Mater Dei Offensive Linemen DeAndre Carter, Brandon Baker Earn UCLA Football Offers
The Bruins are trying to double dip on the recruiting trail.
UCLA football sent offers to two class of 2024 offensive linemen on Thursday – DeAndre Carter and Brandon Baker, both of whom go to Mater Dei (CA). The Bruins had previously only sent three offers to prospects in that class heading into Thursday, and they were all quarterbacks.
With Carter and Baker offered, it makes three Monarchs who have reached that stage in their recruitment with UCLA. The quarterback the pair of tackles protects, Elijah Brown, picked up an offer from the Bruins in late January.
Baker now has five Division I offers, with the others coming from Fresno State and Michigan last offseason and Tennessee and Oregon earlier this month.
Carter, on the other hand, has offers from Alabama, Arizona, Cal, FIU, Michigan, Oregon, Oregon State, Texas and USC.
The Trojans and Beavers were in on Carter as earlier as last April, while the Bruins were alongside Alabama and Oregon in offering him in the past week.
The Mater Dei-UCLA connection may not be as well-established as the one the local SoCal high school has with USC, but there is still a long list of Bruins who started out as Monarchs.
Tight end Mike Martinez and safety William Nimmo Jr. both went to Mater Dei, as did safety Quentin Lake, who is now making a go at the 2022 NFL Draft. Receiver Thomas Duarte and defensive back Andrew Abbott are other alums to come to Westwood from Santa Ana.
With Brown, Carter and Baker playing a major part on offense, Mater Dei won the high school national championship in 2021. Brown racked up 30 touchdowns and 2,581 yards on 74.1% completion, while also rushing for another two scores, with the two offensive lineman protecting him along the way.
Brown and Carter were named MaxPreps First Team All-Americans, while Baker made the Second Team.
Baker moved around the line a lot last fall, playing both guard spots in addition to right tackle. He showed out alongside Brown at the Under Armour All-American camp earlier this month.
At 6-foot-5, 290 pounds, he has the frame of a tackle and has two more seasons to settle in at the position before going to college. Baker has already gone on a visit to Oregon, where his older brother Gary played from 2015 to 2019.
Carter is also 6-foot-5 but comes in at 335 pounds. Rivals has him pegged as a four-star and the No. 3 tackle in his class, as well as the No. 1 tackle in the state of California.
Offensive line coach Tim Drevno has been busy out on the recruiting trail since taking over for Justin Frye in January. While these are the first two 2024 offers he has sent out, Drevno and the rest of the UCLA staff is pursuing eight 2023 offensive linemen.
In the transfer portal, Drevno earned a commitment from veteran Rutgers tackle Raiqwon O'Neal on March 6.
The Bruins do not have a single commit in either their 2023 or 2024 classes, on the offensive line or elsewhere. Tackles Alec Anderson and Sean Rhyan and left guard Paul Grattan are headed to the NFL Draft, though, and the returning interior veterans of Jon Gaines, Sam Marrazzo and Atonio Mafi will be out the door next winter as well.
UCLA will have to make additions up front sooner or later, with Carter and Baker certainly filling those needs should they choose to come to Westwood in the near future.
Follow Connon on Twitter at @SamConnon
Follow All Bruins on Twitter at @SI_AllBruins
Like All Bruins on Facebook at @SI.AllBruins
Subscribe to All Bruins on YouTube
Read more UCLA stories: UCLA Bruins on Sports Illustrated
Read more UCLA football stories: UCLA Football on Sports Illustrated
