Tag: UCLA Bruins

Georgia transfer WR target commits to Florida

Georgia football couldn’t land UCLA transfer standout WR

The Georgia Bulldogs are aggressively pursuing wide receiver transfer targets, particularly bigger-body receivers. J. Michael Sturdivant was one of the names Georgia was interested in.

Unfortunately, the Bulldogs were unable to land the former UCLA standout. According to On3, Sturdivant committed to the Florida Gators.

Sturdivant was a four-star recruit when he committed to the California Golden Bears in 2021. However, he transferred to UCLA after two seasons with Cal. Through three seasons with both Cal and UCLA, Sturdivant caught a total of 123 passes for 1,667 yards and 13 touchdowns.

Sturdivant will be on the other side of the World’s Largest Outdoor Cocktail Party in Week 10 of 2025. He is not the first Georgia transfer target that will end up playing the Bulldogs in 2025,and he probably won’t be the last one.

Georgia is still in the running for a few other wide receivers, including  Kentucky WR Dane Key. Kirby Smart and Georgia still don’t have a transfer commitment.

Former USC offensive lineman heads to UCLA

Courtland Ford, a former Trojan, will put on UCLA powder blue this fall. We will see how it works out for him.

It’s not very often you see a players transfer between USC and UCLA (Kyle Ford being a rare exception). But it happened on Tuesday … sort of. After starting his college career with the Trojans, offensive lineman Courtland Ford spent the past two seasons at Kentucky. This week, he announced that he will be returning to Los Angeles to play his final season of college football at UCLA.

After redshirting the COVID-shortened 2020 season in his first year at USC, Ford played a key role on USC’s offensive line in 2021 and 2022. He appeared in 19 games for the Trojans over the course of the two seasons, making 11 starts. Following the 2022 campaign, however, he elected to enter the transfer portal.

Ford wound up at Kentucky, where he spent the past two years. However, his time in Lexington was hampered by injuries, and he was never really able to carve out a consistent role for himself with the Wildcats. With one more year of eligibility remaining, Ford elected to enter the portal again following the conclusion of Kentucky’s season.

Now, he is back in Los Angeles, the same city that he called home for three seasons. But this time, Ford will be on the opposite side of town, wearing UCLA blue instead of USC Cardinal and Gold.

Chiefs scouting report: UCLA Bruins LB Carson Schwesinger

The Kansas City #Chiefs could look to target a player like UCLA #Bruins linebacker Carson Schwesinger in the 2025 NFL draft.

The Kansas City Chiefs need to channel their free agent spending toward fixing their offensive line, secondary, and receiving corps.

That reality may leave star linebacker Nick Bolton, who is set to be a free agent at the end of the season, on the chopping block and may open the door for Chiefs general manager Brett Veach to select the veteran’s replacement in the 2025 NFL draft.

At 6’2″, 225 lbs., UCLA Bruins linebacker Carson Schwesinger struggles to stack and shed blocks. However, he’s a fantastic athlete with excellent closing burst, range, speed, and fluidity in the open field. His acceleration, loose hips, and arm length should make him a riser throughout the pre-draft non-contact evaluation process at his pro day and the NFL Combine.

Schwesinger’s vision and instincts as a run defender help him find unimpeded paths to the football. He patiently sits at the second level, waiting for a lane to the ball carrier to open. Schwesinger locks in on running backs and mirrors their movements to meet them in the hole.

Offensive linemen drive Schwesinger out of plays with little difficulty, but the redshirt junior uses his speed to beat linemen to their landmarks. He also dodges or slips blocks with his agility. Schwesinger’s pursuit speed and impressive motor make him a threat to run down ball carriers at all areas of the field.

Schwesinger’s awareness and instincts in coverage need to continue developing, but his athletic tools make him a promising coverage linebacker. He brackets slot receivers down the seam with good inside leverage and takes away running backs or tight ends working at the short to intermediate levels.

Schwesinger must play with more discipline. He bites on misdirection and falls for eye candy in the backfield, which causes him to abandon his assignments in coverage. Even with these flaws, Schwesinger projects as a top 100 selection.

Elite UCLA transfer wide receiver visiting Georgia

Georgia is still receiving interest from top wide receiver targets including one of UGA’s latest targets from UCLA

The Georgia Bulldogs been on the hunt for wide receivers in the transfer portal window, which is set to close on Dec. 28. The Bulldogs may not be in the running for the top receiver transfer anymore, but they could be getting a visit from another one this week.

According to Matt Zenitz of CBS Sports, there is growing belief that top wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant, who entered the transfer portal from UCLA on Dec. 10, will end up visiting Georgia this week. There’s no word on if the visit is official or unofficial. Sturdivant has one year left of eligibility.

The former four-star recruit transferred to UCLA from California in 2023. In three seasons, Sturdivant has 123 career receptions for 1,667 yards and 13 touchdowns.

According to Zenitz, some NFL scouts believe Sturdivant has NFL potential. He also visited Florida during the week.

Georgia is in need of wide receivers, since seniors Arian Smith, Dominic Lovett and Colbie Young could leave in the offseason. Georgia landed some talented incoming receiver recruits, but the Bulldogs could be better off getting proven pass-catching talent on the transfer portal.

