Edge Rusher Collins Acheampong Announces Commitment Date, UCLA Football in Top 6

The Bruins will be competing with USC, Oregon, Washington, Michigan and Miami (FL) for the services of the fast-rising superstar.

(Photo Courtesy of Collins Acheampong/Twitter)

Progressing from a semifinalist to a finalist, the Bruins remain in the running for one of the fastest rising prospects in the nation.

Dual-sport athlete and class of 2023 edge rusher Collins Acheampong narrowed his list of suitors from eight to six on Friday, and UCLA football made the cut. The 6-foot-8 prospect is also considering USC, Oregon, Washington, Michigan and Miami (FL).

Cal and LSU were the two teams who got trimmed off Acheampong's list, and he also has offers from Arizona, BYU, Colorado, Florida A&M, San Diego State, San Jose State, Utah and Vanderbilt, but they are all presumably out of the picture.

Acheampong also announced his commitment date and time – July 1 at 12 p.m.

@mattk_edits 🤞🏾 Top 6 #AGTG pic.twitter.com/a9ZRbbMdBI

— Collins Acheampong (@collins_xi) April 22, 2022

When UCLA offered the Fairmont Preparatory Academy (CA) product in January, he did not have a recruiting profile on 247Sports, ESPN or Rivals, but he now features on all three of the college football databases.

Acheampong is a four-star prospect according to the 247Sports Composite and ESPN. However, on the former, he is listed as a tight end, while the latter has the 6-foot-7 prospect’s position as defensive end.

The 247Sports Composite has Acheampong ranked No. 22 in California and No. 16 among tight ends, while ESPN has him ranked No. 13 in-state and No. 23 among defensive ends.

Fairmont Prep disbanded its football program following the 2019 season due to the COVID-19 pandemic, so Acheampong hasn’t played organized team football since. In his one season on the gridiron as a freshman, Acheampong recorded 51 tackles, 15.0 tackles for loss, 9.0 sacks and one fumble recovery.

Since football was no longer an everyday option, Acheampong became a major piece on Fairmont Prep’s boy’s basketball team and has become an established local prospect in that arena as well.

Acheampong made it out to the Rose Bowl for UCLA's regular season final against Cal in November, and he has taken multiple visits to Westwood – most recently, he was spotted at Wasserman Football Center on April 7.

More than two months have passed since he referred to the Bruins as his favorite in an interview with 247Sports, and since then, Acheampong received offers from each of his other five finalists.

Acheampong took part in the Under Armour Next Football Camp series in early March, continuing to draw attention and raise eyebrows as one of the top 100 prospects in the West. That weekend very much put Acheampong on the national map, and now UCLA has serious competition in his recruitment.

The edge rusher position has changed in the Bruins’ defensive scheme with the 4-2-5 getting swapped out for more of a 4-3 base and some more multiple sets. As such, Acheampong would appear to be a defensive end for UCLA, a position that could still boast North Texas transfers Grayson and Gabriel Murphy come 2023, while Bo Calvert and Carl Jones may be on their way out by that point.

The Bruins did not add a defensive lineman or edge rusher in its 2022 recruiting class, and its lone 2023 commit – receiver Grant Gray – plays on the other side of the ball.

Acheampong is one of several 2023 pass rushers UCLA is targeting, and they are now another step closer to making him the first piece of their recruiting class on that front.

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