How Big Was UCLA's Miss On Rodney Colton?

The UCLA Bruins have been on a mission when it comes to 2026 recruiting cycle where they have landed many of their top targets in the month of July and the month of June, which has helped them surpass a top 20 class at this time.

More than specifically the Bruins have been on a defensive tear where they have landed many of the top guys at certain positions on the recruiting board, including the defensive line where they landed very talented defensive lineman from Tabor High School, Marcus Almada, and then turned around and added his teammate who will play Edge for the Bruins, Carter Gooden.

Gooden has become one of the best players in the class as he is actually rated the highest out of anyone in the class according to 247Sports, who has him listed as a top-70 prospect in the nation.

The Bruins have continued to look for more and more prospects to bring into the class, including the linebacker position where they currently have two commitments, but are looking to learn a third player at the position. One of the players that they have been targeting is Rodney Colton, who is a former commitment of the South Carolina Gamecocks.

Colton announced his commitment on Saturday however, unfortunately, for the Bruins, they were not a part of his finalist, despite pushing extremely hard for him throughout his recruiting process. Instead, the schools that made the cut was the Florida State Seminoles, the Colorado Buffaloes, and the Ole Miss Rebels.

That raises the question how big of a mess was it for the Bruins to miss on Rodney Colton.

It was a major mess for the Bruins to miss on Rodney Colton, who brings so much potential to the table and brings the early playing time type of field to any college that he selects. Colton has a ceiling of playing in the NFL and holds plenty of value to any team that he wants to play for due to his versatility and true leadership at the second level on the defensive side of the football.

The Bruins were targeting him very frequently and even got him on an official visit earlier in the recruiting cycle. While this official visit seemed to go well, they were eventually left out of the recruitment.

The Bruins will be looking to land another prospect as they have to open up the recruiting books even more just to see who is available at this time on the recruiting scene, as they look to land at least three total guys at the position before signing day.