West Coast recruiting: Panic time for UCLA and Oregon State (?) plus a big weekend for ASU

The Hotline is delighted to provide West Coast fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman the Phoenix-based national recruiting editor for Sports He submitted the following document on Sept Maybe it IS panic time The vibes aren t great in Corvallis or Westwood Both Oregon State and UCLA have second-year coaches Trent Bray and DeShaun Foster respectively who are alums of their schools and both were elevated to the permanent positions when their predecessors left Both are - with coaching and in-game management issues bubbling up in their Week losses Is it now time to push the panic button with regards to recruiting Not quite but the hand is getting closer to the button Both of Oregon State s losses came at home one to a former Pac- school Cal and the other to a future Pac- school Fresno State The latter loss is a bit more concerning with the Beavers welcoming Fresno State into the conference next year When Oregon State and Washington State for that matter were in the original Pac- they constantly had an advantage over schools like Fresno State Boise State San Diego State and Colorado State because of their conference affiliation Now with all things being equal Oregon State has discovered recruiting is more complex against the newcomers Losses and bad vibes can hurt them over the long haul Meanwhile the Bruins are winless and their highest-rated offensive commit Johnnie Jones is being pursued heavily by unbeaten Florida State The situation is made more arduous for UCLA given that he s a Florida native And if the Friday night date with New Mexico is one of the lowest-attended games in UCLA history as certain expect the recruiting vibes won t be positive Then again there presumably won t be multiple prospects in the Rose Bowl due to conflicts with high school games As we noted last week recruiting for the class of is unlikely to be impacted at Oregon State and UCLA because majority revenue-sharing deals already have been cut But the poor starts could undermine recruiting with the and classes and beyond Those prospects will attend games in front of unhappy spectators and in somber locker rooms So the panic button is close to being smashed Arizona State expecting selected big visitors Despite a crushing loss on the road at Mississippi State last weekend Arizona State returns to Tempe to face a future Pac- scheme Texas State Nothing says Pacific like a association from the Midlands Last year ASU managed a three-point win in San Marcos on a Thursday night This season the matchup is set for a Saturday evening And the Sun Devils will have two crucial recruits on their visitors list Chandler Arizona offensive tackle Jake Hildebrand and Denver edge rusher Troy Mailo Both players are juniors Hildebrand has offers from coast to coast with Alabama attending his Basha High School challenge last week he s one of the Crimson Tide s top targets But coach Kenny Dillingham is trying to keep the local kids home With Basha s roster oozing blue-chip prospects Hildebrand the top lineman in the state is a priority Mailo has long been an ASU target The No recruit in Colorado has both Michigan and Oklahoma in heavy pursuit too But the Sun Devils have stayed on him and now get Mailo in town a week after his visit to Kansas State and a week before he visits Oklahoma IMG Heading West While UCLA plays on Friday night and USC heads on the road to Purdue there nonetheless will be a loaded roster in Southern California on Saturday when IMG Academy of Bradenton Florida plays Coronado High School of Henderson Nevada Related Articles Week picks ATS Houston Arizona Oregon Notre Dame and Utah cover Why USC-Michigan St kicks at ET and the reality of the B media deal No resolution in Pac- -Mountain West as judge declines to rule from bench Pac- bowl projections Utah and Oregon to the CFP with Washington in Las Vegas and Cal to the Sun Power rankings SEC dominates as Big struggles ACC collapses The event will be played at Saddleback College in Orange County Although the California Interscholastic Federation offices won t allow California high schools to play IMG anymore IMG is able to play teams from Nevada and set the encounter at a neutral site in the Golden State That creates a homecoming for several players including quarterback Jayden Wade the No athlete in the country in the class Wade was born and raised in Los Angeles but moved to Florida prior to high school to play for IMG He has scholarship offers from everyone but would love to return home for college The Ascenders also have a five-star offensive lineman from California class of offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe who s a USC pledge His older brother Kobe plays for the Trojans And a five-star receiver in the class Eric McFarland who s from Nevada Several other high-level recruits from across the West Coast are on the IMG roster as well There s a method to IMG s decision to schedule the competition in California With prospects from the West Coast more willing to leave home for school not just for college but for high school it could cause even more to look east Send suggestions comments and tips confidentiality guaranteed to wilnerhotline bayareanewsgroup com or call - - Follow me on the social media platform X WilnerHotline Follow me on the social media platform X WilnerHotline