UCLA and USC football transfer portal tracker: Who is in and who is out?
It’s portal season!
A 45-day window for college football players to enter the transfer portal opened Dec. 5, and the movement has already resembled the holiday rush at shopping malls.
As players contemplate their next destination, coaches are making wish lists and sometimes not bothering to check them twice before snatching up new arrivals to bolster their rosters.
A linebacker here, a wide receiver there … there’s no shortage of possibilities given the scores of available players. Another window will open from May 1-15, allowing additional movement when players determine where they stand on depth charts after spring practices.
Here’s a look at the players coming and going from USC and UCLA, according to social media posts and media reports, with the caveat that players listed as “going” can potentially stay at their current schools if they do not find another landing spot:
Who's joining UCLA?
QB Collin Schlee
Size: 6-3, 213
Year in 2023: Redshirt senior.
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Two.
Buzz: The Kent State transfer joins an increasingly crowded quarterback room after a prolific season in which he finished 10th in school history in passing yards (2,109) and touchdown passes (13) and fifth in completion percentage (59%). A dual threat who also ran for 492 yards and five touchdowns, Schlee will presumably battle Ethan Garbers, Justyn Martin and any high school quarterbacks the Bruins are able to snag before next season for the starting spot in 2023.
LB Oluwafemi Oladejo
Size: 6-3, 255
Class in 2023: Junior
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Two
Buzz: Cal transfer known for his versatility and reliable tackling could immediately fortify the Bruins’ defense after finishing the 2022 season with 91 tackles and 4 1/2 tackles for loss, including a career-high 17 tackles against UCLA.
Edge Jake Heimlicher
Size: 6-4, 245
Class in 2023: Graduate transfer
Seasons of eligibility remaining: One
Buzz: After leading the Ivy League with nine sacks in his final season at Penn, the first-team all-conference performer appears ready for a significant step up in competition. Heimlicher could either replace — or complement — fellow edge rushers Laiatu Latu and Grayson and Gabriel Murphy, depending on their decisions whether to return for 2023 or opt for the NFL draft. Any crafty move resulting in a big play could immediately be dubbed “the Heimlicher maneuver.”
P Will Powers
Size: 6-2, 210
Class in 2023: Redshirt senior
Seasons of eligibility remaining: One
Buzz: The Manhattan Beach native is coming home as the Bruins continue their pursuit of an All-Ivy League team on the West Coast. Powers averaged 39.7 yards per punt this season on the way to becoming an honorable mention All-Ivy League selection. He’ll presumably take over the punting duties from Nicholas Barr-Mira, who is in the transfer portal.
G Spencer Holstege
Size: 6-5, 310
Year in 2023: Graduate transfer
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Two
Buzz: An honorable mention All-Big Ten selection in 2020, the Purdue transfer should significantly bolster what could be a depleted interior offensive line with the departure of UCLA guard Atonio Mafi and the possible exodus of Jon Gaines II should he elect to not utilize his final season of eligibility. Holstege was rated as the top pass blocking guard in the Big Ten this season by Pro Football Focus after not allowing one sack.
Who's leaving UCLA?
P/K Nicholas Barr-Mira
Size: 6-0, 17-0
Class in 2023: Graduate student
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Two
Buzz: Coach Chip Kelly said Barr-Mira would participate in the Sun Bowl after a season in which Barr-Mira proved to be more consistent as a punter than a kicker. He made 15 of 21 field-goal attempts, including a winning 24-yarder against South Alabama, while averaging 41.7 yards per punt.
QB Chase Artopoeous
Size: 6-1, 195
Class in 2023: Graduate student
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Two
Buzz: Having played a handful of snaps in four seasons as a walk-on, Artopoeous is eager to throw his first pass at the college level. He tweeted that he had received offers from Stony Brook and Chattanooga.
DL Hayden Harris
Size: 6-5, 251
Class in 2023: Graduate student
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Two
Buzz: After the Bruins beat out the Colorado School of the Mines for the two-star prospect, Harris made his college debut this season and appeared in three games, logging no statistics.
LB Jeremiah Trojan
Size: 6-2, 219
Class in 2023: Redshirt junior
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Three
Buzz: His role having diminished from a reserve who played in eight games on defense and special teams in 2021 to making no appearances in 2022, Trojan’s departure isn’t much of a surprise. A native of Chandler, Ariz., Trojan tweeted that he had received an offer from Northern Arizona.
LB Eric Osteen
Size: 6-2, 220
Class in 2023: Graduate transfer
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Two
Buzz: Walk-on played briefly against Alabama State this season, his only appearance during his four seasons in the program.
LB Kobey Fitzgerald
Size: 6-0, 215
Class in 2023: Graduate transfer
Seasons of eligibility remaining: One
Buzz: Fitzgerald’s career highlight came in 2020 when he made a tackle for loss against Stanford before playing sparingly over his final two seasons as a Bruin, making only one appearance, against Alabama State.
Who's joining USC?
P Eddie Czaplicki
Size: 6-1, 200
Class in 2023: Junior
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Two
Buzz: A two-year starting punter for Arizona State, Czaplicki was named All-Pac-12 as a sophomore. He verbally committed to USC on Dec. 10 after leading the Pac-12 in punt average at 46.06 yards per punt with a long of 75 yards.
OLB Jamil Muhammad
Size: 6-2, 245
Class in 2023: Redshirt senior
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Two
Buzz: Muhammad could be a valuable playmaker up front for a much-maligned USC defense. He led Georgia State in sacks with six in 2021 and tallied a team-high eight quarterback hurries in 2022 along with 44 tackles, an interception and five tackles for loss. Muhammad originally signed with Vanderbilt but transferred to Georgia State in 2019 and took a redshirt year.
DL Kyon Barrs
Size: 6-3, 270
Class in 2023: Graduate transfer
Seasons of eligibility remaining: One
Buzz: The Murrieta native returns to Southern California after a four-year career at Arizona. He started 12 games with a career-high 39 tackles last year and earned second-team All-Pac-12 honors in 2021. After entering the transfer portal, Barrs received interest from LSU, Tennessee, Miami and Auburn, among others.
Who's leaving USC?
LB Ralen Goforth
Size: 6-2, 225
Class in 2023: Graduate student
Seasons of eligibility remaining: One
Buzz: The younger brother of former UCLA safety Randall Goforth, Ralen has been a part-time starter for the past three seasons but was the odd-man-out at inside linebacker after Shane Lee and Eric Gentry. But Goforth is still the most significant departure (so far) after his 43 tackles and a 31-yard pick-six this season.
DB Xavion Alford
Size: 6-0, 190
Class in 2023: Redshirt junior
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Three
Buzz: The former Texas transfer is back in the portal after injuries kept him off the field in 2022. He led the Trojans with three interceptions in 2021 and was named the team’s co-defensive perimeter player of the year.
LB Tayler Katoa
Size: 6-2, 240
Class in 2023: Graduate transfer
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Four
Buzz: Katoa enrolled at USC in spring 2017 but has never played a snap for the Trojans. The former three-star recruit served a two-year Mormon mission in 2018-19 and has been hampered by a knee injury that also cost him his freshman year.
LB Julien Simon
Size: 6-1, 230
Class in 2023: Redshirt sophomore
Seasons of eligibility remaining: Three
Buzz: Simon played in two games as a freshman, maintaining his redshirt status, and appeared in two games this season but didn’t record any statistics against Rice and Arizona State.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
