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If he was allowed to wander outside of the Rose Bowl and into the maze of UCLA tailgaters, Kaelin Clay would eventually find a welcoming crowd.
The senior receiver and returner is expecting at least 50 family members and friends to attend Utah's game Saturday against No. 8 UCLA. He said he's excited for his little sister to watch the game.
There's also his cousin, Randall Goforth, who will be across the field on UCLA's sideline. He's out with a shoulder injury, "but you know, he's still talking smack."
Southern California is familiar territory for many Utes, and home for a third of the team. A total of 35 players hail from the Golden State, and 31 in the southern half of California. The 10 California natives who start for Utah grew up within an hour-and-a-half from UCLA's stadium in Pasadena — traffic permitting, of course.
Clay will hardly be the only one with his own entourage. There's Kenneth Scott, who will see family, friends and old coaches. Travis Wilson's coaches are coming out from San Clemente, as are his parents. It won't be far for friends and family of Tevin Carter, or Dominique Hatfield or Davion Orphey.
David Norris is driving down from Bakersfield to watch his son, linebacker Jared Norris, play the Bruins. He's towing along his son, as well as Jared's aunt and her family. They can't miss it when Jared comes to them — making for a drive that is a bout 10 hours less than the trip to Salt Lake City.
"I always attend the UCLA and USC games in California," said David Norris, who added he'll be going to Palo Alto in November when the Utes take on Stanford. "It's about as local as we can get."
There's a myriad of connections between the two schools at this point: Dres Anderson's father, Flipper Anderson, is the No. 10 all-time receiver for the Bruins. Cornerbacks coach Sharrieff Shah's cousin was also a running back there, Karim Abdul-Jabbar (not to be confused with that other guy). Clay's got a cousin there, so does Scott, and probably so do a handful of other Utes. A few high school teammates will be across the field for the first time.
Utah's California connections are a side effect of the Utes increased presence in the state. Shah, Jim Harding, and Aaron Roderick are among the coaches who frequent California in their recruiting responsibilities, and Utah held camps in Long Beach and Rancho Cucamonga this summer to reach out to local prospects. Since the beginning of the week, even, Utah has received two commitments from California players.
In all, the Utes have signed 26 Californians since 2010, when they were invited to join the Pac-12. Widening its influence on the coast — Utah also had recruited there previously as a WAC and Mountain West member — is symbolic of the Pac-12 stamp.
A big reason Utah wanted into the Pac-12 was to be able to pull in a higher grade of southern California talent. Increased television exposure is a pleasant side effect that also helps generate more West Coast interest in the program.
To family, playing the traditional Pac-12 powers is an exciting prospect. David Norris grew up watching the Bruins and Trojans clash at the Rose Bowl and the Coliseum. Now he'll watch his son play on the same field.
"It's very surreal," Norris said. "Just an overall amazing experience to watch my son play football at that level on a national stage."
There will be a lot of hugs, handshakes and embraces waiting for many of the Utes, some between people who haven't seen them play in person before. But it's all beside the point, Wilson said.
"I'm definitely always excited when we get to go back to California, and play a game, but our main focus is to go down there and win a game against UCLA," he said. "That's gotta be our mindset."
Twitter: @kylegoon —
Utah at No. 8 UCLA
O Saturday, 8:30 p.m.
TV • Pac-12 Network —
California guys
Ten Utah starters hail from southern California:
OL Siaosi Aiono • West Covina/South Hills High School
WR Dres Anderson • Riverside/JW North High School
DB Brian Blechen • Moorpark/Moorpark High School
DB Tevin Carter • Los Angeles/L.A. Southwest College
WR Kaelin Clay • Long Beach/Mt. San Antonio College
SN Chase Dominguez • Orange/Lutheran High School
DB Dominique Hatfield • Los Angeles/Crenshaw High School
LB Jared Norris • Bakersfield/Centennial High School
WR Kenneth Scott • Fontana/Colony High School
QB Travis Wilson • San Clemente/San Clemente High School.