Jan. 10, 2026, 5:45 a.m. PT<\/p>\n
The Bruins<\/a> added four star wide receiver Aidan Mizell from Florida on Wednesday<\/a> but UCLA didn\u2019t stop adding talent out wide there, with the Bruins<\/a> also landing a commitment from Leland Smith on Wednesday as well<\/a>.<\/p>\n Smith returns to the Big Ten with the Bruins, playing his sophomore season with the Purdue Boilermakers before heading to California and finding success this past season with the San Jose Spartans. Smith will be joining his fourth team in four years, beginning his college journey at Fullerton College, where he was the No. 4 ranked junior college wide receiver.<\/p>\n At Purdue, Smith didn\u2019t see a ton of work, hauling in just six catches for 72 yards and two touchdowns over 12 games. Smith headed to the Mountain West Conference and was a difference-maker for the Spartans, making 43 catches for 688 yards and three touchdowns for the 3-9 Spartans.<\/p>\n Now Smith will go from one 3-9 team to another with the Bruins. Even with UCLA adding Mizell, there\u2019s still a need at receiver, as the Bruins lost Kwazi Gilmer to Nebraska and Rico Flores Jr. remaining in the portal. If Flores Jr. departs in the portal, then Nico Iamaleava will be without three of his top four leading receivers from 2025, with Titus Mokiao-Atimalala graduating from the program.<\/p>\n Smith is a big new target for Iamaleava, with the 6\u20194\u201d wideout fitting into new UCLA offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy\u2019s scheme of targeting big receivers. Despite racking up the receiving yards with San Jose State, Pro Football Network<\/a> didn\u2019t have Smith graded out very positively. Smith received a Wide Receiver Impact Grade of 70.4<\/a>, with the national average being 72.5.\u00a0<\/p>\n