Local Offensive Lineman Luke Baklenko Committing in July, UCLA Football in Top 4

The Bruins are competing with Washington, Stanford and Boston College heading into the final month of Baklenko's recruitment.

Fresh off their hottest recruiting week of the cycle, the Bruins got some more good news from a local target.

Class of 2023 offensive tackle Luke Baklenko announced his top four finalists Monday on Twitter, narrowing his field down to UCLA, Washington, Stanford and Boston College. Baklenko also had offers from Arizona, Arizona State, BYU, Cal, Colorado, Duke, Fresno State, Maryland, Northern Colorado, Oregon State, San Diego State and Washington State.

Baklenko said he plans to make his verbal commitment in July once he wraps up his official visits at all four of his finalists.

TOP 4!!!
July commitment coming!@UW_Football @UCLAFootball @StanfordFball @BCFootball
Back to work!@latsondheimer @BrandonHuffman @GregBiggins @adamgorney @On3Recruits @PrepRedzoneCA @AllegianceOL pic.twitter.com/i41cTQkrPd

— Luke Baklenko 🇺🇸 (@LukeBaklenko) May 30, 2022

Baklenko had his official visit to UCLA the weekend of May 20, joining a group of seven other high schoolers touring campus and Wasserman Football Center. Baklenko is set to officially visit Boston College on June 10, Stanford on June 18 and Washington on June 24. Baklenko's mother Jen is a former coach of the Huskies' beach volleyball team.

The Bruins' recruiting class climbed way up the rankings by adding four-star running back Roderick Robinson II and four-star linebacker Tre Edwards on Thursday and Friday, respectively. Those two joined three-star receiver Grant Gray and three-star linebacker/safety hybrid Ty Lee to bump UCLA up into the top third of the conference in 2023 recruiting, according to the 247Sports Composite.

Baklenko would only further bolster that group, and he would give the Bruins their first lineman commit in the cycle.

In his junior season at Oaks Christian (CA), the 6-foot-6, 300-pound Baklenko started 13 games and racked up 43 pancake blocks.

Baklenko is a three-star recruit, according to 247Sports and Rivals. In the 247Sports Composite, Baklenko is the No. 69 player in California, the No. 70 tackle in the country and the No. 847 overall recruit in his class.

That makes Baklenko the No. 2 true offensive tackle in the state, ranked only behind Elishah Jackett, who has UCLA in his top five as of May 12.

The Bruins lost both of their starting tackles – Sean Rhyan and Alec Anderson – to the NFL earlier this offseason. Rutgers transfer Raiqwon O'Neal and Oregon transfer Jaylan Jeffers will enroll to replace them this summer, and Tyler Manoa has moved over from the defensive line, but Manoa and O'Neal do not have the eligibility to stay in Westwood for the long term.

Jeffers and rising redshirt freshman Garrett DiGiorgio are the underclassmen locked in for the next few years, but neither have much in-game experience and there isn't a lot of scholarship depth behind them. Local product Sam Yoon was the lone signee in the 2022 class, so new offensive line coach Tim Drevno is tasked with building out this class and the ensuing ones to make up for the holes.

Offensive tackle is one of the Bruins' most heavily offered positions in 2023, with Baklenko and Jackett only representing two of their eight prioritized targets. Elijah Paige, Spencer Fano, Heath Ozaeta and Raymond Pulido also had officials visits at UCLA in May, highlighting Drevno's focus on the current cycle.

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