Oak Hills running back Karson Cox commits to UCLA, joins coach DeShaun Foster

Oak Hills running back Karson Cox will be staying close to home for his college football days, and his biggest fan couldn’t be any happier.

The 2023 Daily Press Football Player of the Year announced his decision to continue his football career at UCLA on Tuesday afternoon.

It’s been a highly-anticipated announcement as the junior’s recruitment process picked up steam over the last year.

Cox announced his commitment to the Bruins at his high school while streaming live on Instagram. On Monday, Cox posted a photo collage of him wearing Arizona State University, Southern Methodist University and UCLA uniforms signifying his top three choices.

But the first person to know about his big decision to become a Bruin was his mom.

“I surprised my mother on Mother’s Day and she broke down in tears knowing that I won’t be far from home and she’ll be able to come out to my games,” Cox said. “That meant everything to me, she was mentally preparing herself for me to leave the state and then boom, everything changed. I mean my parents were ecstatic that they’ll be able to go to all the home games instead of hopping on a plane to see me in person.”

Cox is arguably one of the top recruited players to come out of the High Desert, joining the likes of former teammate Paki Finau, along with other former Oak Hills players, Apple Valley towering left tackle, Raymond Pulido and Serrano’s Garrett DiGiorgio, who he will be joining at UCLA.

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Earlier this year, USC head coach Lincoln Riley traveled by private jet to the High Desert to visit with Cox at Oak Hills on the eve of an official visit. Other programs that offered scholarships include the University of Washington, University of Arizona, Brigham Young University and University of Oregon.

It was a decision that was tough to make, still being a junior in high school.

Cox is blessed to have the opportunity of a long recruitment process, and is ready for the mission of defending the Mojave River League title, which the Bulldogs have captured in all three seasons he’s been with the program.

“I mean just having an opportunity to play at such a high academic program that knows how to develop is amazing in my eyes,” Cox said.

His relationship with new head coach DeShaun Foster, who signed a five-year contract with UCLA earlier this year, played a big role for Cox.

Foster had taken the running backs coach job for the Las Vegas Raiders weeks before replacing Chip Kelly, who left to become the offensive coordinator at Ohio State. Foster was an assistant at UCLA, where he ran for 44 touchdowns and 3,194 yards and earned second-team All-America honors in 2001.

“My relationship with Coach Foster goes back to the beginning of my sophomore year,” Cox said. “He would always visit, come out to practices when he could. He always wanted to offer but everything went through the head coach of course. And they used to slow play and wait til the last second. But once he took over, he gave me a call and asked what day I can come out for an unofficial visit then he offered me a scholarship.”

Now Cox can solely prepare to build on last season’s success.

In the 10 regular season games, Cox racked up 1,349 rushing yards with 19 touchdowns, tallying at least 100 yards in eight games and averaging 10.5 yards per carry.

A big play threat anytime the ball is handed off, Cox displayed just that on the first snap of his junior season against Aquinas where he burst through a hole in the defense for an 80-yard touchdown run.

That was the first of four touchdown runs that went for over 80 yards on the year.

Cox helped the Bulldogs reach the second round of the CIF-Southern Section Division 3 playoffs. He scored five touchdowns in those two games, including a three-touchdown performance in a heartbreaking overtime loss to Warren in the second round.

He capped his junior season by being named the Mojave River League's Most Valuable Player.

This article originally appeared on Victorville Daily Press: Oak Hills football star Karson Cox announces commitment to UCLA