UCLA football: defensive tackle Brandon Willis on campus today

Brandon Willis, the much-traveled defensive tackle, was expected to be at UCLA on Thursday to meet with Coach Rick Neuheisel, according to a person in the program who is not authorized to speak on the matter.

Willis, who transferred from UCLA in spring, left North Carolina last month after Tar Heels’ Coach Butch Davis was fired. He hopes to receive a waiver from the NCAA so he can be immediately eligible.

He has only three years of eligibility.

Willis was the seventh-ranked defensive tackle by Rivals.com out of Duncan (S.C.) Byrnes High School two years ago. He first committed to Tennessee but signed with North Carolina. He transferred to UCLA last summer and sat out as a redshirt. He returned to North Carolina last spring and enrolled in classes this summer.

The NCAA is expected to deny the waiver. Willis sought a similar one in the spring so he could play at North Carolina, saying he moved closer to home because of a family issue. That request was denied.

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--Chris Foster

Photo: UCLA logo.