Sports360AZ
The Hotline is delighted to provide West Coast fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Phoenix-based national recruiting analyst for Rivals/On3.
Trojans get another re-class
When quarterback JT Daniels skipped his senior season at Mater Dei High School in 2018, reclassifying up a year to join USC, it was a bold but rare move.
Now, the Trojans have secured a reclassifying player for the third consecutive year.
On Friday, Roye Oliver III, the dynamic receiver from Hamilton High School in Chandler, Arizona, announced he would be reclassifying to the 2027 class.
Oliver is coming off an incredible sophomore campaign in 2025, when he caught 92 passes for 1,839 yards and tied a state record with 29 touchdown receptions — as well as returning a pair of punts for scores and helping the Huskies to the Open Division semifinals.
He was named the National Sophomore of the Year by MaxPreps and swept every Player of the Year award in Arizona.
But Oliver’s encore in 2026 will be his senior season — he’s skipping his junior year.
His trajectory mirrors those of defensive end Jahkeem Stewart and tight end Mark Bowman, who have joined USC early in the past two cycles.
With NIL prevalent in recruiting, players can cash in sooner and collect their compensation quicker. They take the classes necessary to graduate a full year earlier.
The Trojans are banking on Oliver being a part of their 2027 class.
(His decision wasn’t only news out of Arizona on Friday: tailback Noah Roberts, a four-star prospect from Basha High School in Chandler, committed to Texas to follow the footsteps of his idol, Tucson native Bijan Robinson.)
Tavita tackles Tacoma as Lundin calls
After a slow start, Stanford is making up lost ground.
First, the Cardinal landed their top quarterback target, Sione Kaho, a four-star Polynesian Bowl starter from Lincoln High School in Tacoma.
Stanford general manager Andrew Luck extended a scholarship offer to Kaho last fall and watched him play in October.
Interestingly enough, Luck saw Kaho in person the day after he watched then-Vanderbilt pledge Michael Mitchell Jr. in San Francisco.
Luck ultimately flipped Mitchell to Stanford, then got Kaho on Thursday.
It’s also significant because Kaho is from Tacoma, which just so happens to be the hometown of new Stanford coach Tavita Pritchard. He went home to land his first quarterback.
The news was just as good on Friday, with the Cardinal securing a commitment from offensive lineman Clint Lundin from California powerhouse Concord De La Salle — the alma mater of Cal coach Tosh Lupoi.
Cal stoked with new commit
It wasn’t all bad for the Bears and Lupoi, however.
They were able to flip running back Jaxsen Stokes, who had been committed to Oklahoma since November.
Notably, the Sooners had swiped former Cal tailback Jadyn Ott last year after Ott indicated he planned to stay in Berkeley. He then had an underwhelming 2025 campaign in Norman.
The Bears got one back with Stokes, a high three-star from Sierra Canyon High School in Chatsworth.
UCLA’s momentum continues
No one on the West Coast has experienced a heater like the Bruins.
In the span of about 24 hours, they landed three four-star prospects — all from positions of need and all from out of state.
The run began Thursday when George Toia, from the Dallas Metroplex, spurned Texas Tech to pick UCLA. Of course, he has history with the Bruins: His brother, Jay, was a standout defensive lineman for the Bruins before getting drafted by the Dallas Cowboys.
The younger Toia spent two years of high school in Southern California, then relocated to Texas in part to be near his brother. But time away from the West Coast spurred him to head back to the Southland for college.
On Friday morning, UCLA landed four-star offensive tackle Jackson Roper, the No. 1 player in Colorado in the Rivals Industry Rankings.
Roper didn’t have UCLA in his top 10 — nor did he have an official visit lined up — but the Bruins surged past Texas A&M, Ohio State and Oregon and reeled him in.
The capper came Friday afternoon, when UCLA locked down another player from Texas: four-star cornerback Jerry Outhouse.
Outhouse committed to Georgia and Kirby Smart in March, but UCLA was relentless in its pursuit and convinced Outhouse to visit campus twice for spring practice.
He de-committed from Georgia this week, then announced for the Bruins.
Cougars get their passer, back
While Jimmy Rogers did sign a quarterback from Washington in the 2025 class during his brief tenure at Washington State, the prospect was a late addition who seemed destined for Utah State.
But new WSU coach Kirby Moore has made it clear that he intends to plant a flag in the Northwest — and in his home state of Washington, in particular.
It was fitting that the first quarterback Moore corralled in his first full recruiting class with the Cougars was an Evergreen State native: Ryan Harrington from Anacortes.
Harrington had scholarship options with Power Four schools. While his initial offer came from Rogers, he was an immediate priority for Moore.
That said, Moore is not merely recruiting the Northwest. The Cougars went across the country, to Nazareth, Pennsylvania, for running back Marquez Wimberly.
Beavers go green, Ducks locked in
Things have been a little slow for first-year coach JaMarcus Shephard and Oregon State in the 2027 class, with just one commitment through the majority of April, from receiver Jackson Batch.
So it was welcomed news when Alonzo Green, a three-star safety from Hesperia, California, picked the Beavers.
Meanwhile, it hasn’t been slow in Eugene, where Oregon picked up an under-the-radar commitment from Philadelphia linebacker Brandon Lockley Jr.
He is rated a four-star prospect by Rivals.
Also, Lockley is close friends and teammates with receiver Jett Harrison, the No. 1 player in the entire country in the 2028 recruiting class.
Harrison is the younger brother of Arizona Cardinals receiver Marvin Harrison.
Dan Lanning is always playing the long game.
*** Send suggestions, comments and tips (confidentiality guaranteed) to wilnerhotline@
*** Follow Huffman on the social media platform X via @BrandonHuffman and support @AveryStrongDIPG
*** Follow Wilner on the social media platform X: @WilnerHotline
