Bruins add depth on offensive line and two quarterbacks

UCLA coach Chip Kelly welcomed 10 players to the football program Wednesday after they signed their national letters of intent on the first day of the early signing period.

While the Bruins' class ranks 68th in the country (17th among Big Ten schools) in the 247sports' composite rankings, the class includes three offensive linemen, two quarterbacks, a running back and a receiver to help address some of the needs on offense. The Bruins also signed two defensive backs and a linebacker.

Mission Viejo's Mark Schroller, Mount Tahoma's Marquise Throrpe-Taylor (from Washington) and Lehi High Jensen Somerville (from Utah) were appealing prospects for the Bruins because of their potential versatility along the front line.

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“We had a chance to work all three of them out,” Kelly said. “... All three of them are tall and long, which is what we need. They have a frame you can add to and I know coach (Keith) Belton, our strength and condition coach is really excited about all three of those guys because of the frames they're going to bring into the weight room and then we'll get them involved in our nutrition program and put the good weight on them.”

Kelly believes they have the body type to play offensive tackle, which he declared as a position of need, but remains open to the idea of them playing guard, having cited previous linemen switching from tackle to guard in the past.

“I think we've built up a pretty good class here,” said Schroller, who won a CIF State championship with Mission Viejo earlier this month. “It all starts up front and the offensive line is so crucial to winning games, so having us coming in will be important to the program. There's been a lot of talk about how we need more olineman and I'm just happy to be a part of it.”

Westwood Xaverian Brothers (Massachusetts) quarterback Henry Hasselbeck was the late addition to the Bruins' class, committing Tuesday evening before signing with UCLA on Wednesday.

Henry is the son of former NFL quarterback Matt Hasselbeck. Kelly is familiar with the Hasselbeck family, but Kelly said that Henry's father removed himself from the recruiting process early on.

“This happened organically as we were looking at the high school ranks and quarterbacks,” Kelly said. “Matt as a dad stayed out of recruiting. He wanted his son to be recruited because (Henry) was good enough . ... I talked to

Henry first before I ever talked to Matt just to find out what Henry wanted to do after being committed to Michigan State.”

Hasselbeck was committed to the Spartans, but a sudden coaching change early in the season led him to reopen his recruitment.

UCLA's class didn't feature any new additions to the defensive line, which was a proven strength this season with Laiatu Latu and Gabriel and Grayson Murphy.

Latu opted out of the LA Bowl this past week as he began his preparation for the NFL draft. The Murphy twins declared for the NFL draft on Wednesday.

Kelly will search for quality depth in the transfer portal to help replace his impact players.

Waunakee High tight end Rob Booker flipped from UCLA back to Wisconsin. Booker originally committed to Wisconsin in January but de-committed shortly before receiving an offer from UCLA and flipping his commitment in late June.

Tight ends coach Jeff Faris recently left UCLA to become the head coach at Austin Peay. The Bruins are also without a defensive coordinator and a quarterbacks coach. Kelly mentioned he would look to address the vacancies now that he has signed the 2024 class.

Park City (Utah) linebacker Blake Tabaracci remains committed to the Bruins, but didn't sign on Wednesday. There was no update on his status given on Wednesday.

St. John Bosco running back Cameron Jones credits the bond and relationship he had with the UCLA coaching staff throughout the recruiting process as a reason why he chose the Bruins.

“It's crazy because I dreamed about this as a kid,” Jones said. “... The coaching staff played a big part in (the decision).”