Brayden Platt and Isaiah Patterson, two of Yelm’s defensive enforcers on the gridiron, recently visited the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA) as the dynamic duo searches for their college football homes.
The trip on Friday, May 5, sparked what should be a summer full of recruitment trips for the two Tornados who are quickly approaching their senior year of high school.
Platt holds 19 full ride scholarship offers and recently announced his top eight: UCLA, Oklahoma, Notre Dame, Oregon, Texas A&M, Miami and the University of Southern California, while Patterson currently holds seven full ride scholarship offers. They include UCLA, Arizona State, Boise State, Brigham Young University, Nevada, Oregon and Washington State.
“My visit to UCLA was amazing from the time I got on to the plane to the time I got onto the plane to get back,” Patterson told the Nisqually Valley News. “Everything was great. The coaches made me feel like a main priority and I spent a lot of time with the coaching staff, particularly Coach (Chip) Kelly and Coach (Ken) Norton. Overall, I could definitely see myself playing in Westwood, and loving that atmosphere and the people there.”
Platt said he also enjoyed his visit to UCLA, noting the coaching staff was great and cared for their players.
Patterson, who currently doesn’t have any other official visits set, said he would like to commit somewhere before the season starts, although he doesn’t have a date set in stone yet.
“The deciding factor as to where I’ll commit lies in the relationships, the development, the academics, the climate and environment,” Patterson said. “Once I know where I want to go, I’ll pull the trigger. I’m not in any rush.”
Platt said he would ideally like to commit on his mother’s birthday on Sept. 4, but before he can make his commitment, the All-American linebacker has several more official visits to take.
“I have two visits scheduled, one at Oregon and one at Oklahoma, but I may (schedule) some more,” Platt said. “Some of the (characteristics) that went into my top eight decision was which schools could help develop me best on and off the field. Some of the biggest things I’ve started to look into is what will help develop me to become the best football player I can be, but also be the best person I can be for life after football.”
The two agreed the recruitment process has been a fun, yet stressful process. As he nears his commitment decision, Platt said the process has seemingly become more stressful.
His teammate Patterson said he has tried to control what he can throughout the journey.
“Overall, the process has been cool. It’s been stressful, it’s been happy, it’s been long, but it’s all worth it,” Patterson said. “You only get to go through it once and I’d really say just enjoy it as much as you can.”
Platt played in 12 games during the 2022 season and collected 69 tackles, one sack and five tackles for loss. Platt also snagged the game sealing interception against Eastside Catholic in the 3A state championship game in December.
He served as a workhorse running back for the Tornados. During the 2022 season, he carried the ball 132 times for 1,242 yards and 24 touchdowns. He added another 227 yards and a touchdown in receiving. Platt did not lose a fumble once during his junior season.
Patterson played in all 14 games for the Tornados, and collected 111 tackles, 11 sacks and 17 tackles for loss throughout the season.
