One recruit backed out of his commitment. Then another. And another.
In the span of a week, UCLA’s football team lost five prospects who had said they would sign with the Bruins. The defections added up to what seemed like an obvious conclusion: UCLA’s struggles on the field and the uncertainty it created over the fate of the coaching staff were leading to more than lost games.
“Five in a one-week span isn’t very common at all,” said Brandon Huffman, director of recruiting for Scout.com. “Usually, when you see that, a coaching change just happened.