After talking with people connected to UCLA, Notre Dame, and the Vanderdoes family, here is what I’ve cobbled together after chasing this story for weeks. If there is skepticism about an ill grandmother, it seems warranted. One source very close to the situation said that Vanderdoes asked for his initial release from Notre Dame well before ever mentioning any family reason or a sick relative.
In regards to allegations that UCLA tampered with a signed athlete, the same source mentioned that communication between Vanderdoes and the Bruins started well before any official recruiting window re-opened, and that the communication may have been initiated by the Vanderdoes family very soon after Signing Day. One source close to the UCLA program told me that the Bruins were actively pursuing Vanderdoes throughout May.
When reached for a comment on Vanderdoes’ appeal victory, or any misconduct in the recruitment of the star defensive tackle, UCLA declined to comment.
A connection between UCLA defensive line coach and recruiting coordinator Angus McClure and Vanderdoes’ personal trainer Jon Osterhout has been mentioned by multiple outlets. Osterhout played for McClure at Sacramento State, and trained Vanderdoes throughout the offseason. In a conversation with Pete Sampson of Irish Illustrated, Osterhout said
he had “no inkling” that Vanderdoes was trying to get out of his commitment, which makes sense considering Osterhout was featured
in an offseason story written by Sampson in mid-May, just a week before the news broke. Still, the connection of a personal trainer with the Bruins’ recruiting coordinator is more than coincidental.
Any pursuit of proof that UCLA continued communicating with Vanderdoes or members of his inner-circle was stopped by the Bruin athletic department. A Freedom of Information Act Request seeking emails sent to Vanderdoes or his family after Signing Day (an NCAA violation) by head coach Jim Mora, defensive coordinator Lou Spanos, and defensive line coach Angus McClure, was denied by the university.
One scenario that did play into Vanderdoes’ decision to back out of his commitment to Notre Dame was academics. While the Irish coaching staff had an academic roadmap clearly laid out for Vanderdoes upon signing his letter of intent, multiple sources have confirmed to me that Vanderdoes and his family felt mislead by some of the requirements, including a well established foreign language requirement. (That Vanderdoes would be the first high profile recruit
not to have known about the language requirement at Notre Dame might be difficult for some to believe.)