A prized quarterback recruit out of Coeur d’Alene, Colson Yankoff has remade himself as running back, special-teamer with UCLA

Colson Yankoff is in his fifth year at UCLA, and he still marvels at many of the things that playing at the Los Angeles school has afforded him.

Like, for example, home games at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena.

“Absolutely incredible,” the former Coeur d’Alene High standout said Tuesday by telephone.

Not to mention the education. Yankoff has a degree in economics and will finish up a master’s degree in education this fall.

He hopes his economics degree will open doors in the finance and business world.

“The master’s program focuses on principles of leadership. I hope to start a company,” he said.

To have a diploma from UCLA that Yankoff can frame and hang on a wall someday isn’t something he takes for granted.

“It’s such a blessing to have something like that while getting to play football at a school like this,” he said.

To know Yankoff’s journey, it must be understood that UCLA is the third Pac-12 school in which he has had a relationship. Going into his junior year at Coeur d’Alene when he had several schools pursuing him. He gave an oral commitment to Oregon.

“Oregon just fits the way I want to play,” Yankoff told Tom Loy of 247Sports at the time. “I love the staff and I love the school as a whole.”

When Oregon head coach Mark Helfrich and his staff were fired, Yankoff decommitted and reopened his recruitment. Fifteen weeks after his Oregon decision, Yankoff committed to Washington. He joined a recruiting class that included a commitment from five-star quarterback Jacob Sirmon from Bothell near Seattle.

Yankoff’s numbers coming out of high school were impressive, not the least of which was his academic standing. He carried a 4.3 weighted grade-point average. The 6-foot-4, 210-pounder ran the 40-yard dash in 4.6 seconds and had a vertical jump of 39 inches.

When Yankoff arrived at Washington, he joined a depth chart that was seven deep. He welcomed the opportunity to compete for the starting job. He was considered the No. 1 recruit in the Huskies’ 2018 class by 247Sports.

But after spending a little over a year in Seattle and using his redshirt, Yankoff decided to leave and open up his recruitment a third time.

“I just didn’t feel like it was a good fit for me at the time,” he said.

Yankoff doesn’t remember if he contacted UCLA first or if Bruins head coach Chip Kelly reached out first. He’s just glad a connection was made.

To have ended up at UCLA wasn’t something in Yankoff’s mind back when he was at CdA.

“No, I would not have dreamed it,” Yankoff said. “We all set paths for ourselves and have goals in mind how that will go. I just learned to stay in the moment and God led me down here. I’m having a blast and wouldn’t change anything.”

Yankoff said he never considered transferring to an FCS school where he might have had a better opportunity to play quarterback.

He headed to UCLA ready to compete for the starting position, but after one season, he moved to wide receiver. He was there for two years before moving last year to running back.

His career has consisted of playing time late in games, but this season he’s a starter on all the special teams. He’s registered four tackles.

“I think Colson’s done a really good job,” Kelly said at a news conference earlier this season. “We have to do a better job blocking for him. It hasn’t been blocked up the way it’s supposed to be blocked up. … He’s big, he’s fast, he’s got great vision, one of our fastest kids on our team. He’s a pretty good player.”

Kelly praised Yankoff for his development as an all-around player.

“He’s really come into his own as a special teams player and as a running back,” Kelly said. “Really impressed with what Colson has put into it over the course of his career here.”

Yankoff, who has bulked up to 230 pounds, is surprised that he plays running back with his size.

“It’s not something I would have ever had in the cards for myself, but it’s a blast,” Yankoff said.

Yankoff could apply for a waiver to extend his eligibility beyond this season, but he said he hasn’t decided whether he wants to play another year.

“Right now, I’m just trying to focus on finishing this year,” he said. “I’m not looking beyond this year. I like to keep the main thing the main thing right now. Things have gone in ways I would have never imagined and taught me some valuable lessons. I’m incredibly grateful for the opportunities.”

UCLA (3-1), which fell out of the Top 25 after losing to Utah 14-7, is coming off a bye and plays 13th-ranked Washington State (4-0), which is also coming off a bye, Saturday in Pasadena. Kickoff is at noon.

“Good football team,” Yankoff said about WSU. “We’ve been watching tape. We’ve got to bring our A game. It should be a good game. They’ve (the Cougars) been fun to watch.”