Class of 2024 Linebacker Brayden Platt Lists UCLA Football in Top 8

Two months after sending Platt an offer, the Bruins were included as a semifinalist alongside USC, Oregon, Michigan and others.

The Bruins are officially in the running for one of the West's top two-way players.

Class of 2024 linebacker and running back Brayden Platt revealed his top eight contenders Tuesday, and the Yelm (WA) product included UCLA football on the list. Joining the Bruins among Platt's semifinalists are Miami (FL), Michigan, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Texas A&M, Oregon and USC.

Platt had additional offers from Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Cal, Duke, Georgia Tech, Louisville, Michigan State, Mississippi State, Utah, Washington and Washington State, and while he said his recruitment remains open, those schools appear to be out of the running for the time being.

Top 8

I would like to say thank you to all the coaches and colleges who have recruited me this far.

Recruitment 100% open still. pic.twitter.com/UGJZGbWp48

— Brayden Platt (@braydenplatt2) April 18, 2023

UCLA offered Platt and his teammate Isaiah Patterson – a three-star class of 2024 linebacker – back on Feb. 2.

Platt went on a visit to Georgia last summer, and he has stopped by Oregon, Oklahoma and Michigan over the past few months. Although he hasn't made his way down to Westwood, a visit could be in the cards considering his budding relationship with inside linebackers coach Ken Norton Jr.

"Coach (Ken) Norton being a legend in the Pacific Northwest and being my position coach would be a major factor for UCLA," Platt told 247Sports when breaking down his top eight.

Platt played in seven games for Yelm last fall, recording 41 tackles, 5.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sack. On the other side of the ball, Platt rushed for 765 yards and 18 touchdowns while adding 160 receiving yards and a receiving touchdown en route to a state title for Yelm.

Just before he accepted an invitation to the All-American Bowl, Platt showed out at the ESPN300 camp in Northern California last spring. The 6-foot-2, 240-pound prospect is also an elite track and field athlete.

Platt is a four-star recruit, according to 247Sports and ESPN, but Rivals and On3 have him pegged as a three-star recruit. In the 247Sports Composite, Platt is ranked as the No. 5 player in Washington, the No. 24 linebacker is the country and the No. 262 overall prospect in his class.

UCLA has two commits for its 2024 recruiting class – four-star defensive back Khristian Dunbar-Hawkins and three-star offensive tackle Joshua Glanz. The Bruins’ two-man class ranks No. 59 in the country and No. 5 in the Pac-12.

Of the 44 class of 2024 prospects UCLA's staff has offered, five are linebackers. In addition to Platt including the Bruins in his top eight, Long Beach Poly (CA) four-star Dylan Williams put UCLA in his top seven on April 2.

Norton accounted for four of the Bruins' 13 signings in 2023 – Tre Edwards, Solomone Malafu, Ty Lee and Donavyn Pellot – helping bolster a linebacking corps that is on the verge of some major turnover.

Darius Muasau and Ale Kaho will be in their final years of eligibility this fall, while Kain Medrano, JonJon Vaughns and Cal transfer Oluwafemi Oladejo will have exhausted their eligibility after 2024. Meanwhile, the Bruins only added one scholarship linebacker out of high school in 2022 – Jalen Woods – and they did not add any in 2021.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BRAYDEN PLATT/INSTAGRAM