NEU BLUE CREW KNOX IT OUT OF THE PARK

Bruins come up with a Homer in the bottom of the 9th, signing LA’s Best Player away from Notre Dame at the last minute to complete a stellar Recruiting Class

Star Running Back Milton Knox waited until the last minute, but now it’s Official:  Milton is tiltin’ the scales of Football Power back to UCLA’s side.

Knox, the Birmingham High phenom and Daily News Player of the Year had verbally committed to UCLA a long time ago, partly at the urging of fellow (Brimingham) Patriot Dennis Keyes.  But when Karl Dorrell moved on to the NFL, Knox re-opened his recruitment.  He took a trip to Florida, and last Weekend, a trip to Notre Dame. 

Knox, a Mo Drew-type Back, had such a great time in South Bend, that he decided on Notre Dame for College.  But then one last visit from UCLA’s DeWayne Walker, and some last-minute urging by Knox’ family, made Milton change his mind and STAY HOME, by choosing UCLA. 

That means that the Bruins got almost all of their early commits, losing just one guy.  The Player they lost was not at a SKILL position, so even though he crossed over to the Dark Side, it’s unlikely that his name will come back to haunt the Bruins.

Even with that loss, Rick Neuheisel’s staff still needs to be commended for avoiding the mass defections that some had been predicting.  Of course, retaining Walker and hiring Norm Chow did 90% of the trick.  The rest was the ever-so-persuasive Neuheisel and Company, who have the entire Country convinced that UCLA Football is now Officially “on the map.”

And Knox marks the spot.  What’s NEW for the Bruins is that this stud RB recruit is not even close to being a shoo-in to Start next season.  Fellow incoming Freshman Aundre Dean – who helped recruit Knox to UCLA – is even higher-rated than Knox.  Dean is the #7 guy in the Nation, according to ESPN.  But the two are friends, and could be setting up a platoon that will remind people of the Pepper Rodgers Bruin teams of the 70’s, when they had more than one star Runner.  The Bruins also have Raymond Carter and Kahlil Bell rehabbing from injuries who could definitely challenge for playing time if healthy.

The only thing that’s certain is that there will be a new LEVEL of competition – and excitement – in Fall Practice, like UCLA has never seen before.

And speaking of excitement, here’s a little long-overdue tribute to one of the girls on the UCLA Cheer Squad, who has been sorely under-represented here for a while.   

[Note to a reader named “Sam” —  We are working on a pictorial as per your request, and will be posting it in the very near future.]

FYI:  These photos do NOT have hidden captions, as NO WORDS are required to enhance your enjoyment, but they DO enlarge if/when you click on them.