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Marquise Thorpe-Taylor talks UCLA commitment

The Mount Tahoma three-star offensive tackle dished on his decision and recruiting fellow Washington stars to UCLA
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One of the top offensive linemen in the Northwest is off the board.

Mount Tahoma (Washington) junior Marquise Thorpe-Taylor won’t be leaving the West Coast to play college football, but he will be heading south. The 6-foot-5, 290-pound offensive tackle announced Saturday his commitment to UCLA, choosing the Bruins over offers from Oregon, USC, Washington and more.

A consensus three-star prospect, Thorpe-Taylor is a top-50 offensive tackle nationally and a top-10 player overall in the state of Washington for the class of 2024, per the 247Sports composite rankings. 

The Mount Tahoma standout becomes the fourth pledge for the Bruins in their 2024 class, which is ranked No. 48 nationally and fifth in the Pac-12.

He took visits to USC, Washington and Oregon this spring, but coming off his official visit to UCLA this past weekend, Thorpe-Taylor knew he had found his future home. For the elite lineman, his decision was largely influenced by his fit with the team both on and off the field.

“All the glitz and glamor on the official is cool, but really the way the players were so respectful [stood out],” Thorpe-Taylor said. “It wasn’t like they were just playing it up for the time being. They were really respectful to the recruits’ parents and everyone around campus. They didn’t seem like they thought they were too good for anyone. That stood out a lot, and also just seeing how connected they are.”

It wasn’t long after Thorpe-Taylor returned home from his official visit when he dialed up the UCLA coaching staff and informed them of his decision to join the Bruins.

“It was exciting,” Thorpe-Taylor said. “I talked to [offensive line coach Tim Drevno] for a little bit, and then all the other coaches texted me and congratulated me.”

While it might still be relatively early in the recruiting process for the class of 2024 with signing day months away, it sounds like Thorpe-Taylor is locked in with UCLA. 

“I’m good where I’m at,” Thorpe-Taylor said. “It’s getting into spring ball, too. Probably no more officials or anything like that. Just getting focused for fall and getting ready to have fun my senior year.”

Now that he’s made his decision, he’ll be working on convincing some fellow Pacific Northwest prospects to come with him to Los Angeles.

“I’m going to start with a few of the Washington guys and try to have them come join me.”

Yelm (Wash.) linebackers Isaiah Patterson and Brayden Platt both hold offers from UCLA and are high on the Bruins’ list of targets for 2024. The feelings appear to be mutual between the highly-touted teammates and UCLA.

SBLive director of recruiting Andrew Nemec recently predicted Patterson will commit to UCLA, and last month Platt revealed his top eight college choices, which included the Bruins.