The Three Most Impactful 2026 Recruits for UCLA

Two soldiers don’t make up for the whole army.

Even though Jaron and Kennan Pula are no longer committed to the UCLA Bruins, make no mistake, the 2026 recruiting class has still been an overwhelming success.

Especially when you consider where they were.

From 48th in 2025 to 22nd in 2026? You can say that DeShaun Foster & Co. have done mighty well for themselves.

But the job isn’t done just yet.

Four-star running back Brian Bonner is still at large, narrowing his final two choices down to UCLA and Washington.

There have been conflicting reports about who’s in the lead, but for the time being, it seems like the Bruins may have the upper hand.

And if Bonner comes on board, this is a top-15 recruiting class.

With that, let’s take a look at three of the most impactful recruits in the 2026 class:

Offensive Tackle Johnnie Jones

Jones is an absolute mammoth of an individual. He stands at 6-foot-6, 315 pounds, and holds a 7-foot-1 wingspan.

It’s gotten to the point that Jones clearly overpowers every one of his opponents. The one thing you may have to worry about is once he gets on campus, the size of his opponents may be a shock to him.

Since he’s been so dominant at left tackle for Berkeley Prep in Bradenton, FL, he’ll need to adapt quickly to not just the size, but the speed of the game.

Regardless, he’s an impressive athlete who has all the tools to be one of the best tackles in college football.

Interior Offensive Lineman Micah “Champ” Smith

Another offensive lineman!

The commitment of Jones and Smith is so pivotal to the future of this program.

You build from the trenches out, and if you can’t protect the quarterback, say goodbye to any hope of doing damage in college football.

What makes Smith so important to what this program is building isn’t just his skill on the gridiron, he’s fully bought into what UCLA is doing.

He’s another Florida prospect, which goes to show that Foster may have opened a can of worms digging into Florida’s pipeline. Because not only does he have Jones, but Smith did all he could to bring his high school teammate, Xavier Stinson, on board.

And by God, he did it.

One other part of Smith’s game that separates him from the pack is that he possesses a nastiness to his game that is hard to match.

During the Under Armour All-American Game, Smith earned some reps at right tackle, and he could thrive there. But the style he plays may be best served as an interior lineman.

Defensive Lineman David Schwerzel

Schwerzel is a supreme athlete and has the potential to be even more special.

You can slot him anywhere on the line and you’re going to get exceptional production out of him.

As a junior at O’Dea High in Seattle, Schwerzel only played eight games, but managed to register 24 tackles, four tackles-for-loss, and three sacks — which helped elevate him to become the second-ranked recruit coming out of the state of Washington.

He carries an electric first step that helps him maneuver around tackles. He also has superb strength, so even if the tackles figure him out, he can still overpower them on the line.

He’ll be a welcoming presence to the Bruins’ frontline. While they weren’t terrible, they only managed 1.8 sacks per game, which could be better.

In case you couldn’t tell, the Bruins are heavily invested in not only protecting their own quarterback, but creating havoc for others.

Losing out on two potential four-star receivers like the Pula twins does hurt, but if the line is protecting Nico Iamaleava, then anything is possible.

Iamaleava was a stud in Tennessee, and if you give him just enough space, he’ll make sure to make defenses pay.

Who needs the Pulas when you have receivers like Stinson, Xavier Warren, Jonah Smith, and Kenny Moore to carry the load?

But those players won’t get their due if Iamaleava isn’t protected, which makes Jones and Champ Smith so invaluable to the future of this program.