Jaleel Wadood unveiled the Fours Up signal on his way to UCLA’s starting lineup

USC has its victory salute, the middle and index fingers stretching into a V-shape. Oregon has the “O,” the forefinger and thumb of each hand pressed together to form a circle. Texas has “Hook ‘Em Horns,” the pinkie and index finger extended to create a Longhorn.

Jaleel Wadood contemplated the best use of his fingers after committing to UCLA four years ago … and could only scratch his head. The highly coveted safety commenced a brainstorming session with Demetrice Martin, the Bruins’ defensive backs coach who was recruiting him out of St. John Bosco High in Bellflower.

“We were just talking one night,” said Wadood, now a senior, “and I was like, ‘You know, UCLA doesn’t have a sign like everybody else when the commits are throwing up the signs of the school that they go to.’ ”

Martin conceived a way to represent the four letters of his school as well as the eight-clap, the Bruins’ iconic cheer. It involved holding out four fingers on each hand with the thumbs tucked in.

Four plus four equaled eight, not to mention a new hand signal known as Fours Up.

Martin knew the idea wasn’t enough; he needed a worthy pitchman. So he enlisted Wadood, the star of his recruiting class who possessed an equally luminous demeanor.

“It was a pied-piper type of thing,” Martin said of Wadood’s efforts. “Help me kind of bring all of the rest of the guys in.”

Fingers shot up everywhere, the hand signal quickly becoming a favorite of current players and recruits alike. Some Bruins flashed it for photos after victories. High school prospects revealed their choice of UCLA by holding up their hands in the same fashion or posting pictures of themselves while doing it on Twitter along with the hashtag “#4sUp.”

The hand signal even received a shout-out on NFL draft night in April when Bruin-turned-Atlanta Falcon defensive end Takkarist McKinley concluded a television interview by saying “Fours up.”

Wadood smiles at the mention of the widely adopted symbol of Bruins pride.

“I’ve seen a lot of people throwing up the fours,” Wadood said, “so it’s kind of cool.”

The creation of the hand signal was not the end of Wadood’s impact on recruiting. A teammate of quarterback Josh Rosen at St. John Bosco, Wadood continually nudged Rosen toward Westwood.

“Every day I would tell him, ‘Come to UCLA with me. Come to UCLA,’ ” Wadood said of Rosen, who was one year behind him in high school. “That was all I would put in his head every day.”

Wadood went from catching Rosen’s passes as a two-way standout at St. John Bosco to defending them in practice when Rosen enrolled at UCLA in early 2015. Wadood has remained exclusively a defensive back with the Bruins, moving into the starting lineup as a freshman after safety Randall Goforth required season-ending shoulder surgery.

Wadood has not relinquished the role, having started 37 games heading into UCLA’s game against No. 12 Washington on Saturday at Husky Stadium in Seattle. Wadood has made a team-leading 50 tackles and was one of the primary contributors to the Bruins’ defensive breakthrough against Oregon last week, ripping out the football from tailback Darrian Felix to force one of the Ducks’ two turnovers.

“My teammate already had the runner secured,” Wadood said, referring to cornerback Darnay Holmes, “so I went in with the mind-set of heavy hands and punch the ball out and it happened while securing the tackle, so it was a cool play.”

UCLA coach Jim Mora described the 5-foot-9, 180-pound Wadood as a “spark man” with boundless energy and enthusiasm. There may be only one topic that doesn’t trigger an instant smile from Wadood. It’s his mother, who was never around much.

Wadood was mostly raised by his father, Haamid, a former cornerback at San Jose State who has long served as commissioner of rapper Snoop Dogg’s Snoop Youth Football League. Haamid also was his son’s defensive backs coach at Lakewood High before Jaleel transferred to St. John Bosco after his sophomore year.

“He’s kind of the reason why I’m here today,” Wadood said.

When Jaleel was growing up, Haamid once took him to a hamburger stand when they encountered a gaunt woman standing on the sidewalk. It was Jaleel’s mother. Jaleel gave her a hug and they went their separate ways. He said he hasn’t seen her since the day he graduated from fifth grade.

“It’s hard because at the end of the day that’s still my mother,” Wadood said, “but I’ve had so many people in my life who have had a hand in what I do today. … The more love I’ve had around me, the less I’ve focused on it. It’s still in the back of my mind, but it’s life.”

Wadood said his father always advised him to stay strong and make the best of bad situations.

He’s also made the most of unexpected opportunities, including the hand signal that has become synonymous with UCLA.

“I just think it’s cool and like to see people do it,” Wadood said. “I don’t do it for the credit. I just did it because now we have a signal.”

ben.bolch@latimes.com

Follow Ben Bolch on Twitter @latbbolch