Miami transfer EDGE Collins Acheampong commits to UCLA, breaks down decision

Former Miami edge rusher Collins Acheampong has committed to UCLA. Acheampong has yet to be rated in 247Sports’ transfer rankings but was a consensus four-star prospect as the No. 179 player nationally, No. 23 defensive lineman and No. 15 player from California for the class of 2023.

“I’m very excited to be back home,” Acheampong, who prepped at Rancho Santa Margarita (Calif.) Santa Margarita as a senior. “This is a great opportunity for me at UCLA.

“UCLA was the first school to ever notice me and the first school to offer me a whole year before anyone else. I’ve always had great relationships at UCLA and there’s no better feeling than going back home.”

The decision was a football one, as well as being closer to family, he said.

“Having family and friends around me is big but I also get to play for one of the best defensive line coaches in the country,” Acheampong said. “(Defensive coordinator and defensive line/outside linebackers coach) Ikaika Malloe is a great coach and does a great job developing edge rushers.

“We had a great relationship back in high school so I’m very excited to work with him. He knows me as a person, not just a player so he’s more than a coach and I think there’s a lot of opportunity to play that edge position with the twins and (Laiatu) Latu going to the NFL.”

Miami won a tight recruiting battle over Michigan back in high school but Acheampong said he never felt comfortable in South Florida.

“It was tough at Miami,” Acheampong said. “I was never healthy, I went there injured and then needed a second surgery in July.

“On top of that, the two coaches I was closest with during the recruiting process, Kevin Steele and Rod Wright, left right when I got there. So I felt kind of alone and that’s another reason why I’m excited about UCLA. I’m going to be around a lot of people that I know really well and I know I’ll be taken care of.”

Acheampong will enroll at UCLA later this month.

“Me and my mother are actually driving there as we speak,” Acheampong said. “It’s a three-day trek from Miami and we’re in Tennessee right now, so hopefully we’ll be there by (Thursday).

“I’m still not 100% yet, but I will be by spring practice. I just need to get back in shape and build the strength back in my knee, but I’ll get there. I still learned a lot of football at Miami, a lot of fundamentals, so I’ll be ready to go.”

Acheampong is a player with a big upside, but it may take some time to get there. His senior year was his first playing football since he was just a freshman and he, unfortunately for him, was only able to play in four games.

He tore his meniscus during a practice and missed the remainder of the season. He was invited to play in the Under Armour All-America Game but unable to play, so he still lacks a ton of game experience.

Saying that, his potential is extremely high. We detailed his back story numerous times but it’s worth repeating.

He came over to the States from Ghana as a basketball player, enrolling at tiny Anaheim (Calif.) Fairmont Prep. He played football that year as well and showed promise but his school shut down the football program his sophomore year due to Covid and that appeared to be the end of his gridiron days.

The summer before his senior year, video of him working out began to circulate and he quickly became one of the hottest recruits out West. Soon enough, just about every top program in the country was all over him and he eventually committed to Michigan before flipping to Miami.

He has an athletic 6-foot-7, 270-pound frame, can bend and has plenty of quick twitch to him. He made the move to Santa Margarita and showed a ton of promise early on before going down with an injury and he could end up a impact player for UCLA.