How UCLA football solved its recruiting crisis amid turbulent year

The bad news was just beginning when UCLA football recruiting staff learned that DeShawn Foster was fired.

Colleagues came to the office of Hari Darlington, the team's general manager, to tell him one piece of terrible news after another.

This player is out. This player is out. A parent just called, crying and confused.

“I mean,” Darlington said, “it was literally like walking through a minefield.”

After they answered all the calls and met with athletic department administrators and the remaining coaches to develop a structure for a recruiting process that had just become infinitely more complex, Darlington and assistant general manager Steven Price began writing on a whiteboard in the Wasserman Football Center.

In three columns, longtime former NFL scouts detailed a plan to retain committed high school prospects, rebuild the recruiting class and how to implement changes.

Looking at the same board late last week, about two and a half months later, Darlington beamed.

“I look at the progress column,” he said, “and there's nothing but red ticks. That means we've accomplished this goal.”

Along the way, they saved a group of recruiters ahead of the early signing period that begins Wednesday, and may have started a rebuilding effort Bob Chesney, James Madison coach who is expected to be formally announced as Foster's successor later this week.

Piecing it all together sometimes meant simply listening to a frustrated player or parent. Honesty about uncertainty became a guiding principle. Still, there were times when the line about prioritization written on another whiteboard in Darlington's office—”Eat the elephant one bite at a time”—might have seemed like a mockery of him.

This week, Darlington and his staff can finally exhale, if only for a moment. The recruiting class that endured 13 defections since Foster's firing has added nine players, including five who switched their allegiance to other schools and four who recommitted to the Bruins.

“The change of coach didn’t slow anything down.” Interim coach Tim Skipper said.. “The university is still here, still a proud school with a rich football tradition, and just for them to come out there and see the kids and sell them what we have, I mean it was amazing.”

UCLA's 18-player recruiting class includes three four-star prospects and is ranked No. 43 nationally by 247 Sports, ahead of Vanderbilt and Utah, teams that each won 10 games this season and have widely respected coaches.

The Bruins' recruiting staff created this class keeping in mind the new coach's need to fill out the roster with some of his own players, as well as others from the transfer portal. There was also a deliberate attempt to find potential clients who might fit the various schemes.

“The new head coach will have the opportunity to get his players involved, decide who the guys are right for,” Darlington said. “We just wanted to make sure that by the time he arrived, we would have something for him to work on.”

But what guarantees were given to high school graduates who agreed to play under the guidance of an unknown coach? Cooper Jaworski, an offensive lineman from San Juan Hills High who left the Bruins in September but returned to the lineup late last month, said he was told his financial aid offer would be honored regardless of who was chosen as the new coach.

Darlington said UCLA's approach to recruiting fully takes into account the unpredictability of the situation, including the future of coaches trying to find prospects who may never be able to play for them.

“We led with integrity,” Darlington said, “and recognizing that this is uncharted territory for many of us.”

After spending 14 years as an NFL scout with the Carolina Panthers, Darlington knew what to look for in a player. But this desire was not only about talent. The players he wanted also had to fit what he called the Bruin profile: someone who could succeed academically and socially at UCLA as well as compete at a high level in the Big Ten.

Over the summer, Darlington and Price walked the recruiting staff through scouting school, outlining an evaluation process that can help snag these types of prospects.

With a high school class that was on track to be ranked in the top 20 nationally decimated by departures following a coaching change, the recruiting staff began compiling a list of players who fit the Bruin profile and might have been overlooked before Darlington and Price arrived in the spring.

“I had a gut feeling that if we could get one commit and one flip,” Darlington said, “then we could create some momentum.”

It happened in late October when Travis Robertson, a forward from West Bloomfield, Michigan, transferred from Bowling Green to UCLA. The next day, C.J. Lavender, a defensive end for Mater Dei High, made a similar move, abandoning his commitment to Washington and pledging to become a Bruin.

The early success that followed the Bruins' three-game winning streak created a buzz not only in the recruiting community, but also among members of UCLA's football offices.

“Once those first prospects decided to get involved,” Darlington said, “they were really, really proud of it and believed they could do more, and there wasn't a day that I didn't get a text message or Steven didn't get a phone call saying, 'Hey, I think we have a chance on this guy.' »

Among these opportunities were several prospects that employees were already well aware of. Even after he retired from playing, Jaworski continued to appear at UCLA's Rose Bowl games, often chatting on the field with offensive line coach Andy Kwon. Continued pursuit of personnel paid off when Jaworski joined a handful of previously committed players who looked elsewhere only to change his mind and say he was transferring to UCLA.

“Honestly,” Darlington said of the sidelined player's return, “it feels like somebody's coming home.”

Jaworski said UCLA's staff was the main reason for his re-commitment, citing recruiting analyst Aaron Breen, on-campus recruiter O'nalisa Hall, senior director of recruiting Marshawn Frielou and senior associate athletic director Erin Adkins.

“I can name a ton of people,” Jaworski said. “Throughout everything, they all stayed in touch almost every day and made it clear that they wanted me on campus. That meant a lot. I really liked how consistent they were with me even after I left the squad.”

During a recent conversation in his office, Darlington occasionally glanced at a board that represented a blueprint for success: the players his staff brought in would become their legacy if they weren't retained.

“The names have changed, the system has not, and I mean it,” Darlington said. “When I look at it now, it makes me smile.”