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Jim Mora, former coach of the Falcons, is making football news again in the Atlanta area. The newly-hired coach at UCLA landed one of Georgia's top.

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Lassiter High School safety Kenny Orjioke said he picked UCLA over Arkansas, Boise State, and Miami among nearly 20 scholarship offers, which also included Georgia Tech, North Carolina, Ole Miss, Vanderbilt and Oregon State. He did not have much contact with UGA.

Back to Mora: He showcased his salesmanship skills with Orjioke, closing the deal in a hurry. Mora offered on behalf of UCLA on Sunday night, with Orjioke calling back to commit the next day.

?I just couldn?t see any of the other schools matching up with what UCLA could offer me with athletic and academic opportunities,? Orjioke told the AJC.

Mora and his new recruit had a lengthy conversation, and yes ? they talked about the Falcons. Mora was the team?s coach from 2004-06. ?He talked about ? winning the NFC South, and his old days with the Falcons. He said that was a long time ago and it was a good run.?

Jim Mora (right) was head coach of the Atlanta Falcons from 2004-06 (AJC photo)The 6-foot-4, 210-pound safety liked Mora and UCLA so much that he made the surprising decision to commit before taking an official visit to the campus. Orjioke, who moved from California to the Atlanta area last summer, has a recruiting trip scheduled for UCLA on Jan. 14.

?I?ve always felt strongly about UCLA,? Orjioke explained. ?I?ve always liked the program, and I?ve been waiting for them to offer. I had to wait on the coaching change, but it was the offer I wanted. I decided to commit because I was kind of getting tired of the whole recruiting process. I was kind of wanting to know where I would play the next four years of my life.

?As far as committing before my official visit, I?ve been to UCLA before and seen the campus. I lived in California and had a few friends that attend UCLA. I?ve seen the football field, and saw UCLA play at home against USC. I don?t think I will be surprised about anything on my visit. I?ve already seen the campus and I already know how it looks. I already know how the dorms look. UCLA is where I want to be.?

Orjioke?s commitment completes maybe this year?s most dramatic rags-to-riches recruiting story in Georgia. Orjioke was virtually unknown to college scouts when he lived in California, finally going out for the school team as a junior but only playing three games due to an injury.

Lassiter S-LB Kenny Orjioke is 6-4, 210-pound senior at 16 years oldThis past summer, Orjioke?s family moved to the Atlanta area after his mother ? who is lung doctor ? accepted a job opportunity. He enrolled at Lassiter High School, and quickly caught the attention of Georgia Tech assistant Mike Sewak, who has a son that also plays at Lassiter.

Orjioke caught the attention of other scouts after his performance in Lassiter?s season-opening upset over 2010 Class AAAAA state champion Brookwood in the Georgia Dome, and the offers started coming in. ?I think it was a combination of many things,? Lassiter coach Jep Irwin said. ?I can?t speak for California, but when you have a kid that big and that fast ? who made plays like he did in a big game against a team like Brookwood, they are going to get noticed around these parts.?

Orjioke is also a year ahead in school, only turning 16 years old last June. The senior helped lead Lassiter to this year?s playoff semifinals, and is projected to play safety or linebacker at UCLA.

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4:26 amGood for the kid. Mora will be grovel all over him just to be his best friend?lmao. Just how in America does Jim Mora Jr., Norv Turner, Chan Gailey, and people of that ilk keep getting jobs as head coaches. I swear, some of these people who run programs and franchises value experience over accomplishments. But let a regular employee interview for a staff position, let him/her be fired for failure or underachievement, and that person will not get the job.

4:47 amGood luck to the young man. He is going back home to where he feels more comfortable. Can?t fault him for that. I hope he can learn something and get coached properly by Mora.

6:55 amPlay linebacker at UCLA??? The guy only weighs in at 210. Have fun playing in the patsy PAC12. Good luck to UCLA playing in a bowl game with a losing record & waiver in hand.

6:57 amWay to go Kenny! We are so proud of you and know you will be very successful at UCLA. You have been such an asset to LHS football. You are not only an outstanding football player, you are also an outstanding young man. We will al be rooting for you and keeping up with your accomplishments in college.

7:00 amSounds like Mora needed no salesmanship skills whatsoever. The kid wanted to go (home) to UCLA and was just waiting for them to hire a new coach and for that coach (whoever it turned out to be) to offer.

