National Signing Day: Arms Race Begins

WESTWOOD—Pete Carroll and Reggie Bush just might be the best things to ever happen to UCLA football.

In the aftermath of the 2010 recruiting sanctions placed on USC, in which the program was forced to vacate wins, a national championship, a Heisman Trophy, and 30 scholarships, the Trojans have seen their rule of Los Angeles usurped by the once lowly UCLA Bruins.

National Signing Day
Soso Jamabo, a five-star runningback from Texas, is one of several out-of-state signings the Bruins made.

Now that those sanctions have expired, the rival schools are on a parallel paths of greatness, raking in top recruits across the nation in a national signing day arms race the likes of which have not been seen in the history of this crosstown rivalry.

For their part, the Trojans took advantage of their first sanction-free recruiting season in five years to the tune of the nation’s number one recruiting class. Already in the top-five, USC pulled-off a national signing day coup, snagging Long Beach Poly’s Iman Marshall, a five-star prospect and the consensus number one cornerback in the nation.

National Signing Day
Iman Marshall joins a freshmen class of defensive backs that already includes Riverside Poly star Ykili Ross.

Much like USC, UCLA didn’t need much on national signing day to land a top class. However, today Jim Mora and company pulled of several impressive signings, inking Soso Jamabo, Roquan Smith, and Cordell Broadus.

Broadus, a four-star reciever, is the son of Calvin Broadus Jr., the rap legend otherwise known as Snoop Dogg. Broadus will join Justin Combs, the son of Diddy, as the latest child of a music icon to sign with the Bruins.

However, Broadus, unlike Combs, a reserve cornerback who has seen limited action, is considered a legitimate contender for playing time.

National Signing Day
Broadus is the son of rap legend Snoop Dog.

Considering his father is one of USC’s most notable fans, Broadus was considered by many a lock to sign with the Trojans.

“We totally stand by his decision to go to UCLA,” Snoop Dogg said. “We’re Bruins now.”