The first recruit to commit to new head coach Chip Kelly has made it official. Four-star athlete Bryan Addison has signed his letter of intent with UCLA. Addison is 6-5, 180 pounds. He played both wide receiver and defensive back at Serra High in Gardena.
By playing both position pretty much equally, he is listed by scouting reports as an athlete. Every major scouting service has him ranked as the #1 athlete recruit in the country. This is also a rare get for the Bruins, a recruit from Serra High School, which is generally regarded as a well-oiled-pipeline to USC.
Addison had offers from Oklahoma, Ohio State, Michigan, USC and Washington among others. UCLA offered him back in February with former head coach Jim Mora. Wide receivers coach Jimmie Dougherty managed his recruiting. The fact that Dougherty is being retained by Kelly was no small matter in securing Addison. He only took an unofficial visit to UCLA, saving his official visits for “out-of-town” schools.
“It’s where I feel most comfortable and I like the direction the program is going in under Chip Kelly. Bringing in Kelly was a big time power move and showed me a lot,” Addison told 247Sports. “Everything just fits for me at UCLA and I’m excited to be a Bruin. There’s a real brotherhood there and you could really feel that on the visit this weekend.”
It is to be determined if Addison will play both sides of the ball at UCLA. He was specially recruited as someone who could. The returning wide receiver corps is deep in numbers if not elite-level talent. The defensive backfield is losing starter Jaleel Wadood and reserve Mossi Johnson but has everyone else returning.
