The Hotline is delighted to provide West Coast fans with a regular dive into the recruiting process through the eyes and ears of Brandon Huffman, the Phoenix-based national recruiting editor for 247Sports. He submitted the following report on Sept. 11 …

Maybe it IS panic time

The vibes aren’t great in Corvallis or Westwood.

Both Oregon State and UCLA have second-year coaches, Trent Bray and DeShaun Foster, respectively, who are alums of their schools, and both were elevated to the permanent positions when their predecessors left.

Both are 0-2 with coaching and in-game management issues bubbling up in their Week 2 losses.

Is it now time to push the panic button, with regards to recruiting?

Not quite, but the hand is getting closer to the button.

Both of Oregon State’s losses came at home — one to a former Pac-12 school (Cal) and the other to a future Pac-12 school (Fresno State).

The latter loss is a bit more concerning with the Beavers welcoming Fresno State into the conference next year.

When Oregon State — and Washington State, for that matter — were in the original Pac-12, they always had an advantage over schools like Fresno State, Boise State, San Diego State and Colorado State because of their conference affiliation.

Now, with all things being equal, Oregon State has discovered recruiting is more difficult against the newcomers. Losses and bad vibes can hurt them over the long haul.

Meanwhile, the Bruins are winless and their highest-rated offensive commit, Johnnie Jones, is being pursued heavily by unbeaten Florida State. The situation is made more difficult for UCLA, given that he’s a Florida native.

And if the Friday night date with New Mexico is one of the lowest-attended games in UCLA history, as some expect, the recruiting vibes won’t be positive. Then again, there probably won’t be many prospects in the Rose Bowl due to conflicts with high school games.

As we noted last week, recruiting for the class of 2026 is unlikely to be impacted at Oregon State and UCLA because most revenue-sharing deals already have been cut. But the poor starts could undermine recruiting with the 2027 and 2028 classes and beyond. Those prospects will attend games in front of unhappy spectators and in somber locker rooms.

So the panic button is close to being smashed.

Arizona State expecting some big visitors

Despite a crushing loss on the road at Mississippi State last weekend, Arizona State returns to Tempe to face a future Pac-12 program, Texas State. (Nothing says Pacific like a team from the Midlands.)

Last year, ASU managed a three-point win in San Marcos on a Thursday night. This season, the matchup is set for a Saturday evening. And the Sun Devils will have two important recruits on their visitors list: Chandler (Arizona) offensive tackle Jake Hildebrand and Denver edge rusher Troy Mailo. Both players are juniors.

Hildebrand has offers from coast to coast, with Alabama attending his Basha High School game last week — he’s one of the Crimson Tide’s top targets.

But coach Kenny Dillingham is trying to keep the local kids home. With Basha’s roster oozing blue-chip prospects, Hildebrand, the top lineman in the state, is a priority.

Mailo has long been an ASU target. The No. 2 recruit in Colorado has both Michigan and Oklahoma in heavy pursuit,  too.

But the Sun Devils have stayed on him and now get Mailo in town a week after his visit to Kansas State and a week before he visits Oklahoma.

IMG Heading West

While UCLA plays on Friday night and USC heads on the road (to Purdue), there nonetheless will be a loaded roster in Southern California on Saturday when IMG Academy of Bradenton (Florida) plays Coronado High School of Henderson (Nevada).

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The game will be played at Saddleback College in Orange County. Although the California Interscholastic Federation offices won’t allow California high schools to play IMG anymore, IMG is able to play teams from Nevada and set the game at a neutral site in the Golden State.

That creates a homecoming for several players, including quarterback Jayden Wade, the No. 1 player in the country in the 2028 class.

Wade was born and raised in Los Angeles but moved to Florida prior to high school to play for IMG. He has scholarship offers from everyone but would love to return home for college.

The Ascenders also have a five-star offensive lineman from California, class of ’26 offensive tackle Keenyi Pepe, who’s a USC pledge. (His older brother, Kobe, plays for the Trojans.)

And a five-star receiver in the ’28 class, Eric McFarland, who’s from Nevada.

Several other high-level recruits from across the West Coast are on the IMG roster, as well.

There’s a method to IMG’s decision to schedule the game in California. With prospects from the West Coast more willing to leave home for school — not just for college, but for high school — it could cause even more to look east.

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