Following his appearance at the Elite 11 Finals Thursday, four-star Downey (Calif.) quarterback Oscar Rios revealed that he's still undecided on where his commitment lies between his two finalists, UCLA and Arizona.
“We have no idea right now,” Rios told Bruin Blitz after the Elite 11 Finals. “It’s 50-50, for sure, and just can’t wait until we make this decision as a family.”
Rios announced the Bruins and Wildcats as his to finalists on Tuesday and will make his decision on June 27, leaving DeShaun Foster and UCLA a week to make their final pitch for the highly-touted signal caller.
The Downey, California native went on an official visit with the Bruins on June 6 and was part of a large overall group of recruits that visited Westwood over that weekend, many of which pledged to UCLA in the following days.
With Foster and the Bruins finding themselves close to acquiring yet another four-star talent in their stacked 2026 recruiting class, let's take a look at what UCLA can get in Rios.
National recruiting analyst for 247Sports, Greg Biggins, evaluated Rios in May. This is what he had to say about him:
"Rios is a fast rising signal caller and has quickly established himself as one of the nation’s top quarterbacks. Hails from same school that produced current Michigan State starter Aidan Chiles but is further along at the same stage in his development. Has a whip for an arm and one of the quickest releases in the region. A true dual-threat and can take off and pick up chunks of yards or extend a play and use his arm to make a big throw down the field.
"Shows off a live, accurate arm and throws one of the prettier deep balls in the class. Decisive with his reads, gets the ball out on time and throws with anticipation. Extremely tough and has taken some big shots, both in the pocket and scrambling, but never flinches. Highly competitive player, natural leader and draws raves from his coaches for his work ethic and ability to rally his teammates. Lean frame and needs to continue to fill out and add some good weight to handle the shots he’ll take in college but we like where his game is trending and he’s an exciting prospect to track."
Rios would be another momentous landing for the Bruins in the month of June. They've acquired 11 of their 19 total pledges after just two weekends of visits through the first half of the month and are showing no signs of slowing down, shooting up to No. 9 on 247Sports' team recruiting rankings as of Friday.
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At one point, it felt like a matter of time until Notre Dame landed a commitment from 2026 tight end Evan Jacobson. The Irish had already gotten a commitment from project tight end Preston Fryzel, and it seemed like their chances of landing elite target Ian Premer were small. Then Premer shocked much of the college football world by announcing his commitment to Notre Dame and plans for all suddenly changed. On Friday, Jacobson, a four-star tight end and the nation's ninth-overall according to Rivals, announced his commitment to Texas A M. He ultimately chose the Aggies over Iowa State, Notre Dame, and Stanford. Jacobson clearly has a high upside and could go on to be dangerous with Texas A M, but in the numbers game it simply didn't work out with Notre Dame. Notre Dame's 2026 Recruiting Class Tight Ends As nice as it would be to have three tight ends in the class, Notre Dame's chances of landing Jacobson left the building when Premer gave his surprise commitment earlier this summer. Ian Premer checks in at 6-5, 225 pounds from Great Bend, Kansas, and chose Notre Dame over in-state Kansas State. He ranks as the nation's fourth tight end in the 2026 class according to Rivals. Preston Fryzel is a bit more of a project out of Toledo (Central Catholic), Ohio. He checks in at 6-4, 215 pounds, and is more of the receiving threat as a tight end than one that will be asked to do much blocking.
With the trade for Ryan McMahon now complete, it would seem New York Yankees’ general manager Brian Cashman has fulfilled one of his three priorities. He can now cross third base off the list, which leaves the rotation and bullpen as his remaining priorities. However, according to one Yankees writer, Cashman might not be done with the infield. Chris Kirschner of The Athletic reported this after the McMahon trade: “The Yankees may not be done adding to their infield. A team source said the Yankees are interested in adding a right-handed hitter who could play the infield.” Kirschner adds that the Yankees have had interest in Willi Castro and Amed Rosario. But the question now is, how would another player fit in the Yankees’ infield? Needless to say, Paul Goldschmidt and Jazz Chisholm Jr. aren’t going anywhere, and McMahon is just getting there. That leaves the low-hanging fruit. Anthony Volpe has been at the center of controversy all this season. His 13 errors, many of which had come at make-or-break moments, amount to the second-highest total in the game. In addition, his bat has not been able to compensate, hitting .214/.286/.407 with 14 home runs. There was always a lot to like about Volpe. He won a Gold Glove in his rookie year, his power has always been promising and his speed is nothing to scoff at. Unfortunately, his glove has become a liability and his speed has also produced very few results. Volpe has swiped just 10 bags in 17 attempts. His power is the one thing that still has some upside, but it hasn’t been enough to justify a spot in the lineup. Both Castro and Rosario have been far more productive at the plate this season than Volpe. Kirschner doesn’t clarify how serious the Yankees are in their pursuit of another infielder, but that most likely isn’t available information. Having just turned 24, Volpe could still become the type of player that was expected from him as a top prospect. However, his recent performance has weighed heavily on his team’s efforts and it may be buying him a ticket out of the Bronx — or at least a spot on the bench.
According to some, throw out the idea that the Edmonton Oilers should pursue Max Pacioretty. A veteran forward who has earned over $63 million over the course of his NHL career has yet to sign an NHL contract and was recently mentioned in a post by David Staples as a possible fit. In a recent post, the Journal noted, “All of the top NHL unrestricted free agents have already signed contracts, but there’s one big name player still available that makes good sense for the Edmonton Oilers to pursue.” Responses have been varied, with a few quite vocal about the Oilers not following Staples’ advice. “In what world does this make sense?????” writes a commenter on a recent post for The Hockey Writers. Another commenter wrote, “Pacioretty is a good journeyman player but he is injury prone now, late in his career. Oilers might be lucky to get 40 games out of him. They should look elsewhere instead of taking a chance on Patches.” Tyler Yaremchuk of Oilers Nation chimed in and said, “He scored five goals in 37 games last year with the Toronto Maple Leafs. Can’t stay healthy, very old, very slow.” Yaremchuk then went on a rant, listing several Oilers forwards who would be better than Pacioretty. What About Pacioretty on a PTO? Is there any reason that a team that is looking to get younger and faster, and move out depth pieces that were older and less productive than expected, would revert back to last summer’s strategy? It seems like an odd choice on the surface. Something would have to happen that would make giving Pacioretty a look risk-free. That means only a PTO. Even at that point, should he agree, it would require him to be willing to sign a two-way contract for the league minimum.
The Green Bay Packers offense was dealt a bit of a blow early in training camp. Friday, third-round rookie wide receiver Savion Williams was a spectator for practice after suffering a concussion. Williams, chosen by the Packers with the No. 87 overall pick in April’s NFL Draft, is aiming to climb the depth chart at a crowded wide receiver position this summer. At 6-foot-4 and 222 pounds, Williams ran the 40-yard dash in a blazing 4.48 seconds during the NFL Combine and has the profile of potentially becoming a reliable possession receiver and after-the-catch weapon for quarterback Jordan Love and the Packers’ offense. Reaching those benchmarks and climbing the depth chart will have to wait, though, as Williams works his way through the concussion protocol and back onto the field for practices during training camp and the preseason this summer.
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