UCLA Football Recruiting: Latest Musings for the Bruins

Although the college football postseason has ended, an entirely new season is just beginning.

National signing day is less than three weeks away. For recruiting junkies, it's essentially a prolonged holiday season mixed in with mystery and intrigue.

The UCLA football team has a potentially exciting next few weeks to look forward to. As it currently stands, the Bruins are in on upward of 10 prospects—and have a legitimate shot at ending up with a top-five class nationally.

The latest storylines of the 2015 recruiting cycle for Jim Mora's team are this weekend's official visitors and the recent developments at tight end.

Official visitors this weekend

Per Tracy Pierson of BruinReportOnline.com (subscription required), UCLA is hosting four visitors on campus this upcoming weekend.

Two of the prospects visiting—3-star linebacker Victor Alexander and 3-star athlete Octavius Spencer—are committed to the Bruins. The other official visitors are wide receivers Tony Brown and Carlos Strickland.

The Bruins are hoping their success in Texas can continue with Strickland. The 4-star Dallas native recently decommitted from Texas Tech and is in all likelihood down to UCLA and Texas.

Strickland fits the mold of the typical UCLA wide receiver. He's a bigger target at 6'4", and he is capable of blocking downfield—a staple for receivers on screens to the perimeter. 

Brown is a local prospect from La Mirada High School. Interestingly enough, he is committed to Texas Tech. However, a good visit to the hometown school could force Brown into staying close to home.

He's an interesting prospect from the standpoint that he can play as both a receiver and a defensive back. This type of versatility surely appeals to UCLA.

Madness at the tight end position

Tight end doesn't traditionally offer a ton of excitement or intrigue from a recruiting standpoint. However, UCLA is spurning that trend considerably in 2015.

"

Coolest recruiting pitch pic.twitter.com/hbDZO5ztLt

— Chris Clark (@Clark8Chris) January 15, 2015"

Alize Jones, a 5-star tight end, has decommitted from UCLA and has since switched his commitment to Notre Dame. Jones had been committed to the Bruins since 2013 and is a considerable talent—ranked as the No. 2 tight end nationally.

It's a strange turn of events for the Bruins.

Even with Jones (loosely) committed for months, it didn't stop UCLA from pursuing the No. 1 tight end in the country in Chris Clark. One look at Clark's Twitter page will give anyone an indication as to how interested he is in the Bruins.

Clark is essentially down to UCLA and Michigan. He will visit the Wolverines this weekend, and he will end his official-visit slate with a trip to Westwood the following weekend.

Both Jones and Clark are dissimilar as players—with Clark appearing to be a better fit for UCLA's offense. While no one disputes Jones' ability and talent as a football player, he often plays as a bigger receiver. UCLA has players on its current roster (Thomas Duarte, Austin Roberts and Alex Van Dyke) with similar attributes.

"

Coach mora sent this fresh pic pic.twitter.com/cGJ3nbaGex

— Chris Clark (@Clark8Chris) January 13, 2015"

Clark is more in the mold of a traditional, brutish tight end.

There's no one on the roster with his skill set or size. He'd give UCLA a bigger option at the position, which would undoubtedly help on running plays with his blocking ability. Clark's prowess as a pass-catcher would also help UCLA's offense in the red zone—and on throws over the middle of the field.

It's bizarre to think the Bruins could go from losing one 5-star prospect to picking up another one at the same position. Clark would fill a major need going forward for UCLA.

All recruiting rankings are courtesy of Scout.com.