UCLA Football Recruiting: OL Noah Pulealii Commits to the Bruins
Pulealii's commitment gives UCLA a pretty good OL class for 2021.
(Photo credit: @YRNnoah29)
UCLA Bruins fans may be reeling in the aftermath of Jake Burton’s decision to transfer from UCLA to Baylor, but the football world continues to turn, and at least today brought some better news. Wednesday afternoon, 3-star offensive lineman Noah Pulealii announced that he was committing to the Bruins.
Noah Pulealii stands at 6’4” and weighs in a 300 pounds. Pulealii hails from Palma High School in Salinas, California and is a consensus 3-star prospect according to 247Sports Composite Rankings. Pulealii is specifically listed as an offensive guard, and 247Sports ranks him as the 22nd best guard prospect in the country, and the 47th best recruit in the state of California.
UCLA had to work hard to land the services of Pulealii. His final six included the likes of UC Berkeley, Utah, Arizona State, Oklahoma, and Florida, with UC Berkeley in particular offering a rising program to go with proximity to home, while Utah has a history of success with Polynesian recruits. That said, UCLA had brought Pulealii in last summer for one of their football camps, and the offensive guard mentioned having a strong relationship with UCLA coaches, especially OC and OL coach Justin Frye, which helped solidify his choice.
Noah Pulealii is a big body, which sets him up nicely to slide into an offensive guard spot at the next level. He has the kind of mean streak you like to see in linemen, able to finish off blocks and bully defenders. In fact, in watching his highlights (which you can watch right here) that mean streak translates well to his blocking on run plays, which appears to be his strength. His footwork is clean, which should help translate to good pass blocking.
For UCLA, getting the commitment of Pulealii is huge win for the coaching staff. Pulealii is the top offensive guard recruit in the state of California, and combined with Thomas Cole at offensive tackle, it gives the Bruins the two top California prospects at their respective positions. There’s been a lot of talk about the California schools being unable to keep recruits home, so for UCLA to get these kinds of successes at what is always a position of need is necessary for Chip Kelly to turn the program around.
Welcome to Westwood, Noah!
Go Bruins!
Welcome to Westwood, Noah! LWG!
Welcome to The Bruins