UCLA gets commitments from two East Coast defensive ends in five days

UCLA’s strong recruiting run continued on Monday as the Bruins picked up their second defensive end commitment from the East Coast in a five-day span when Kenny Mestidor announced his intentions on social media.

The 6-foot-3, 240-pound three-star prospect from St. Thomas More High in Oakdale, Conn., is the ninth player to commit to UCLA since the beginning of October. His choice of the Bruins caps an eight-day period where they collected five commitments, including the recommitment of Hoschton (Ga.) Mill Creek defensive end Myles Jackson.

Jackson committed to UCLA in June, but a day after the Bruins fell to 0-3 on the season Jackson decided to reopen his recruitment, backing off his pledge to the Bruins but keeping them on his list. Jackson chose to recommit to the Bruins on Thursday with UCLA having won its last three games to improve to 4-5 overall.

Mestidor and the 6-foot-2, 230-pound Jackson have the versatility to be able to line up at defensive end or outside linebacker, depending on how the Bruins want to utilize each. But the way the Bruins have moved players around in their defense this year, the position label doesn’t matter quite that much at those edge rusher spots.

Mestidor is the No. 563 prospect and No. 22 wide defensive end in the nation, per the 247Sports Composite rankings, while Jackson is No. 1,251 overall and the No. 63 wide defensive end. The additions of Mestidor and Jackson give UCLA 19 commitments for the 2020 class and bumps the class’ ranking up to No. 31 nationally and No. 5 in the Pac-12, according to 247Sports.