LOS ANGELES — UCLA’s football roster showed stability as the program transitioned from Chip Kelly to DeShaun Foster as head coach during the offseason.
That began to change after the first week of spring camp with the the Bruins seeing two prominent players enter the transfer portal.
Choé Bryant-Strother was the latest Bruin to enter the transfer portal, just days removed from backup quarterback Collin Schlee making a similar decision.
Bryant-Strother, who is expected to enter the portal as a graduate transfer, spent time as an inside linebacker and an edge rusher last season.
He was seen working with the first-team defense last week. Bryant-Strother was expected to continue competing for a starting role on the defensive line, following the departure of edge rushers including Laiatu Latu and Gabriel and Grayson Murphy.
Bryant-Strother had 38 tackles (four for a loss), a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 32 games played since 2020.
Foster did confirm that the Bruins will strongly consider searching the portal to help bolster depth at edge rusher when the spring window opens from April 15-30.
Junior Devin Aupiu and Navy transfer Jacob Busic worked with the first-team defense on Tuesday.
“I’m excited for the guys that we have,” Foster said. “Busic and Devin Aupiu are guys that want to be here. … They follow the rules and I’m excited for them.”
Busic’s arrival in Westwood briefly reunited him with former Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo, before he was hired as San Jose’s head coach.
Busic spent four years with the Midshipmen and was a captain this past season. He was denied a fifth year of eligibility at Navy, which led to his decision to enter the transfer portal. He had 62 tackles (15 for a loss), nine sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 28 games played.
Aupiu is making the transition from having played more as an inside linebacker but there’s a belief that he could be a good fit along the defensive front line.
“He’s a big athlete,” Foster said of Aupiu. “That’s what spring is. Let’s see what guys can do and what they can’t do.”
Aupiu played in 16 games since 2021 after transferring in from Notre Dame.
John Hopkins transfer Luke Schuermann is expected to join the program during the summer. Miami transfer Collins Acheampong arrived ahead of spring but has been limited to individual conditioning.
Scholarship earned!
Congrats, @clark_kanye! #DoMore pic.twitter.com/SwDYu4FFOv
— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) April 9, 2024
SURPRISE REWARD
Defensive back Kanye Clark was awarded a scholarship by Foster. UCLA football’s X (formally Twitter) account posted a video showing Foster evaluating an interception the defensive back made on a pass intended for receiver Ezavier Staples during practice.
Foster called Clark to come down and stand in front of the team before telling him that his interception helped earn him his scholarship and he was quickly embraced by his teammates to celebrate the news.
“Just the way he played all last year as a freshman and the way he’s come into camp and how he looked in the winter,” Foster said about the Clark. “He has a hard hat mentality and is a blue-collar guy. I just appreciate how he went about things and I just wanted to reward him.”
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SUDDEN DEPARTURE
Foster also confirmed that long snapper Ryan Wilkins would not join the UCLA program despite accepting a scholarship offer from Kelly’s staff in January.
Wilkins posted on X that received a phone call informing him that he would no longer be with the team following the coaching change. Wilkins, who transferred from Elon, has re-entered the transfer portal.
“We are just going in a different direction,” Foster said. “As a head coach, I have a right to go in a different direction in certain situations and that’s one of them.”
Marcus MacNeal, Trent Middleton and Salem Abdul-Wahab are the three returning long snappers from last season listed on the spring roster.
Starting long snapper Beau Gardner transferred to Georgia.