Duke women’s basketball to join South Carolina, Texas, and UCLA in 2025 tournament

The Duke women’s basketball team will face South Carolina, UCLA, and Texas in the 2025 Players Era Women’s Championship, per a Monday release.

The Duke Blue Devils will be part of one of the biggest events on the 2025-26 women’s basketball calendar, according to a Monday release.

Duke will join the defending national champion South Carolina Gamecocks, UCLA Bruins, and Texas Longhorns in the Players Era Women’s Championship, a tournament set for next November in Las Vegas.

While the first Players Era men’s tournament took place this season, with the Oregon Ducks defeating the Alabama Crimson Tide in the title game, 2025 will mark the first women’s edition of the event. Each of the four programs will play the other three in a round-robin format.

“This is the premier regular season tournament in women’s college basketball,” head coach Kara Lawson said in a release about the tournament.  “The brands and the talent combined create an elite showcase of our sport. I have a lot of respect for these programs and their willingness to challenge each other.”

The Blue Devils have won nine of their first 11 games in 2024-25, but the other three programs involved all currently sit above Duke in the USA TODAY Sports women’s basketball coaches poll. The four schools in the Players Era field have a combined record of 39-4 so far this season.

Oregon basketball moves up into the Top 10 in latest coaches poll

The Oregon men’s basketball team is now a Top 10 team in the USA TODAY coaches poll.

We’re all used to seeing Dana Altman’s teams get off to a slow start, steadily improve over the course of the season and then be a dangerous team when February and March rolls around.

There hasn’t been a slow start this time.

Oregon is off to a 10-1 start with wins over ranked teams such as Texas A&M and Alabama. The Ducks have been rewarded with a Top 10 ranking in the latest coaches poll. Oregon is No. 10 in the nation as they moved up two spots from last week’s poll.

The Ducks had just one game last week, a 79-61 win over Stephen F. Austin at Matthew Knight Arena. It was a good bounce-back game after Oregon suffered its first loss of the year to UCLA.

Alabama is No. 7 in the poll while Texas A&M is right behind the Ducks at No. 11. Tennessee is the top-ranked team in the country with its 10-0 record.

Oregon is the top-ranked team in the Big Ten with Purdue coming in at No. 17 and the Bruins at No. 18. Michigan State is No. 19 and Michigan is No. 21.

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UCLA loses WR J. Michael Sturdivant to transfer portal

A big blow for the Bruins.

The UCLA Bruins have seen a number of players enter the transfer portal. First, it was running back TJ Harden and quarterback Justyn Martin.

Another big loss on offense is star wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant, as Matt Zenitz and Chris Hummer of 247Sports reported on Tuesday.

“UCLA standout wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant has entered the transfer portal, @chris_hummer and I have learned for @cbssports/@247Sports. Sturdivant, a former four-star recruit who began his college career at Cal, has 123 career catches.”

Sturdivant spent the past two years at UCLA after transferring from Cal. In his one season in Berkeley, he had 65 catches for 755 yards with seven scores. In two years at UCLA, he failed to get close to those, catching a total of 54 passes for 770 yards and five scores combined.

Sturdivant is going to be one of the more enticing names in the portal given his talent and his size, 6-foot-3, and it is a tough blow for UCLA.

Oregon vs UCLA Instant Reactions: Bruins give Ducks first loss

Dylan Andrews’ three-pointer with 0.4 seconds left gave UCLA a 73-71 win over Oregon, which was the Ducks’ first loss of the season.

Oregon’s second-half rally finally fell short.

The Ducks have been known for a number of rallies in the last 10 minutes of games this season, but UCLA kept making shots and Oregon couldn’t recover in a 73-71 loss at home.

It was the first defeat for the Ducks on the season as they fell to 9-1 overall and 1-1 in Big Ten action.

Oregon did rally back and take a 71-70 lead on Jackson Shelstad’s three-pointer with 10 seconds left, but Dylan Andrews’ three-pointer that went off the glass with 0.4 seconds on the clock was the game-winner.

Winning with a three-pointer was fitting for the Bruins as they were hot all night long from the outside. They came into the game averaging 6.4 made threes, but tonight at MKA, UCLA knocked down 12 treys and they needed every single one.

Oregon vs. UCLA Keys to the Game

  • UCLA started out hot from the floor and per usual, the Ducks did not. The Bruins made five three-pointers early and held a 21-12 lead.
  • The referees were really looking at players taunting the opposing bench and each team had a player get a technical foul. UCLA’s Eric Dailey and Oregon’s Keeshawn Barthelemy were teed up.
  • After the Ducks found themselves down by nine, they increased the defensive pressure that got them back into the game.
  • Nate Bittle, who is has been off with his three-point, hit a couple of deep ones to give the Ducks their first lead at 27-26.
  • Oregon took a one-point lead at halftime at 33-32, but UCLA came out shooting well in the second half and eventually had a 53-47 lead.
  • But a Barthelemy three and a Jadrian Tracey three-point play and the game was tied once again at 53-53 with 10:27 left.
  • Before the furious last seconds, Oregon looked as if it tied the game on a goaltend, but after further review, they determined Shelstad’s shot was not coming down before Tyler Bilodeau blocked it. The video looked to show otherwise, but the three officials saw it differently.
  • UCLA held a lead for most of the latter half of the second half, but the Ducks hit a three-pointer, Shelstad’s only points in that half to give them a 71-70 lead with 10.6 seconds left.
  • After Oregon fouled with 6.4 seconds left for its sixth team foul, the Bruins found Andrews on the left wing and his three was just over Bittle’s fingers and went off the glass and in the hoop to win what was a crazy game inside Matthew Knight Arena.

