UCLA Football Offers Elite Class of 2025 Linebacker Noah Mikhail

The Bruins have added themselves to the list of suitors for the local five-star recruit out of Bonita High School (CA).
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One of the top defensive players in the country has picked up an offer from the Bruins.

UCLA football sent an offer to class of 2025 linebacker Noah Mikhail, the prospect revealed Saturday on Twitter. The Bonita High School (CA) product has spent the past two years racking up tackles, offers and accolades, despite his recruitment still having plenty of runway left.

Mikhail is also sitting on offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Arkansas, Boise State, Boston College, Cal, Colorado, Colorado State, Georgia, Houston Baptist, Michigan State, Nebraska, Nevada, Notre Dame, Oklahoma, Ole Miss, Oregon, San Diego State, San Jose State, Tennessee, Texas A&M, UNLV, USC, Washington and Washington State.

Mikhail has taken multiple visits to Washington, USC and Arkansas, and he has also checked out Colorado, Oregon State and Houston Baptist. UCLA hosted Mikhail for a visit this weekend, which is when he received his offer.

As a freshman at Bonita, Mikhail racked up 75 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, 1.0 sack, two interceptions, one pass deflection, three fumble recoveries and a blocked punt. Mikhail took a big step forward as a sophomore, totaling 112 tackles, 13.0 tackles for loss, 3.0 sacks, one interception, four pass deflections and three forced fumbles.

Mikhail has added 675 yards and seven touchdowns on 51 receptions over the past two seasons, as well as 200 yards on 23 carries.

CalHiSports put Mikhail on their All-State First Team this fall, while MaxPreps made him a First Team All-American. Mikhail was also named San Gabriel Valley Tribune Defensive Player of the Year and Mountain West League Defensive MVP.

Mikhail is graded as a four-star recruit by 247Sports, Rivals and On3, but he is a five-star in the 247Sports Composite. In the 247Sports Composite, Mikhail ranks as the No. 4 player in California, the No. 3 linebacker in the country and the No. 29 overall prospect in his class.

The 6-foot-3, 215-pound Mikhail is the No. 2 defensive player in California in the class of 2025. He has already accepted an invitation to the 2025 All-American Bowl.

UCLA hadn't offered a class of 2025 prospect before this week, but the staff has now reached that stage in their recruitment of two players – Mikhail and quarterback Husan Longstreet.

Linebacker is a position of experience and depth for the Bruins in 2023, but Darius Muasau, Kain Medrano, JonJon Vaughns, Ale Kaho, and Oluwafemi Oladejo will all have exhausted their eligibility by 2025. Inside linebackers coach did his best to build a layer of young depth in his group this offseason, though, signing Tre Edwards, Solomone Malafu, Ty Lee and Donavyn Pellot in December.

UCLA hasn't earned a commitment from a five-star defensive recruit since cornerback Darnay Holmes in 2017.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF NOAH MIKHAIL/INSTAGRAM


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Sam Connon
SAM CONNON

Sam Connon was the Publisher and Managing Editor at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s All Bruins from 2021 to 2023. He is now a staff writer at Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s Fastball. He previously covered UCLA football, men's basketball, women's basketball, baseball, men's soccer, cross country and golf for The Daily Bruin from 2017 to 2021, serving as the paper's Sports Editor from 2019 to 2020. Connon has also been a contributor for 247Sports' Bruin Report Online, Rivals' BruinBlitz, Dash Sports TV, SuperWestSports, Prime Time Sports Talk, The Sports Life Blog and Patriots Country, Sports Illustrated and FanNation’s New England Patriots site. His work as a sports columnist has been awarded by the College Media Association and Society of Professional Journalists. Connon graduated from UCLA in June 2021 and is originally from Winchester, Massachusetts.