Mere weeks before Chacho Ulloa signed his letter of intent and became an ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ Wildcat, he hadn’t even considered UA. The ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ barely registered on his radar.
At that point, in early January, Ulloa was committed to Stanford since October, a recruit out of ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥â€™s reach for most of the process with the UA’s previous defensive coaching staff.
In the wild world of recruiting, though, things can change, and fast. Somehow, Ulloa is now a freshman, enrolled at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥, a top candidate to play right away in ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥â€™s inexperienced secondary.
“It’s been a learning experience my first year here, trying to get used to coach Addae and all the defensive coaches, the scheme,†Ulloa said. “That’s been my main focus, learning the ropes, learning the defense and trying to fit best where I can.â€
The fit was supposed to be at Stanford, but Ulloa reopened his recruitment in January, starting the process all over again.
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It was a whirlwind couple of weeks, but his change of heart couldn’t have been timed better from ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥â€™s perspective.
Around the same time, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ announced it was hiring Donte Williams from San Jose State as its cornerbacks coach, and Williams — who Ulloa already had a relationship with — was one of the first to call him.
Ulloa decommitted on a Wednesday, and by Friday he received a phone call from Boise State’s defensive coordinator, trying to recruit him to the Broncos.
That would be Marcel Yates, hired by the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ two days later.
“That Sunday I wake up and go on my Twitter and see Yates was hired as the defensive coordinator at ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥,†Ulloa said. “I thought ‘OK’. Then a week later, Miguel (Reveles) and the staff offered me.â€
Ulloa took a visit to campus, loved it, but was exploring his options, including interest from California and Oregon.
In the end, ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ was the right fit, even if they weren’t a thought just weeks before Signing Day.
Ulloa declined to say why it didn’t work out with Stanford, but did say it was an unexpected surprise.
“That was a bad day for me,†he said.
Now, Ulloa — rated a four-star recruit coming out of Centennial in Corona, California, and listed at 5-foot-11 and 201 pounds — is competing for playing time in an attack-heavy defense focused on forcing turnovers. That plays right into his skillset.
“Yeah, at first I was trying to learn the defense, but then they told me ‘see ball, go get ball,’ †Ulloa said. “Every coach says ‘as long as you’re running full speed, everything will be fine.’ â€
For Ulloa, he’s just happy he found the right fit.
“Looking back on it, even when before I was (talking to UA) in the summer, I was thinking ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ wasn’t the right fit for me,†Ulloa said. “But looking back on it now, my family, everybody after what happened with Stanford everybody said God works in mysterious ways and everything happens for a reason. Me being here, I never thought I would be here, but now I am.â€
Tate, Ulloa reminisce
Ulloa and freshman quarterback Khalil Tate are teammates for the first time, but it’s not the first time they’ve crossed paths.
Back in the first round of the 2014 state playoffs, Tate’s Serra battled Ulloa’s Centennial in an epic game that both players remember quite well.
It’s easy to understand why — the final score was 68-64.
“It was like a video game,†Tate said.
It was so high-scoring that the game didn’t even end until after 11 p.m.
The game ended because of his new teammate. Serra faced a fourth down at the 14-yard line, trailing by four with three minutes to play when Tate threw a pass that was intercepted by Ulloa. It was Tate’s fourth interception of the game, and sixth turnover. Ulloa also forced a fumble.
“I remember that game well,†Ulloa said. “Me and him still talk about it.â€
Tate finished with 434 passing yards, four touchdowns, and another 166 rushing yards and for more scores.
Ulloa amassed six tackles, and Centennial running back J.J. Taylor — now a UA freshman —had a rushing touchdown of his own.
2016 recruit adjusting to center
Michael Eletise was heavily recruited as a guard, a four-star prospect according to , and the top guard in the West.
At ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥, he’s in the process of a transition to center, competing with Nathan Eldridge and Levi Walton for the starting job. He never played center before college.
The toughest part?
“Snapping the ball,†Eletise said. “Because you gotta hear the count then you gotta look at the fronts, you’re trying to keep it as simple as possible so you can move fast.â€
Eletise is still practicing some at guard, and if he doesn’t win the job he’s a candidate to redshirt. But in the meantime, he’s enjoying his new position.
“I really enjoy it,†Eletise said. “It’s a funny feeling because when you’re the center you’re basically controlling the whole o-line, you tell them where to go, what they’re doing, you’re the center. You’re the middle man, and the supervisor.
Extra points
Pierre Cormier has re-joined the ÃÛÁÄÖ±²¥ as a student assistant, helping on offense. Cormier is a former UA running back forced to retire before the 2014 season due to a blood clot. He was a four-star recruit out of Madison in San Diego in 2013.
