Trip to Texas won’t be much help for UCLA recruiting

UCLA went to the East Coast in its first game of the season, against Virginia, and is hitting the South on Saturday when it takes on Texas.

In terms of recruiting, those trips might not help as much as one might think. While Saturday’s game is technically at a neutral site, Arlington’s AT&T Stadium being about 200 miles from Austin, the Longhorns are technically the home team, and, under NCAA rules, UCLA as the visiting team isn’t allowed to invite recruits to the game.

So, while the increased exposure from playing on a national stage will help, the trip to Texas won’t exactly be a recruiting bonanza.

“That’s just the way it is,” UCLA Coach Jim Mora said on Thursday. “If we were the home team, we’d be able to and Texas wouldn’t. Maybe next time it works out that way, but that’s not our primary focus on this trip.”

Mora also mentioned that because the Bruins are leaving on Friday, they have some recruiting opportunities on at high school games played that night.

“Some of the coaches will go out on Friday and they’ll see games and players, and it’s a great opportunity to do so, but we don’t have the ability to bring guys to the game as our guests.”

For more Bruin observations, follow Everett Cook on Twitter @everettcook