Brandon Willis, a 6-3, 255-pound freshman defensive tackle from Duncan, SC, is now a member of the UCLA football program.

Willis has been admitted to school and has signed a statement of intent to enroll. He will join the team immediately and will redshirt this season due to his transfer from the University of North Carolina. He will have four years of eligibility remaining.

"We are very excited about Brandon joining our program," said UCLA head football coach Rick Neuheisel. "We thought the world of him a year ago as a high school senior and we feel he will be a tremendous asset to our defensive front."

Willis enrolled at North Carolina this past January and participated in Spring Practice. He left the school early in Fall camp.

As a prep senior a year ago, he was considered the No. 6 defensive tackle in the country and No. 69 player in the nation by Rivals.com. He was a member of the Rivals100 team and ranked the No. 3 player in South Carolina by Rivals.com and the No. 4 player in South Carolina by The Charlotte Observer. He was also ranked the No. 8 defensive tackle in the country by Scout.com and the No. 5 defensive tackle by ESPN recruiting analyst Tom Lemming.

Willis played in the prestigious U.S. Army All-America game in San Antonio. He earned first-team all-state, all-region and all-conference honors his final two seasons at Byrnes High School and was named the conference defensive lineman of the year as a senior. He made 127 tackles, including 13 sacks, as a senior and 144 tackles, including 24 tackles for loss and 13 sacks, as a junior.