Monday, April 30, 2007

Hart Linebacker commits to Bruins

Patrick Larimore, a junior linebacker from Hart High of Newhall, received an offer from UCLA and quickly committed this weekend. He is the 13th commitment for the Bruins in a pivotal 2008 recruiting class.

Patrick had his coming-out party during the annual Nike football combine at USC a few weeks ago. He had a great showing and impressed a lot of scouts. "He was unbelievable, probably one of the top two linebackers, and his film is off the charts," said Greg Biggins, recruiting director at Student Sports. "The kid's a monster with great feet, just a great player."

Patrick set a school record last season with 138 tackles. He earned all-league and all-CIF honors and some recruiters think he'll be one of the state's top defensive players next year. In Scout.com early rankings for high school players, Patrick is considered a 3-star. However, that should improve if he continues to impress scouts his senior season.

Measuring in at 6-2 and 230 lbs, Larimore has excellent size and drives through ball carriers with a lot of force. UCLA's defense has had undersized linebackers the last two years, so this is a great addition to the defense.

Academically, he is carrying a 3.6 GPA and scored a 1760 on the SAT.


There are some free videos of Larimore on the net. Here is a workout video and another. One of Patrick catching a pass. Here are two very impressive highlight reels from Bruin Blitz.

When asked why he chose UCLA, Patrick had this to say: “I went to a practice and the coaches, I really like how they’re positive. And their record is good. Coach (Chuck) Bullough, the linebacker’s coach, he played in the NFL, coached in the NFL, coached Brian Urlacher. The defense is really good, and DeWayne Walker, the defensive coordinator, he has a great defense, beat USC last year. And in this case, how do you beat a UCLA education?’’

(photo: scout.com)

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