ESPN West recruiting Blog

Posted by Greg Biggins

UCLA picked up a commitment Monday night from two-way standout Dalton Hilliard (Honolulu/Punahou). Hilliard took official visits to Nebraska, UCLA and just visited Arizona this past weekend.

"UCLA is where I've wanted to go for a long time," Hilliard said. "I loved my visit there and felt so comfortable on the campus. I wanted to take this last visit to Arizona to have one more school to compare UCLA with, but once I got home, I knew UCLA was the place for me.

"I called up Coach Neuheisel and told him I was ready to commit and he was pretty excited on the phone. I actually had to pull the phone away from my ear because he was yelling so loud."

Hilliard is a standout running back but will was recruited to play in the secondary for UCLA.

"They have a lot of young running backs so they want me to come in at corner or even slot receiver," Hilliard said. "It really doesn't matter to me, I'll play whatever gets me on the field the fastest.

"Right now, I'm just relieved to have the process over. With school and football and all the visits and phone calls, recruiting can get kind of stressful and now that it's over, I'm just really excited and happy to be a Bruin."

Hilliard likely won't be the last player from Punahou to announce for the Bruins. As we reported Monday, receiver Robbie Toma recently was offered by UCLA and could commit later this week. A bigger catch -- and surprise -- would be if the Bruins could land No. 1 linebacker Manti Te'o.

"We have a very good chance to get Manti," Hilliard said. "He loved his visit there and I think he likes the direction the program is going. He loves the coaching staff and I know I'm going to be doing my best to get him to come to UCLA with me. In the end, he'll do what he feels is best for him but I know he really likes UCLA a lot right now."

Colorado commit graduating early
USC commit Matt Barkley (Santa Ana, Calif./Mater Dei) and UCLA bound Richard Brehaut (Rancho Cucamonga, Calif./Los Osos) aren't the only Cali quarterbacks planning to graduate early this year.

Oceanside (Calif.) signal caller Jordan Wynn said he's all set to finish school a semester early so he can enroll at Colorado in the spring.

"I've been planning this for awhile and it's starting to come together now," Wynn said. "January 9 will be my last day of school here at Oceanside and then I start school right away at Colorado. I'm not sure the exact date but it's pretty soon after I graduate."

Like most players who plan to graduate early, Wynn is motivated by the opportunity to possibly play early.

"For me, I just want to get in there and compete," Wynn said. "That's what I'm about; I'm a competitor and I want to give myself every opportunity to play as early as I can there."

Cali running back enjoys first visit
Running back Cameron Marshall (San Jose, Calif./Valley Christian) took his first official visit last weekend to Arizona State.

"I had a lot of fun, it was a good visit," Marshall said. "I took an unofficial visit there in the summer but this was a lot better because I got to see so much more of the school.

"I like the offense at ASU; they run a lot of one back and I think I would be a good fit there. I got to spend a lot of time with Coach Erickson and I got along great with the players on the team."

Marshall is having a big senior season and is easily among the top backs in the West. In seven games, the athlete has rushed for 1,127 yards, averaging more than 10 yards a carry, with 15 touchdowns.

"Northwestern is probably my next visit but I haven't set a date yet," Marshall said. "It will be after the season I'll do that. After that, I'm not sure where else I'll go. I'm still pretty open to all the schools that are recruiting me and I'm in no hurry to make a decision."

Marshall currently has offers from: Arizona, Northwestern, Utah, Oregon State, Arizona State, Cal and Washington State.