UCLA's 2026 Recruiting Updates at Quarterback

The UCLA Bruins have done an excellent job when it comes to recruiting a handful of different positions. Among the positions they have done well with are positions like the wide receiver position, the defensive line group, and even the linebacker spot, but they have yet to land a very important position at this time.

That position is the QB position, where they are now running out of options. One of the players they were targeting heavily at the position is Oscar Rios.

Rios is one of the better players in the class as a whole, as he was set to commit between the UCLA Bruins, and the Arizona Wildcats, who would defeat the Bruins in the long run, despite the Bruins being heavy favorites at one point. The Bruins lost out by a fraction of a hair, as they were close to keeping one of the better in-state QBs home.

There was a bit of concern there for Rios, who wants to see the field early after the Bruins brought both Nico and Madden Iamaleava to Cali. This is something that we would anticipate, as that would guarantee the Bruins to have a QB battle between Iamaleava and Rios when his older brother Nico, moved on to the NFL. Instead, Rios will now be going to a place where he is up next following Noah Fifita's career.

What made this loss even worse is the fact that there was nobody else for the Bruins. They put all of their eggs in the basket for Rios, and will now face some loud noise when it comes to the class. You have one of two options.

Option 1: You go re-evaluate the QB position, which will lead to offering new guys. You can't be as picky as you would like at the position, as your main objective is to get another body at the QB position. They would have to settle instead of landing a star more than likely, unless they got lucky enough to flip a prospect.

Option 2: They would have to take their loss and recruit the class of 2027 extremely hard in hopes of keeping their young guys like Madden Iamaleava or their star QB Nico Iamaleava in the boat for another season, bare minimum. They could always test the portal, but we will see if that is something they would like to do following the outcome of the season.