Brandon Burton Commits to UCLA Over USC Football

Brandon Burton announced his commitment to the UCLA Bruins over USC, Arizona and Florida State with a Bleacher Report video.

Serra safety Brandon Burton will join Jim Mora’s UCLA squad after announcing his college decision via a Bleacher Report video. The four-star picked the Bruins over USC, Arizona and Florida State.

Burton played receiver and safety for Serra, but he is projected to land on the defensive side of the ball at the college level. The ball skills he developed as a receiver should serve him well at free safety.

When it comes to Burton, athleticism is certainly there, but high-level instincts will be the foundation of his career.

Burton is among the Top 30 players in California according to every recruiting service, though there is a big disagreement as to where he stands on the national scale. The 247Sports rankings place him 446th in the country while Rivals ranks him as high as 112th.

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USC added Marvell Tell and Ykili Ross at safety last year, but even with their presence the Trojans stuggled with injuries across the unit. With that in mind the Trojans are certainly looking to add more numbers in the secondary.

With fellow Serra safety C.J. Pollard already on campus, USC was hoping to bring in Burton to bolster the class. Unfortunately, the renewed interest in the player by the Trojans’ new defensive staff was not enough to bring him into the fold.

Burton’s decision, while no surprise, gets the Trojans off on the wrong foot as they look to finish out the 2016 class. There are 13 commits with seven spots remaining to fill with Signing Day just hours away.