Reno High alum Brandon Kaho, formerly at Alabama, flips from Utah to UCLA

Brandon "Ale" Kaho is on the move again. The former Reno High star who most recently played for Alabama has flipped his commitment from Utah to UCLA.

Kaho entered the transfer portal after his junior season with the Crimson Tide and committed to play for Utah in late February. But on Tuesday night, Kaho committed to UCLA. The Bruins were initially Kaho's favorite before finishing runner-up when he committed to Utah last month.

UCLA will mark the fifth school Kaho has been committed to or played for. While at Reno High, Kaho originally committed to BYU. He eventually signed with Washington and spent a summer there before asking out of his letter of intent to be closer to home. He transferred to Alabama, where he played the last three seasons, winning the national title last year. He then entered the transfer portal and announced he'd sign with Utah. But he'll land instead at a different Pac-12 school, with UCLA being his latest destination.

Kaho logged 40 games for Alabama over the last three seasons and recorded 33 tackles while blocking three punts/kicks. A special teams stalwart, Kaho has struggled to get to the top of the loaded depth chart at linebacker, which prompted the transfer. The 6-foot-1, 235-pound Kaho is a three-time special teams player of the year for the Crimson Tide.

The path to the top of the depth chart will be easier at UCLA than it would have been at Utah. The Bruins are desperately in need of linebacker help. UCLA has had five straight losing seasons and is 10-21 in three years under coach Chip Kelly. Defense has been a major issue as the Bruins have allowed at least 30 points per game in four straight years, including 30.7 points per game last season. The team gave up 36.6 ppg in 2017, 34.1 ppg in 2018 and 34.8 ppg in 2019.

Only one of UCLA's top-six tacklers last season was a linebacker, that being Caleb Johnson, who led the Bruins with 44 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Kaho should figure into the rotation if he is eligible next season, which is not assured. Kaho has two years of college eligibility remaining, although he'll have to sit out the 2021 season unless he gets a waiver to play immediately or the NCAA passes the proposed one-time transfer rule.

Kaho is the only five-star football recruit to come out of Northern Nevada. 247Sports.com ranked him as the No. 21 recruit in the nation and top linebacker in the 2018 recruiting class.