UCLA Should Establish Stronger Roots in the Fresno Region

In a world of national recruiting, UCLA needs to tap into a talent hotbed waiting just a few hours away.

Jan 2, 2015; San Antonio, TX, USA; UCLA Bruins linebacker Eric Kendricks holds the outstanding defensive player trophy after the game against the Kansas State Wildcats in the 2015 Alamo Bowl at Alamodome. UCLA defeated Kansas State 40-35. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images / Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

Eric Kendricks, a UCLA Bruin legend, began his football journey in his hometown of Clovis, California. A three-star recruit out of Herbert Hoover High School in Fresno, Kendricks made the three-hour drive through the grapevine, committing to UCLA.

UCLA has had a fair amount of success recruiting players out of the region known simply as "the Valley," and while Fresno State has a hold over their local recruiting ground, the lack of long-term stability within the program could attract players to a stable coaching situation at UCLA.

Fresno State coach Matt Entz will not stay at the university for long. It's clear, just as it was for Kalen DeBoer, that the Bulldogs are a stepping stone to another job. There are also some questions about the programs' long-term plans once they move over to the historically poorly run Pac-12 conference and about their ability to compete on a national stage.

The opportunity for DeShaun Foster to establish long-lasting relationships in the region is there and they must strike before Matt Entz and his staff do. Unless something crazy occurs, Foster is set to be the head man at his alma mater for the foreseeable future, setting a platform of stability that would be attractive for players from the notoriously hard-working and community-minded valley.

It would also pave the way for a long-term home and home series against Fresno State. Both sides have had a brewing rivalry for a while, amplified by three matchups since 2018. UCLA has never played in Fresno, and a semi-annual trip north could incentivize recruits with a promised trip home to play in front of their families while exposing them to the benefits a university like UCLA has to offer.

It would also ease travel concerns for a program that has to constantly travel across the country. In a world where cash rules everything in recruiting, UCLA does not have the funds to recruit like the top programs in college football. Neither did Indiana and they went to the playoffs, doing so by making up for their shortcomings through finding talent where no one else is looking.

No one is looking at the valley, and they need to. They produce top athletes at an alarming level, finding success at receiver, defensive back, and running back in recent years.

If UCLA wants to see the playoffs sometime in the future, the work must begin today. Laying the foundation throughout all of California will give the Bruins a limitless tap into local and regional talent.

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