Class of 2023 WR Rico Flores Jr. Lists UCLA Football as Top 5 Finalist

One of the top wideouts in the West is considering the Bruins alongside Notre Dame, Georgia, Notre Dame and Texas.

(Photo Courtesy of Rico Flores Jr./Twitter)

The Bruins have moved on to the final stage with one of their top targets in next year's cycle.

Class of 2023 wide receiver Rico Flores Jr. released his top five on Tuesday, with UCLA football making the cut alongside Notre Dame, Ohio State, Georgia and Texas. Flores, a consensus top-25 receiver in the nation, is heading into his senior year at Folsom (CA) near Sacramento.

Flores previously had Alabama, LSU, Oregon, Pittsburgh and USC among his 10 semifinalists when he updated his recruitment in December, and he also had offers come in from Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Cal, Colorado, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Nebraska, Nevada, Ole Miss, Oregon State, Stanford, Tennessee, UNLV, Utah, Washington, Washington State, Yale and Alabama State.

cinco…⁵
PNUTTY 💔 pic.twitter.com/jN32ZrDetB

— Rico Flores Jr🕴🏽 (@lil_reek_) February 23, 2022

The Bruins are the only California school in Flores' top-five, so if he decides he wants to stay close to home, UCLA could be the leader in his recruitment. The offer from an Ivy League program in Yale also shows that he has more than enough academic prowess to fit in should he elect to come to Westwood.

"They made it because I love everything that UCLA has to offer," Flores told 247Sports on Tuesday. "Whether it’s school and academics or if it’s on the field always playing in the Rose Bowl. I really love how much my relationship with the coaches there have grown also."

Flores took a visit to campus on Dec. 11, six months after he first picked up his offer from the Bruins, and it remains his only visit thus far.

In his junior season at Folsom, Flores racked up 1,157 yards and 11 touchdowns on 81 catches, in addition to spending time as a defensive back and return man. It was a breakout year for Flores, but he also impressed in shortened a 2021 campaign – for his career, the receiver is averaging 73.8 yards per game on 129 receptions with 24 touchdowns in 29 appearances.

Flores has already accepted an invite to next year's All-American Bowl on NBC.

The 247Sports Composite, Rivals and ESPN all have Flores listed as a four-star recruit. The 6-foot-1 receiver is ranked No. 156 overall by both the 247Sports Composite and Rivals, while ESPN has him at No. 158.

Among wideouts, Flores is ranked No. 14 by ESPN, No. 23 by the 247Sports Composite and No. 24 by Rivals. Flores is a consensus top-15 player and top-three receiver in California.

Flores has been recruited by receivers coach Jerry Neuheisel, who has been one of the most active recruiters on coach Chip Kelly's staff this offseason. Of the 36 offers the Bruins have sent out to class of 2023 prospects, six have gone to wideouts, tied with cornerbacks for the most at a position.

UCLA is already facing some major turnover in its receivers room in 2022, with Kyle Philips going to the NFL Draft, Chase Cota transferring to Oregon and Keontez Lewis transferring to Wisconsin. After this coming season, incoming Duke transfer Jake Bobo will be out of eligibility, while Kam Brown and Kazmeir Allen could be on their way out as well.

Logan Loya, Matt Sykes, Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, Jadyn Marshall and Braden Pegan stand to be the core of the receiving corps by 2023, in addition to any other recruits who join the fray.

Alongside Flores, Kyler Kasper, Malachi Riley, Jeremiah McClure and Grant Gray are the other receivers UCLA is currently pursuing. The first two are four-star prospects, while the others are rated as three-stars following their junior seasons.

The Bruins do not have any commits for 2023, at receiver or elsewhere.

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