Back against the wall, Rick Neuheisel may have a terminal case of recruiting blues

Rick Neuheisel never asked for this fight on such explicit terms, but since UCLA went out of its way to publicly declare the end of the Los Angeles Football Monopoly before Neuheisel's first season in 2008, the Bruins have only seriously competed with local overlord USC on one front: Recruiting. Yes, the Trojans have continued to dominate the rankings locally, regionally and nationally, without barely a wobble on the trail despite an abrupt coaching change and major NCAA sanctions in the last year. But Neuheisel has held his own on every front, dramatically increasing UCLA's share of home-grown talent while assembling three straight classes that landed in the top 15 nationally and just behind USC in the Pac-10. For all the hype surrounding the rapid rise of Oregon and Stanford under Chip Kelly and Jim Harbaugh, respectively, Neuheisel consistently out-recruited them both according to the gurus.

On the field, of course, the gurus have played the fool alongside the players they once touted. The Bruins have been abysmal despite the alleged influx of talent, collapsing in a 4-8 heap last year with six losses in their last seven, forcing Neuheisel to sacrifice both his offensive and defensive coordinators to the uneasiness surrounding his own return for season four. As you might expect, recruiting has plummeted accordingly – with less than 10 days to go until signing day, UCLA…

• Has only nine commitments (the ninth commitment, from two-star running back Steven Manfro, came in over the weekend), easily the fewest of any team in any of the "Big Six" BCS conferences. Only nine other teams have fewer than 15 commitments at this stage of the process, and all but two of those (Purdue, with 14, and Arizona State with 12) went through a head-coaching change.

• Has only one four-star commitment, Arizona quarterback Brett Hundley, also the Bruins' only nationally ranked recruit. The other eight are all rated as two- or three-star recruits, five of them before the start of last season.

• After three straight finishes with the No. 2 class in the Pac-10, is currently ranked ninth in the conference according to Rivals, ahead of only Washington State, and would be ranked well behind newcomer Utah if the rankings were updated to reflect the revamped Pac-12 lineup in the fall.

• Aside from Manfro, a relatively obscure, undersized back with no other offers from Pac-10 schools, doesn't have a single commitment from a projected running back, wide receiver or defensive back.

• Has a single commitment from a player ranked among the top-100 incoming prospects in California, San Diego linebacker Aaron Wallace Jr., who's ranked by Rivals as the 88th-best player in the state and the No. 66 outside linebacker in the nation – mainly because he "passes the eyeball test."

OK, read that again: UCLA has one commitment from one of the top-100 players in the most populous state in the nation. Forget competing with USC, which has commitments from seven of the state's top 10 – Cal has commitments from five of California's top 25 alone, Washington has 10 from the full 100, Oregon has five, Stanford and Oregon State four apiece, Arizona State three, and the Sun Devils are also behind the curve. Outside of the conference, mid-major interlopers Boise State, Fresno State, San Diego State, SMU and Utah all have multiple commitments from California players ranked higher than Wallace. North Dakota has a verbal from a higher-ranked player at the same position.

In his first three classes, Neuheisel cleaned up with 28 four- or five-star prospects from the greater L.A. area alone, easily outdistancing predecessor Karl Dorrell. In the stretch run of his fourth, that number stands at zero, and barring a miracle, isn't likely to rise above zero between now and the moment of truth next Wednesday. At best, they'll add another well-regarded lineman or two and discover an instant impact player from Hundley in the new offense. But they won't have done anything to address the persistent lack of firepower on offense – literally, there are no skill players on board – and may open camp in the fall considering the emergence of a true freshman quarterback past your inept veterans the best-case scenario. For a guy on the hottest coaching seat in the country, this is not what you'd call finishing strong.

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Hat tip: Bob Condotta of the Seattle Times.
Matt Hinton is on Twitter: Follow him @DrSaturday.

Melissa Joan Hart Bianca Kajlich Giulianna Ramirez Ashley Greene April Scott