RB Duece Jones-Drew, son of NFL All-Pro, commits to UCLA

Class of 2027 running back Duece Jones-Drew, the son of former NFL All-Pro Maurice Jones-Drew, has committed to UCLA, he told ESPN on Sunday.

Jones-Drew, a 5-foot-8, 175-pound rusher from California’s De La Salle High School, is a three-star prospect in the 2027 cycle. He committed to the Bruins and first-year UCLA coach Bob Chesney over Arizona and Cal following a weekend visit for the program’s spring game.

The commitment positions Jones-Drew to follow in his father’s footsteps with the Bruins football program, where the elder Jones-Drew emerged as a record-setting punt returner and unanimous All-American at UCLA from 2003 to 2005. A second-round selection of the Jacksonville Jaguars in the 2006 NFL draft, Jones-Drew made three Pro Bowl appearances across nine NFL seasons, leading the league in rushing and earning All-Pro honors in 2011.

The younger Jones-Drew narrowed his finalists down to Arizona, Cal, SMU, UCLA and Utah this spring.

He told ESPN his recruitment was influenced heavily by Bruins running backs coach A.J. Steward, a holdover from former coach DeShaun Foster’s staff, and the fresh energy he felt within the program across his pair of visits to UCLA following Chesney’s arrival late last year.

“Coach Chesney’s experience as a winner set them apart for me,” Jones-Drew said. “He’s won everywhere. He took James Madison to the College Football Playoff. Think about what he can do at UCLA.”

Jones-Drew’s pledge marks the program’s seventh addition in the 2027 class since April 30 and continues a torrid run of recent recruiting for the Bruins and Chesney, the 48-year-old coach who led JMU to the CFP and a 12-2 finish last fall before taking over at UCLA.

After four-star defensive tackle George Toia (No. 60 overall) committed to the Bruins on Thursday, the program beat out Auburn, Michigan, Ohio State and Texas A&M for four-star offensive guard Jackson Roper (No. 210) on Friday.

Over the weekend, UCLA secured pledges from a pair of top-100 cornerbacks in in-state four-star JuJu Johnson (No. 36) and Jerry Outhouse Jr. (No. 83), a former Georgia commit. Three-star in-state wide receiver Rob Larson announced his commitment to UCLA on Sunday afternoon.

The Bruins’ 2026 recruiting class finished outside of ESPN’s top 75 classes earlier this year despite several late additions after Chesney took over the program in December. UCLA now holds commitments from six SC Next 300 recruits and 16 overall prospects in the 2027 class upon Jones-Drew’s pledge.