Class of 2023 Quarterback Jaden Rashada Makes UCLA Football Semifinalist

The Bruins are now officially in the running for two of the top quarterbacks on the West Coast in next year's cycle.

(Photo Courtesy of Jaden Rashada/Twitter)

The Bruins spent Christmas stuffing their stockings full of top quarterback prospects.

Class of 2023 quarterback Jaden Rashada made UCLA football a part of his top 10 schools, he announced on Twitter on Saturday. Rashada is also considering Arkansas, Oregon State, Washington, Oregon, Auburn, Oklahoma, Arizona, Penn State and Arizona State

Rashada also had offers from Cal, Colorado, Florida, Fresno State, Georgia Tech, Ole Miss, Purdue, San Diego State, San Jose State, Tennessee, Utah and Washington State.

Rashada is rated as a four-star prospect by 247Sports, Rivals and ESPN. The 247Sports Composite ranks him as the No. 5 quarterback in his class, while ESPN pegs Rashada as the No. 1 dual-threat quarterback in the country.

While Rashada made headlines for signing a four-figure name, image, likeness deal with recruiting app AIR earlier in December, he let his play on the field do most of the talking this fall. Rashada passed for 2,076 yards and 25 touchdowns, rushing for another 188 yards and one touchdown on the ground, as a junior at Pittsburg (CA).

The 6-foot-4 prospect also attempted 13 punts in 10 games this season, the longest of which went 54 yards. Rashada was named an Under Armour All-American over the summer and is one of a few prospects who has already secured an invite to the 2023 Polynesian Bowl.

Rashada earned his scholarship offer from UCLA on Sept. 14 and he went on an unofficial visit on Oct. 2.

The Bruins are going to go through some major turnover at the quarterback position this offseason, with underclassmen Parker McQuarrie and Kajiya Hollawayne entering the transfer portal and Dorian Thompson-Robinson likely declaring for the NFL Draft in the coming weeks. One of the top class of 2022 quarterbacks in the country, Justyn Martin, signed on earlier in December, and former UCF starter Dillon Gabriel committed to UCLA the very next day.

Gabriel, Martin, Ethan Garbers and Chase Griffin are all going to have eligibility to return for the 2023 season as well, meaning Rashada would be joining quite the crowded position room if he committed to the Bruins.

There's also the matter of Nicholaus Iamaleava, who put UCLA in his top 12 earlier on Christmas Day. Iamaleava, another local quarterback, is unanimously rated higher than Rashada, but both are top-five at their position in their class.

Either Iamaleava or Rashada would be the team's highest-rated quarterback commit under coach Chip Kelly. While Iamaleava would rank second in program history behind only Josh Rosen, Rashada would be a few spots behind, earning a nearly identical rating in the 247Sports Composite to the one Thompson-Robinson got in 2018.

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