JC linebacker Mitchell Agude commits to UCLA

UCLA picked up a commitment from a junior college linebacker for the second week in a row when Mitchell Agude announced his intentions to become a Bruin.

Agude, an outside linebacker who is listed at 6-foot-4 and 235 pounds in the 247Sports prospect database, played his sophomore season at Riverside City College last year. He made 43 tackles (9½ for loss) and tallied 3½ sacks in 11 games with the Tigers. He is not playing this fall as he focuses on getting his academics in order to be able to transfer to a Division I school.

Academics actually played a part in Agude becoming a Bruin target. He originally committed to Maryland after an official visit to College Park, but was informed that several of his credits would not transfer, so Agude reopened his recruitment and was soon contacted by UCLA.

Agude played in high school at Corona Santiago, where he played cornerback his senior year.

He joins Caleb Johnson in the recruiting class after Johnson announced his commitment to the Bruins on Oct. 2. Johnson played at Fullerton College last year before enrolling at Texas in January as part of the 2019 class. He did offseason workouts and practiced with the Longhorns, but had not seen any playing time through the first three games when he chose to enter the NCAA transfer portal in September.

Johnson had 41 tackles, including 8½ for loss, and 5½ sacks as a sophomore for Fullerton College in 2017. He had 120 tackles his senior year at Vista Murrieta High as well as six sacks and he returned a fumble for a touchdown.

Johnson is the No. 1 junior college middle linebacker, per 247Sports rankings, and the No. 28 overall junior college prospect. Agude is ranked as the No. 1 junior college outside linebacker and the No. 19 junior college prospect, per the 247Sports composite rankings. Both are rated as three-star prospects. They will compete for immediate playing time with UCLA losing four starting senior linebackers after the season. UCLA also has a commitment from high school linebacker Jeremiah Trojan of Chandler (Ariz.) Hamilton High.

The Bruins have 12 commitments in the 2020 class with the additions of Agude and Johnson. The class is now ranked No. 58 in the nation and moved up to No. 8 in the Pac-12 after previously being next to last, according to 247Sports. The recent commitments boosted the Bruins past USC’s class, which is now No. 65 in the nation.