Huffman on Pac-12 recruiting: Cal and UCLA roll on, Oregon State comes alive and Stanford goes national

The Hotline is delighted to provide Pac-12 fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Seattle-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. 

Roll on, Bears

Here comes Cal.

The Bears have had a busy week with three commitments: one from Utah, one from Texas and one from the Golden State.

Offensive tackle Ben Howard of Lehi, Utah took his official visit to Berkeley over the weekend and didn’t need much time to think about his decision, popping for the Bears on Monday.

Two days later, the Bears landed a pair of commitments.

First, Ike Okafor, a defensive tackle from Texas, announced for the Bears; later in the day, running back Anthony League from Long Beach followed suit.

Those pickups — all three-star prospects — propel Cal into the top 10 in the ACC rankings for the class of 2025.

And this weekend, despite the holiday, the Bears will bring in two key targets for official visits: interior offensive lineman Houston Kaahaaina-Torres, the No. 1 player in Hawaii (per the industry-generated 247Sports Composite rankings); and offensive tackle John Mills of San Francisco, who’s just across the Bay from the Bears.

The Beavers’ big gets

Oregon State had just one 2025 commitment under new coach Trent Bray, but the trajectory changed last week.

It started with offensive tackle Noah Thomas of Vancouver, Washington picking the Beavers just 10 days after their scholarship offer.

Then OSU’s top running back target, Kourdey Glass of Hanford, California, canceled his remaining visits and picked the Beavers.

Assistant coach Thomas Ford honed in on Glass and was able to secure his pledge on the heels of an official visit to Corvallis.

Bruins keep churning

UCLA’s recruiting class under new coach DeShaun Foster continues to expand. A big reason for the success is the program’s decision to use May for official visits.

Two of their most recent commitments were on campus just days before pledging to Foster and Co.

Running back Karson Cox of Hesperia, California was one of the first visitors after Foster took the job in February, then returned to campus in March and received a scholarship offer.

He made a third trip this month, despite having several other visits lined up. Three days later, Cox committed to the Bruins.

The four-star prospect was UCLA’s top running back target. His commitment constitutes a big victory for Foster and offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who are both running back coaches at heart.

On Wednesday, just three days after his official visit, three-star tight end Noah Flores of Graham, Washington announced his commitment to the Bruins.

He was the first tight end offered specifically by new tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel.

Stanford stays bicoastal

The Cardinal has recruited nationally better than just about anyone on the West Coast as the school prepares to move into the ACC. And once again, coach Troy Taylor went cross-country for a commitment.

Liam Thorpe, an athlete from Princeton, New Jersey, picked the Cardinal last week and gave Taylor some critical positional versatility.

While he plays both sides of the ball and received scholarship offers as a safety, Thorpe will play receiver for the Cardinal.

Stanford currently ranks sixth in the ACC class rankings for 2025.

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