Rios Happy to be Home

Fresno, Calif. - Marcus Rios of Cosumnes Oaks in Elk Grove, Calif. was once committed to Boise State but committed to UCLA this week. Scout caught up with him at the Cal-State All-Star game as he discussed his decision.

Marcus Rios (5'11/170) of Cosumnes Oaks High School in Elk Grove, Calif. is a 4-Star cornerback on Scout and was an early commitment to Boise State before recently making a commitment to UCLA. Scout caught up with Rios at the Cal-State All-Star game practice on Tuesday, and Rios walked us through his decision to become a Bruin.

"I chose Boise because I was real familiar with the people there," said Rios reflecting on his March 1st decision to commit to Boise State. "I trained with the star cornerback there who moved on to the Redskins (Brandyn Thompson) daily. We were from the same home town, so I was up there probably five or six times and was real familiar with the coach, and one of my teammates and best friends (Robert Ash) was in last year's class. I was just real familiar with them, and I didn't really take the chance to look at anywhere else, and as soon as they offered I just took it."

Having not seen other schools and gone through the recruiting process, Rios had time to reflect on his decision and felt he needed to explore all of his options before signing with Boise State.

"I was committed a long time, and I was doing a lot of research. I called Coach Petersen up and told him I didn't want to decommit, but that I would be looking around, because I have a lot of respect for him. I wanted to see some other things that I hadn't seen before. He said if I still had any interest in Boise to call him back."

The first place Rios decided to visit was UCLA for the game against Texas in September.

"I took my visit to UCLA, but I'm a mad of my word and I called Boise back up and told them I was going to stick with them, but Coach Petersen said it wouldn't be the same any more, and they pulled my offer."

Committed athletes who take official visits to other school certainly know the risks involved in exploring their options, and luckily for Rios, he is talented enough that he still had colleges interested in his ability and took two more official visits to Arizona State (11/19) and Nebraska (11/25) before ultimately choosing UCLA this week.

New Bruin Head Coach Jim Mora wasn't at Rios on his official, but UCLA itself made enough of an impression that Mora's job was made easy when it came to securing a commitment from Rios.
Once Boise was out of the picture, it became clear that UCLA was the frontrunner.

"Then I was looking at UCLA, because I loved the trip. It felt like home. Coach Angus [McClure] came to visit me, then Coach Mora came to visit me last week before school was out. I just loved everything about him.  He's bringing in a real good staff, a new DB coach from Washington (Martin). I really like the staff, and I know they're going to turn it around."

The Cal-State All-Star game in Fresno this week gives a chance for players to get to know future teammates and opponents as well as try and bring some of the uncommitted guys with them.

"I'm just telling everybody how it's a great place. I know they're down right now, but they'll build it up. I'm looking forward to being close to home and my family can come and see me pretty much any time, plus the academics and the program."

Rios' once serene early commitment to Boise State ended up with some anxious moments, but with the decision to become a UCLA Bruin behind him, there shouldn't be any more drama in the Rios household before Signing Day.

Scott began with Scout as the Southeast Regional Manager in 2002. In addition to his recruiting responsibilities, Scott developed and ran the National Scout Combine series from 2005 thru 2008. Scott has been Director of Scouting since 2006 and oversees the Recruiting Rankings for Scout.
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