Often the ?academic card? is played for our comedic pleasure, but not in this case. He?s going to a great school and considering his mom?s profession it?s pretty likely that academics really are important to his family.

7:12 amGood choice. With the high-power offenses in the PAC 12 and a head coach who has coached DBs in the NFL, it?s a good place for a DB to develop. Good luck young man.

8:39 amGeorgia never really recruited him. He is a good athlete that only needs teaching and exeperience. UCLA is a very good school whose football has declined and I hope Mora can give USC some competition.

8:50 amIt would be a major disaster for Mora if he couldn?t get a young man who was a longtime UCLA fan not to accept an offer to UCLA. Seems like pretty easy pickings to me.

8:58 amMora is a loser who only has the last name as the only thing going for him. He talks a great game but has nothing to show us as results that mean anything. He has been a part of some very good teams but none give him credit as the lynchpin of their success. This player would be better off at Ga State than going to UCLA. Mora will not last more than 2 years!

June would be fine to play for if you fit his system. If you have choices why play for Bobby Petrino and put up with his attitude? Unless you just love Arkansas there are plenty of coaches that can get you in the pros without being incredibly miserable human beings. Petrino is an awful person.

The GT fanbase on multiple GT -themed Message Boards have been saying that GT had the inside track for this SA since he HAS THE ACADEMICS and since his Mom is a Doctor and would want him at a good Academic School like GT.

Even when GT has a Recruit that has the Academics and comes from a strong academic background like this SA, in many cases GT/Coach Kung Fu Panda still cannot ?close the deal?.

Like I have said for a LONG TIME on many GT-themed Message Boards before I was banned, ?GT?s problem isn?t ACADEMICS, GT?s problem is their HORRIBLE success rate on the Elite Prospects that also have the Strong academics for GT?.

9:27 amI?d rather see GT go after guys like this with SIZE & SPEED rather than more 5-10 175 pounds runts that are supposed to be ?diamonds in the rough? or ?under the radar guys?.

They way I. Johnson plays non-physical and hates to come up an tackle GT really could have used this Recruit at a Safety spot, probably Strong safety.

Did you read the part that said he is only 16 yrs old?! If at 16 he already weighed enough to play linebacker in Div-I I?d be worried. He?ll likely redshirt, put on 25lbs of muscle and still only be 18yr old as a redshirt freshman. Good luck Kenny, you have a bright future.

9:55 amNo matter the Coach; no matter the school; no matter the football program. Best of all is the fact the young man is working hard and will be rewarded with a quality college education. (Good family background and upbringing certainly doesn?t hurt either, and he should take this time to learn, and soon evolve into a quality leader.)

10:02 amMora is a paranoid, snake oil salesman who eventually runs out of sales pitches. UCLA will be looking for a buyout in 3 seasons.

I?d rather ?gamble? on 6-4 210 lb. Recruits that can Run rather than CPJ signing yet another 5-11 170lb. A-back that won?t impact the game in any way.

The STARTING A-backs have only averaged 5 or 6 carries per game during CPJ?s 4-yr. run; yet he has EIGHT or NINE on scholly, cut that back to no more than FIVE and use the rest of those schollies on DLs or on recruits like this that can develop into multiple position on the Defense and maybe even help on STs which have been horrible during CPJ?s tenure.

I?d much rather gamble on SIZE & SPEED rather than seeing CPJ gamble on another Zenon-sized A-back that plays well vs. lower level crappy opponents and then disappears vs. the real Teams on the last 6-games on the schedule.

How many of those types of Recruits has CPJ brought in as ?athletes? that have no defined position and end up as dead-weight Recruits that can?t even help on STs.

10:32 amRX Dog- I think they said ?lung doctor? so some of the trolls on these blogs would know what they meant. pulmonologist is way to deep for some.

10:42 amCPJ and the Tech recruiters probably looked at his age, and figured he would take two years at least to get acclimated to Tech?s academic rigors. I turned 18 during my first freshman quarter, and it took me until my sophomore year to get my traction. Fortunately, I was a Co-op, and had some work breaks to let me catch my breath!

11:44 amWnE, I agree, go after these athletes instead of ?water-boy? size players, that are ? diamonds in the rough?. Had Elon, UAB, Troy or Ga. Southern offered, PJ would have been at his front door.

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