The UCLA Bruins debut season in the Big Ten Conference has not gone well. The Bruins are 1-5 entering a Week 8 showdown against Rutgers on the road.
Nonetheless, the transfer portal is already swirling with names, including Indiana transfer Donaven McCulley, who UCLA reached out to.
Another name that could generate buzz is Notre Dame defensive back Jaden Mickey, who officially entered the portal at the beginning of October.
Moreover, Pete Nakos of On3 mentioned that one Big Ten school is in the lead early on for Mickey.
“One Big Ten school leads early for Notre Dame CB transfer Jaden Mickey, @PeteNakos_ reports.”
On top of that, Tyler Horka of On3 mentioned that Mickey could move back to California.
“Mickey will likely end up closer to his home state of California, too. His mother passed away from colon cancer in late December, the night before Notre Dame’s Sun Bowl win over Oregon State.”
Mickey is from Eastvale, California, and played high school football at Centennial. The distance from Eastvale to UCLA is just 61 miles, so that could be a big selling point for the Notre Dame transfer.
As of now, it remains to be seen which Big Ten program Nakos is referring to, but UCLA could be in the running given the circumstances.