Bruins Sixth-Year Senior DL Enters Transfer Portal Once Again

The UCLA Bruins received news earlier this week that redshirt senior defensive lineman Drew Tuazama will be entering the transfer portal again in his six-year collegiate career. He will be looking for a fifth school this offseason.

Sep 3, 2017; Pasadena, CA, USA; General overall view of the UCLA Bruins logo at midfield during a NCAA football game between the Texas A&M Aggies and the UCLA Bruinsat Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-Imagn Images | Kirby Lee-Imagn Images

UCLA redshirt senior defensive lineman Drew Tuazama will be entering the transfer portal after just one season with the Bruins, per Pete Nakos of On3 Sports. Tuazama has just one year of eligibility left in search of a fifth school to play at.

Tuazama started his career in 2019 and would play his first two seasons with Syracuse Orange before transferring his next two seasons. His first transfer destination was the UAB Blazers and then to the South Carolina Gamecocks. He has totaled 44 tackles and five sacks so far in his career.

NEWS: UCLA EDGE Drew Tuazama has entered the NCAA Transfer Portal, @PeteNakos_ reports.

The former Syracuse, UAB and South Carolina transfer has totaled 44 tackles and 5 sacks in his career.https://t.co/ADFSQQ5vce pic.twitter.com/F6ZX8b94zZ

— Transfer Portal (@TransferPortal_) January 16, 2025

It does not come at a surprise that the collegiate journeyman will be looking for a new school next year after almost not playing at all this past season. Tuazama logged just one tackle for the Bruins, coming on senior day in a win over Fresno State.

With it being the Bruins' final game of the season, Coach DeShaun Foster did not know what the future held for Tuazama and wanted to make sure he got in to make an impact in what was potentially his final collegiate game. It turns out the Raleigh, North Carolina native wants one more crack at it in 2025.

In 2022, Tuazama had a standout season with the Blazers where he earned a majority of his career stats. 33 tackles, five sacks, a team-high six tackles for loss, and one forced fumble led him to being an All-Conference USA Honorable Mention.

There is strong potential in Tuazama's ability to impact the defensive line at the highest level of college football. In his case with the Bruins, they were the fifth-best run defense in the entire country and did not have much room to insert him into the lineup in his first season with the program.

Tuazama has experience playing in the Big Ten, SEC, ACC and Conference USA. There is not a destination that he could go into feeling unfamiliar. He will hopefully be a major asset for a team as he seeks to finish out his collegiate career on a high note.

Wherever that he decides to go will be gaining an elite pass rusher that has shown his ability to impact that game in a winning way on a consistent game-to-game basis. It may be wiser for him to seek out schools that align more with what he did a few years ago with the Blazers.

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