Let's first look at where UCLA is ranked through various publications in their transfer portal rankings.
Outside of the 247 Sports transfer rankings, UCLA is ranked in the top ten of both the On3 and Rivals transfer portal national rankings. Rivals even has the Bruins ranked No. 2 in the Big Ten for their transfer portal rankings.
Before we go into who is transferring in and out of UCLA, here is a comprehensive breakdown of the 2025 college football transfer process.
December 9, 2024, is when the official transfer portal opened for college football at the end of the season for many football teams like UCLA, who did not qualify for a bowl game this season.
The concluding date when the transfer portal closed for many student-athletes was December 28, 2024. However, there are notable departures from the timeline.
Playoff teams now enjoy an extended window to navigate the transfer portal. After the conclusion of their season, athletes involved in a bowl game or playoff are granted a five-day window to utilize the transfer portal site. Student-athletes participating in the national championship game on January 20 have until January 25 to finalize their decisions, while those involved in bowl games on January 1 must make their choices by January 6, for example.
Athletes affected by a head coaching change are granted a thirty-day window to enter the transfer portal immediately after the coaching shift.
College football players can use this method to officially move to a different school by entering their names into a database. Just because they entered their name in the transfer portal doesn't necessarily mean they are going to transfer to another school.
Why do a decent amount of student-athletes who play Division One football continue to enter the transfer portal? A vast array of college football programs seeks players in the transfer portal each year; the transfer portal sees a remarkable surge of football players making moves compared to when the modern-day transfer portal was implemented.
Transactions involving name, image, and likeness play a significant role in player decisions, impacting their transfer choices, and student-athletes look to capitalize financially by transferring to another football program that will economically compensate them.
The transfer portal window has emerged as a pivotal element of the college football landscape, with coaches actively searching for talent from players who have joined the program during this timeframe.