Football: Oak Park’s Westgate happy about being a Bruin

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Apparently, the new coaching staff over at UCLA left a lasting impression on Sean Westgate over the past couple of weeks, or so. In fact, the senior linebacker from Oak Park was swayed to decommit from Arizona recently, and officially became a Bruin on Wednesday, signing a letter of intent while at a luncheon in Thousand Oaks for all the top players from Ventura County.

‘Rick Neuheisel, DeWayne Walker and Norm Chow ... I mean, come on, this program is about to take off and I want to be a part of it,’’ Westgate said. ‘UCLA is my dream school, right in my own backyard, so when the coaches approached me and offered a scholarship, I couldn’t refuse. I’m still amazed that I’m a Bruin. It’s awesome. I’m comfortable with my decision and couldn’t be happier.’’

Westgate verbally committed to the Wildcats back in July. Boise St., San Diego St. and Utah were among the other schools offering scholarships and Cal, Michigan and Oregon also expressed interest. However, it appears as if the new-found stability of the Bruins and the lure of staying close to home ultimately ended up being the deciding factors.

-- Sean Ceglinsky