Redlands defensive end Kylie Fitts ended a whirlwind recruiting month by committing to the UCLA Bruins over schools like the USC Trojans and the Notre Dame Fighting Irish. Fitts will join a UCLA team brimming with talent of all ages on the defensive line and will help make the Bruins more talented than ever in the defensive trenches.
Fitts figures to be in the mix to contribute immediately if he can condition himself right. He is one of the best edge rushers in this class and has the ability to overwhelm his man one-on-one with his physical nature alone. He has excellent burst from the line and is pretty much unstoppable when given a free release. Fitts is also good at evading double teams and just does a great job of playing the run and forcing running backs and quarterbacks to always be aware of his presence. Fitts also is adept at crashing the zone read and could come in handy against spread teams like Oregon and Arizona.
Fitts had been a longstanding USC Trojans commit, pledging back on April 14. It seemed to be an agreed understanding that Fitts would eventually sign with USC as an early entree so he could enroll for spring. However, that spot went to Leon McQuay III, and the Trojans had to tell Fitts that they would only be able to honor his scholarship if he waited and enrolled through the fall.
Ratings: Fitts is a consensus four-star defensive end.
Vitals: Fitts stands at 6’4 and weighs 241 pounds.
Kylie Fitts commits to UCLA over USC and Notre Dame
Defensive lineman Kylie Fitts has picked the UCLA Bruins after the USC Trojans forced him to decommit after rescinding their early offer.
Twitter: @K_Fitts93
Other Offers: Fitts had offers from most of the Pac-12 schools except and also SEC schools like Arkansas, Georgia, Ole Miss and Vanderbilt.
Recruitment: Fitts committed to USC early in the spring, but opened things back up in January when his early entrance was denied. After Fitts was forced to decommit and reconsider his options, he took several trips to UCLA on the weekend of Jan. 18, Notre Dame on the weekend of Jan. 25, and Utah on the weekend of Feb. 1. Fitts ended up going with UCLA.
Video highlights: His 2011 reel is below. Fitts was injured early during the fall season and didn’t play much of his senior campaign.
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