UCLA Football Recruiting: Meet the Bruins 2015 Class

There's a whole lot of talent entering the UCLA football program in 2015—due in large part to the efforts of head coach Jim Mora and his staff. The Bruins were able to shore up multiple areas of weakness on the roster while also bringing in considerable depth across the board. 

When looking at the numbers, this class is pretty astounding. 247Sports has UCLA with the No. 7 class overall in the entire country. Scout.com also has UCLA registering a top-10 class—and this is without Roquan Smith (more on him later).

Scout.com also has UCLA signing the No. 1 center (Fred Ulu-Perry), quarterback (Josh Rosen), tight end (Chris Clark) and running back (Soso Jamabo) in the nation. If Smith ultimately signs with UCLA, he'll be the fifth top-ranked prospect in the country at his respective position (middle linebacker) to become a Bruin. 

This piece will delve deep into the recruiting class as a whole. Three specific topics of discussion will be dissected pertaining to the crop of new Bruins. 

Increasing the Talent on Offense

There's a major influx of elite talent on the offensive side of the ball. 

Of course, it all starts with Rosen. The elite passer out of St. John Bosco has every characteristic needed to one day become a great quarterback. He's currently benefiting from an early enrollment, which enables him to participate in spring football. 

Simply put, landing the No. 2 player in the entire country, per Rivals.com, is a significant development. There's a real chance he starts next year as a true freshman. 

Signing day started off in terrific fashion for Mora and his staff, as the Bruins garnered commitments from elite talents in Clark and Jamabo. In theory, both should contribute as true freshmen.

Clark is unlike any player on the current roster. At 6'6" and nearly 250 pounds, he represents a throwback option at the tight end position. Clark can be a monster in the red zone and also on routes exploiting the seams of the field.

His ability to be an in-line blocker also gives UCLA more potential options offensively. It can rely on Clark to block on the line in jumbo package situations, as opposed to integrating defensive players in similar roles. 

Jamabo is an explosive playmaker with considerable versatility. The Texas native will start off as a running back, but he's also perfectly capable of lining up as a receiver. With his ability to catch passes out of the backfield—coupled with UCLA's propensity to throw to its running backs—he could be a big factor in third-down situations. 

Pairing Jamabo with the Pac-12's leading rusher in Paul Perkins seems like a scary proposition for the rest of the conference. 

Photo courtesy of 247Sports.

Offensive line coach Adrian Klemm continued to recruit at a high level. He signed the top offensive line class in the entire country, per Scout.com. The group overall has a nice mix of length, size and power. Center Fred Ulu-Perry in particular looks like he could play early. 

Lastly, Mora has done something perhaps no other person has been able to do: end the East Coast/West Coast rap feud. 

UCLA signed wide receiver Cordell Broadus—the son of Snoop Dogg. For those keeping track at home, Mora also signed P. Diddy's son, Justin Combs, a couple of years ago. 

He's also convinced Snoop to switch his allegiance from Southern Cal to UCLA. 

The Ripple Effect of Jeff Ulbrich's Departure

Bizarrely enough, UCLA dealt with a coaching change amidst the euphoria of signing this class. 

On signing day, there were rumblings about the potential loss of defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich to the Atlanta Falcons.

Perhaps equally as surprising, elite linebacker Roquan Smith out of Georgia opted for UCLA over Mark Richt and the Bulldogs. 

Smith had planned to fax in his letter of intent to UCLA—well, that was until he was told about the potential news of Ulbrich (Ulbrich has since left UCLA for the job in Atlanta, per ESPN). This has caused Smith to rethink his decision. 

It truly was a fascinating series of events. Not only might UCLA lose one of its best prospects in the 2015 class, but it also has to scramble and find a defensive coordinator. Ed Donatell, Dave Aranda and Jim Haslett are potential fits for the job. 

As of Monday night, Smith has yet to make a decision as to where he'll attend college. This could bode well for UCLA. From a speculation standpoint, if Smith was really torn between Georgia and UCLA, he already would've signed with the Bulldogs. 

It could be a case of Smith waiting to see what UCLA does with its defensive coordinator position. 

The Depth in This Class

Versatility, length and athleticism characterize the vast majority of this class as a whole. 

Prospects such as Jamabo, Clark, Keisean Lucier-South, DeChaun Holiday, Josh Woods, Rick Wade and Colin Samuel are all extremely long for their respective positions. It seems as if this was an area of emphasis for the staff. 

From a versatility standpoint, Holiday, Samuel, Octavius Spencer, Stephen Johnson III, Nathan Meadors and Will Lockett can all play multiple positions within the secondary. It offers the defense considerable flexibility going forward that will compensate for depth concerns and potential injuries within the unit. 

Name	Height	Weight	Hometown	Position	Star Ranking
Josh Rosen	6'4"	205	Manhattan Beach, Calif. (St. John Bosco)	QB	5
Soso Jamabo	6'2"	205	Plano, Tex. (Plano West)	RB	5
Keisean Lucier-South	6'6"	220	Orange, Calif. (Orange Lutheran)	OLB/DE	5
Chris Clark	6'6"	247	Ridgewood, NJ (Avon Old Farms)	TE	5
Zach Bateman	6'7"	320	Santa Ana, Calif. (Orange Coast College)	OT	4
Andre James	6'5"	275	South Jordan, UT (Herriman)	OT	4
Will Lockett	6'0"	185	Pearland, Tex. (Manvel)	DB	3
Tevita Halalilo	6'4"	320	Moreno Valley, Calif. (Rancho Verde)	OG	4
Bolu Olorunfunmi	5'10"	215	Clovis, Calif. (Clovis North)	RB	3
DeChaun Holiday	6'3"	205	San Marcos, Calif. (Mission Hills)	DB	4
Stephen Johnson III	5'11"	188	San Leandro, Calif. (San Leandro)	DB	4
Octavius Spencer	6'0"	180	Monrovia, Calif. (Monrovia)	DB	3
Rick Wade	6'5"	245	Dove Canyon, Calif. (Santa Margarita)	DL	4
Colin Samuel	6'3"	180	Los Angeles, Calif. (Long Beach Poly)	DB	4
Fred Ulu-Perry	6'2"	312	Honolulu, HI (St. Louis)	OL	4
Josh Woods	6'3"	215	Upland, Calif. (Upland)	LB	4
Cordell Broadus	6'3"	190	Los Angeles, Calif. (Bishop Gorman)	WR	4
Nathan Meadors	6'1"	185	San Bernardino, Calif. (San Gorgonio)	DB	4
Josh Wariboko	6'3"	310	Edmond, OK (Casady)	OG	4

As mentioned earlier within the piece, there was an impetus of fortifying the offensive line. Josh Wariboko and Tevita Halalilo give UCLA power and sheer size within the interior of the line. Andre James looks primed to man the left tackle position in the future, and Ulu-Perry could lead the group from the center position for years to come. 

UCLA fans should be extremely thrilled with how this class turned out. Mora and his staff continue to build both depth and talent from within the roster. The skill positions have received a massive upgrade, and the defense continues to add elite talent and athleticism. 

Should the Bruins add Smith, it'll enhance the perception of the class even further.

Follow Bleacher Report college sports writer Jason Fray on Twitter: @Jason_Fray