Breaking: “Im very excited to be back Former Miami…..
Acheampong could have an immediate impact at UCLA at a major position of need.
Former Miami edge rusher Collins Acheampong has committed to UCLA .
Acheampong has yet to be rated in the 247Sports Transfer Portal but was a consensus four-star prospect and the No. 179 player nationally in the Top247 out of high school.
“Im very excited to be back home,” Acheampong, who prepped at Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita as a senior. “This is a great opportunity for me at UCLA.
“UCLA was the first school to ever notice me and the first school to offer me a whole year before anyone else. I’ve always had great relationships at UCLA and there’s no better feeling than going back home.”
Acheampong said the decision was a football one as well as being closer to family.
“Having family and friends around me is big but I also get to play for one of the best defensive line coaches in the country,” Acheampong said. “Ikaika Malloe is a great coach and does a great job developing edge rushers.
“We had a great relationship back in high school so I’m very excited to work with him. He knows me as a person, not just a player so he’s more than a coach and I think there’s a lot of opportunity to play that edge position with the twins and (Laiatu) Latu going to the NFL.”
Miami won a tight recruiting battle over Michigan back in high school but Acheampong said he never felt comfortable in South Florida.
“It was tough at Miami,” Acheampong said. “I was never healthy, I went there injured and then needed a second surgery in July.
“On top of that, the two coaches I was closest with during the recruiting process, Kevin Steele and Rod Wright left right when I got there. So I felt kind of alone and that’s another reason why I’m excited about UCLA. I’m going to be around a lot of people that I know really well and I know I’ll be taken care of.”
Acheampong said he’’ll be enrolling at UCLA later this month.
“Me and my mother are actually driving there as we speak,” Acheampong said. “It’s a three day trek from Miami and were in Tennessee right now so hopefully we’ll be there by tomorrow.
“I’m still not 100% yet but I will be by Spring practice. I just need to get back in shape and build the strength back in my knee but I’ll get there. I still learned a lot of football at Miami, a lot of fundamentals so I’ll be ready to go.”
Acheampong is a player with a big upside but it may take some time to get there. His senior year was his first playing football since he was just a freshman and he unfortunately was only able to play in four games.
He tore his meniscus during a practice and missed the remainder of the season. He was invited to play in the Under Armour All-American Game but was unable to play so he still lacks a ton of game experience.
Saying that, his potential is extremely high. We detailed his back story numerous times but it’s worth repeating.
He came over to the States from Ghana as a basketball player, enrolling at tiny Anaheim (Calif.) Fairmont Prep. He played football that year as well and showed promise but his school shut down the football program his sophomore year due to Covid and that appeared to be the end of his gridiron days.
The summer before his senior year, video of him working out began to circulate and he quickly became one of the hottest recruits out West. Soon just about every top program in the country was all over him and he eventually committed to Michigan before flipping to Miami.
He has an athletic 6-7, 270-pound frame, can bend and has plenty of quick twitch to him. He made the move to Santa Margarita and showed a ton of promise early on before going down with an injury and he could end up a impact player for UCLA.
247Sports’ national scouting and recruiting teams provide insight into the top performances and other eye-catchers from Day 2 of practices during All-American Bowl week.
SAN ANTONIO — The second practice for both the East and West teams at the All-American Bowl (Saturday, 1 p.m. ET) got underway Wednesday morning with a heavy dose of offensive and defensive install and culminated with the first joint practice session of the week at the Alamodome. Below we have top performers along with more notes after spending the day roaming the sidelines inside the Alamodome, sheltered from a cold and sometimes rainy San Antonio.
EAST ALPHA DOG: JORDAN SHIPP, WR (NORTH CAROLINA)
North Carolina signee and Top247 prospect Jordan Shipp was a last-minute invitee to the All-American Bowl and proved he belonged with the best in the nation during Day 2 of practice. During the joint practice session, Shipp was nearly uncoverable during the 7-on- and 11-on-11 periods, stacking together multiple touchdowns and highlight plays on a variety of routes at the second and third levels of the defense. The future Tar Heel is a natural at stacking defensive backs as he moves down the field to attack third-level throws and shows plenty of promise as an early-contributing, field-stretching wideout in Chip Lindsey’s offensive scheme.
From the moment practice started Wednesday, Top247 high four-star wide receiver Gatlin Bair put his stamp on practice, winning with elite track speed and an impressive catch radius highlighted by 34-inch arms. Bair did have a drop on a near-touchdown from Texas quarterback signee Trey Owens, but other than one mistake on the day, he was the best player on the field for the majority of action. The highest-rated prospect from the state of Idaho in the modern recruiting era, Bair can create separation at all three levels and should be a Day 1 contributor regardless of where he ends up at the next level once he returns from his LDS mission.
If we were asked to sum up the nation’s No. 1 overall prospect’s performance on Day 2 of practice in two words, the answer would be “consistently excellent.” Smith scored multiple touchdowns across 7-on-7 and 11-on-11 practice periods in a variety of ways, from burning cornerbacks with his top-tier speed to making multiple defenders miss after the catch while stacking cuts in a phone booth. Smith should carve out a meaningful role for the Buckeyes next season and is a potential candidate to earn Freshman All-American status in Columbus.
It’s safe to say Georgia running back signee Nate Frazier has the most juice of any running back in attendance. At a shade taller than 5-foot-9, Frazier has also flashed plenty of upside in the passing game, including a nifty back-shoulder adjustment along the sideline on a wheel route where he plucked the ball out of the air with his arms fully extended. During the joint practice session, Frazier continued his dominant play and has made a serious case as a potential rankings riser as we inch close to the final 2024 rankings release of the cycle.
Wisconsin signee and Top247 prospect Kevin Heywood has a strong case for being the biggest rankings riser from this week after earning All-Lobby honors, dominating Day 1 of practice, and following up on Wednesday with another consistently excellent showing. In a recruiting cycle short on true offensive tackle bodies, Heywood is a remarkable get from the state of Pennsylvania for Luke Fickell & Co. in Madison.
The top quarterback on Day 2 of practice was Auburn signee Walker White, who flashed the big-time arm that initially caused the 247Sports scouting staff to compare him with current Tennessee Titans QB Will Levis. White has always possessed promising physical tools, but his floor is likely much higher than we anticipated when entering his senior season. The future Hugh Freeze QB has made significant strides with his down-by-down ball placement, and delivered multiple tight-window throws on a rope that earned oohs and ahhs from those in attendance. White can hold the ball a tad long, but it’s tough to gauge whether that is inherent in his game or a symptom of being two games into offensive install with a new crop of receivers in an all-star game setting.
Clemson signee and Top247 prospect Christian Bentancur was the best tight end for the West team during the morning session and proved to be a difficult coverage assignment for any linebacker or safety assigned to him. Bentancur is fantastic at setting up his routes at the top of his stem and creating separation, but isn’t solely a nightmare 1-on-1 matchup as he showed plenty of ability to sink his hips and find open space against zone coverage. Bentancur will quickly become a favorite of the entire quarterback room for the Tigers.