Oregon vs. UCLA Players of the Game

  • Nate Bittle: 22 points, 10 rebounds
  • Keeshawn Barthelemy: 13 points
  • Jackson Shelstad: 11 points
  • Jadrian Tracey: 10 points
  • Eric Dailey, Jr. (UCLA): 19 points

Oregon vs. UCLA Notable Stats

  • Bench Points: Oregon 29, UCLA 22
  • Rebounds: Oregon 33, UCLA 23
  • 3-pointers: Oregon 9-of-21, UCLA 12-of-23

What’s Next for Oregon Ducks?

  • Dec. 15 — vs. Stephen F. Austin Lumberjacks
  • Dec.  21 — at Stanford Cardinal (San Jose, Calif.)
  • Dec. 29 — vs. Weber State Wildcats
  • Jan. 2 — vs. No. 19 Illinois Fighting Illini
  • Jan. 5 — vs. Maryland Terrapins

Oregon will go back to non-conference play in a week with Stephen F. Austin and Weber State, but the Ducks travel down to San Jose to play a familiar team in the Stanford Cardinal. After the New Year will be two more conference games before they venture out on the road.

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Former Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy fired

For the second time this year, Bieniemy insists he wasn’t fired.

Former Washington Commanders offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is again out of a job.

UCLA had hired Bieniemy as their offensive coordinator following his time as the Washington Commanders’ offensive coordinator during the 2023 season.

Moving to a coordinator with NFL offensive coordinator experience was probably a good sell for the UCLA Bruins, who were moving from the PAC-12 to the Big Ten.

However, after only one season, UCLA informed Bieniemy that he would be replaced. The Bruins did not have a good offense in 2024. In fact, they were ranked 117th in the country.

Interestingly, Bieniemy’s agent said it was a mutual arrangement. This reminds Commanders’ fans of earlier this year, when Bieniemy said Washington did not fire him, insisting that though he lasted only one season as Washington’s offensive coordinator, the organization did not fire him.

You will recall that Bieniemy had been the OC for the Kansas City Chiefs. He first came to the Chiefs as running back coach, serving in that capacity for five seasons.

He then became the offensive coordinator the same season Patrick Mahomes became the starter. After five seasons, head coach Andy Reid publicly encouraged other NFL teams to hire Bieniemy as a head coach.

However, no offers came; only Washington offered the offensive coordinator position. Commanders Wire learned that on Feb. 17, 2023, Reid was bringing back Matt Nagy as his offensive coordinator, replacing Bieniemy, who did not yet have a new job.

Sure enough, Nagy was hired as the Kansas City offensive coordinator, and Bieniemy came to Washington. The Commanders did not even make it out of training camp before multiple players approached head coach Ron Rivera about Bieniemy’s coaching.

Obviously, the players were those whom Rivera respected their judgment because Rivera was troubled by it.

In short, the Commanders’ offense had a horrible season in 2023. They ignored the need to develop a running game, placed too much emphasis on passing the ball, and had too many quarterback sacks. They had only four wins, and Rivera and his coordinators, Jack Del Rio and Bieniemy, were fired.

Jason Fletcher, Bieniemy’s agent, publicly stated that it was always the plan that Bieniemy would return to the NFL in 2025.

That might be true, but in 2025, it won’t be as a head coach or offensive coordinator. Hopefully, Bieniemy can again find a job in the NFL where he can find some success.

Could the Chiefs reunite with legendary ex-offensive coordinator?

Should the #Chiefs look to replace OC Matt Nagy with an old friend who became available from the college ranks this week?

The Kansas City Chiefs’ offense has been a shell of its former self since the team hired former Chicago Bears head coach Matt Nagy to be its offensive coordinator.

But, on Thursday, an old friend became available and the defending Super Bowl champions could be willing to make a move to bring him back.

Former offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy became a highly sought-after prospect for a head coaching job after the 2022 season when he and head coach Andy Reid helped bring Kansas City its second Super Bowl victory of the Patrick Mahomes era.

In 2023, Bieniemy became the assistant head coach and offensive coordinator for the Washington Commanders before joining the UCLA Bruins in the same position.

However, according to a report by Yahoo Sports’ Ross Dellenger on Thursday, UCLA relieved Bieniemy of his duties following a disappointing season and made him available for other teams.

With so much talk around Nagy’s performance as offensive coordinator, a reunion with Bieniemy could be in the works if the Chiefs plan on hoisting the Lombardi Trophy for a third straight season.