With Brett Hundley headed to the NFL, a gaping hole exists in the starting lineup. Three scholarship quarterbacks—Jerry Neuheisel, Asiantii Woulard and Aaron Sharp—are on the roster currently. 

Of the three, Neuheisel has the big edge in intangibles, savvy and knowledge of the offense. However, when looking at his physical tools, he's considerably behind Woulard and Sharp from an athleticism and arm strength standpoint.

When speaking about Woulard and Sharp, both are relatively raw as quarterbacks. In fact, it wouldn't be a surprise to see Sharp move to wide receiver at some point. 

In other words, the quarterback position will be a true competition in 2015. This makes the signing of Josh Rosen even more important. 

As chronicled by former Stanford football player-turned-journalist TJ Gaynor of Sporting News, Rosen is a considerable talent. The 5-star quarterback also benefits from being an early enrollee. He'll have the fortune of going through offseason workouts and also participating in spring practice.

It's also a big deal when Troy Aikman publicly wishes you luck.  

The Versatile Athlete: Stephen Johnson

Credit: 247Sports

Athlete Stephen Johnson.

Versatility is an aspect Jim Mora greatly appreciates when it comes to recruiting prospects. Look no further than his current squad—multiple players have participated on both sides of the ball. 

In this current class, Stephen Johnson out of San Leandro in Northern California fits the bill perfectly.

The Scout.com 4-star athlete is capable of playing on either side of the ball. It's up in the air as to where he'll exactly play when he gets to UCLA. Should UCLA sign a receiver (or two) down the stretch, it likely would push Johnson to the secondary initially.

If the Bruins aren't successful in signing a playmaker, then don't be shocked to see Johnson line up in the slot on offense. 

Regardless, he is exceptionally athletic. He's a sub-4.4 runner in the 40-yard dash and will instantly become one of the fastest members of the team. Johnson also is dynamic returning both kicks and punts. 

His overall versatility gives UCLA flexibility when it comes to recruiting other prospects. 

Solidifying the Offensive Line for the Present—and the Future

Credit: 247Sports

Offensive line prospect Fred Ulu-Perry.

Over the course of his time at UCLA, offensive line coach Adrian Klemm has done a terrific job of rebuilding an offensive line unit devoid of both talent and depth when he first took over. 

2015 will be the first time in seemingly more than a decade that UCLA will have experienced depth from within both its starting unit and the reserve corps. Credit Klemm for being an absolute beast on the recruiting trails. 

This current haul of commitments fortifies the unit going forward. 

Klemm has commitments from one of the better tackles on the entire West Coast in Scout.com 4-star Andre James, the top center in the country in Fred Ulu-Perry, the No. 2 guard prospect on the West Coast in Tevita Halalilo and 4-star junior college transfer tackle Zach Bateman. 

Of the quartet, expect Bateman and Ulu-Perry to make the quickest impact in college. Bateman has already enrolled in school and figures to battle for a starting job next season. Ulu-Perry will provide cover at both center and guard. 

As the old adage goes, one should build a football team from the inside out. UCLA has done a terrific job of addressing both the offensive and defensive lines and is continuing to make it a point of emphasis in 2015. 

Finding the Next Anthony Barr: Keisean Lucier-South

Credit: 247Sports

Hybrid OLB/DE Keisean Lucier-South

UCLA had trouble at times this year generating a consistent pass rush.

The Bruins sorely lacked someone with the skill set of Anthony Barr. He was able to act as essentially a hybrid outside linebacker/defensive end during the last two years of his UCLA career. 

Although few players are as innately talented as Barr is, the Bruins may have found someone with similar attributes in Scout.com 5-star prospect Keisean Lucier-South. 

The Orange Lutheran High School product is just scratching the surface of how truly good he can be. Blessed with tremendous length and quickness, he has the ability to be a terror off the edge with continued development. 

He had a great showing throughout the week at the U.S. Army All-American Bowl practices and even made a big play during the game. 

Building Depth at Corner

Credit: 247Sports

Committed defensive back Colin Samuel.

As evidenced in the bowl game versus Kansas State, depth at the corner position is a bit shaky. While the roster has some talent, none of it is proven outside of Ishmael Adams and Fabian Moreau. 

Not surprisingly, the program has landed the commitments of multiple corner prospects within the 2015 cycle.

As mentioned previously, Johnson could play corner. Octavius Spencer is another commitment with versatility. Like Johnson, he can function as both a corner and receiver. Although he's the lowest ranked of the corner commitments, Spencer is talented in his own right. The Bruins beat out Oregon for his services. 

The other two commitments at corner are William Lockett and Colin Samuel.

Lockett is a physical corner with good cover skills. He plays the game with a ton of confidence and appears to be a candidate to contribute right away. He opted for UCLA over Oklahoma, Michigan State, Louisville and Missouri, among others.

Samuel is a long corner with a good frame. He needs to get stronger, but the upside is there for him to be great down the line. It also doesn't hurt UCLA that Samuel hails from Long Beach Poly High School—and is a teammate of fellow prospect Iman Marshall. 

Recruit rankings courtesy of Scout.com.