Look: Aydin Breland to pick between Georgia, Miami and Oregon, same week he plays St. John Bosco
Mater Dei 5-star defensive lineman Aydin Breland says he's "ecstatic," to be playing St. John Bosco Friday in a showdown between his national No. 1 ranked Monarchs at the No. 7 Braves.
And the following morning at 11:30, "I'm really excited to finally share my decision with the world," his college football destination.
The 6-foot-5, 290-pound senior is the highest ranking Class of 2024 recruit — rated No. 6 overall by 247Sports and No. 1 in California — not to have announced his commitment.
His finalists are Georgia, Miami and Oregon.
In an interview on Thursday with SBLive Sports reporter Myckena Guerrero — see the video at the top of the page — the gregarious Breland said "The main thing I'm looking for in the final school is a great family feel, NFL development and some place I can call home, somewhere around campus where you feel love."
Breland gave Guerrero a detailed description of a place he considers welcoming, a place like Mater Dei, where he said the brotherhood former coach Bruce Rollinson left will always be ingrained in him.
After 34 seasons and 339 wins, Rollinson retired after the 2022 season which was spoiled largely by Bosco, which posted a 24-22 win in the CIF Southern Division I title game.
Like today, Mater Dei was undefeated (12-0) and ranked No. 1 in the nation. During the regular season, the Monarchs defeated St. John Bosco, 17-7, in Trinity League action.
Aydin Breland celebrates Mater Dei's 17-7 win over St. John Bosco during the regular season of 2022.
Photo: Heston Quan
"Rollo always said do it for your brother when it got hard and that resonates with me a lot," he said.
As all games with the Braves, Friday's game figures to be very hard, especially going against Bosco's formidable offensive line that features SMU-bound King Large (6-4, 295), Matai Jefferson (6-4, 350) and Matthew Perdue (6-2, 280).
Bosco's defense is particularly stout with nine seniors ranked among the top 200 prospects in California. Breland didn't go into detail what makes him ecstatic thinking about playing the Braves, but certainly payback must be part of it.
The loss no doubt has been festering for more than nine months.
"I'm so ready," he said. "I'm very excited."
