Esperanza's Hulick lands at UCLA

Carl Hulick’s recruiting story returned to its roots when he committed to UCLA earlier this month.

The Esperanza senior jump-started his recruitment in the summer by earning offensive line MVP honors at a B2G camp on UCLA’s practice field.

The college interest, however, didn’t come from Bruins. But in the sometimes topsy-turvy world of college football recruiting, the talent pipelines don’t always feature direct routes.

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SMU took the lead on Hulick thanks to a tip from B2G coach Courtney Morgan.

The former Michigan offensive lineman coached Hulick at the camp and passed along a strong review to SMU offensive line coach Adrian Klemm.

The day after the camp ended, SMU offered Hulick (6-2 ½, 290) a scholarship.

Hulick committed to the Mustangs a few weeks later but his recruiting story was hardly over.

Klemm, a former lineman with the New England Patriots and Green Bay Packers, left SMU to join Jim Mora’s coaching staff at UCLA in December.

Klemm didn’t forget about Hulick, a second-team All-County pick in 2011. Known as one of the nation’s top recruiters, Klemm coaxed Hulick to take a recruiting trip to Westwood earlier this month.

Hulick decommitted from SMU and committed Jan. 8 to the Bruins.

“Things have come full-circle in the weirdest way possible,” Hulick said. “If it wasn’t for the way I performed on that UCLA practice field, I probably would have never met Coach Klemm. … It’s crazy the way the Lord works.”

Hulick still had a difficult time picking between UCLA and SMU. He enjoyed his trip to Dallas but picked the Bruins to be closer to family and because of Mora and Klemm.

“A lot of it is for my family. I’m real family oriented,” said Hulick, who has a younger brother, Frank, 10, and older sister, Christina. “(And Coach) Mora is an amazing guy who is going to make huge changes, along with Coach Klemm.”

Hulick’s recruitment to UCLA also featured a memorable ride to a sporting event. After Mora and Klemm made their home visit with the Hulick family, the coaches and Hulick headed to a UCLA men’s basketball game at Honda Center.

“They didn’t know how to get there … and they (said), ‘Hey, Carl, you want to drive there and we’ll follow you?’ ” Hulick recalled. “I got to roll up to the show with Coach Klemm and Coach Mora. It was so cool.”