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. He submitted the following report on April 16 …
Big brothers because of big brothers
The Cal-UCLA rivalry began in the 1930s. Whether the Bears are puffing out their chest due to their role as big brother in the University of California system or because they are taking $10 million annually in “Calimony” payments, they certainly showed off some sibling supremacy this week.
Mainly because of, well, big brothers.
UCLA had been a finalist for two high school juniors from Southern California: four-star receiver Charles Davis from Westlake and defensive lineman Miles Schirmer from Corona.
But the Bears ended up with commitments from both. And their success was due, in large part, to having the older brothers in Berkeley.
Niles Davis signed with Cal in the 2025-26 recruiting cycle, which played a major role in Charles’ commitment. The Rivals MVP at the Under Armour Camp in Los Angeles said a call from Bears coach Tosh Lupoi late last week, just before he announced a commitment, swung the advantage.
On Thursday, Schirmer, the younger brother of Lucky Schirmer, another Cal enrollee, told the Bears he wanted to follow suit.
So far, Lupoi is 2-for-2 against UCLA in the battle of the brothers.
The grudge match, though, will reach a crescendo when he and UCLA coach Bob Chesney face off in each’s debut at their new schools on Sept. 5 in Berkeley.
Bruins on the hunt
Don’t feel too bad for Chesney and Co., however. The Bruins are on a recruiting bender not seen in Westwood since Jim Mora roamed the sidelines.
UCLA landed a commitment from four-star safety Pole Moala on Sunday, beating Michigan and Mississippi for his pledge and keeping the former Lawndale (Calif.) prospect in the Southland.
That win came the day after the Bruins grabbed four-star tight end Zac Fares. The Las Vegas product had been a heavy lean to Texas, but UCLA’s all-in pursuit changed his mind.
Fares and Moala became the highest-rated pledges to Chesney on both offense and defense, respectively, in the 2026-27 cycle — his first full recruiting class since taking the job in December.
A legacy is legacy
While Cal got the younger brothers of a pair of players, Oregon showed that dad trumps big brother.
West Linn (Ore.) cornerback Josiah Molden has been the No. 1 player in the state since rankings for his class were first published years ago, and he’ll go wire-to-wire in that position.
His older brother, Elijah, was the No. 2 player in Oregon in 2017 but didn’t follow the family route.
Their father, Alex, is one of the greatest defensive players in Ducks history and became a first-round pick of the New Orleans Saints in 1996.
Yet, Elijah spurned a scholarship in Eugene for a career at Washington, where he was a three-year starter before entering the NFL. (He is currently a starter for the L.A. Chargers.)
Josiah had both Oregon and Washington among his top five, along with Notre Dame, Ohio State and USC.
But he chose the path his father paved and committed to the Ducks on Sunday, giving Oregon the No. 1 ranked player in the state for the third straight year.
Prime time QB commitment
Say what you want about Colorado’s tepid high school recruiting efforts under coach Deion Sanders. But the Buffaloes landed another four-star quarterback this week: Tennessee passer Andre Adams.
Ranked the No. 6 quarterback nationally by Rivals, Adams chose Colorado over Florida State, Kentucky and Virginia Tech.
He becomes the highest-rated pledge to CU since the current starter, Juju Lewis, in the 2025 class.
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