Cal Transfer WR J.Michael Sturdivant Commits to UCLA Football
One of the top wideouts on the market is coming to Westwood.
Former California wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant committed to UCLA football on Friday, the standout underclassman announced on Twitter. Sturdivant entered the NCAA transfer portal Jan. 4 after two seasons in Berkeley, and he will have three years of eligibility remaining with the Bruins.
Sturdivant was also picking up serious interest from TCU as well, but he canceled his official visit to Fort Worth and locked things in with UCLA instead.
Sturdivant is the 11th transfer to commit to the Bruins since the end of the regular season, joining UPenn defensive end Jake Heimlicher, Cal linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo, Princeton punter Will Powers, Kent State quarterback Collin Schlee, Purdue left guard Spencer Holstege, Army running back Anthony Adkins, Oregon tight end Moliki Matavao, Montana State kicker Blake Glessner, Ball State running back Carson Steele and Bowling Green safety Jordan Anderson.
UCLA has now added three transfers from the Pac-12 alone – Oladejo, Matavao and Sturdivant.
After recording three tackles on special teams and redshirting his true freshman year, Sturdivant emerged as one of the most productive pass-catchers in the conference this fall. Sturdivant appeared in all 12 of Cal's games, racking up 755 yards and seven touchdowns on 65 receptions.
The 6-foot-3, 205-pound receiver capped off his breakout season with five catches for 70 yards and a touchdown against UCLA on Nov. 25.
The Athletic and College Football News both named Sturdivant to their Freshman All-American First Team. The Texas native tied for No. 6 in the Pac-12 in touchdown catches, No. 8 in receptions per game and No. 10 in receiving yards per game.
Sturdivant was a four-star recruit coming out of Marcus High School (TX) in 2021, and the Bruins sent him an offer at the time. Jerry Neuheisel has since taken over for Jimmie Dougherty as UCLA's wide receivers coach, though, and Neuheisel has made a habit of reeling in transfer wideouts over the past few years.
Kam Brown came in from Texas A&M in 2021, while Jake Bobo came in from Duke and Titus Mokiao-Atimalala came in from UCF in 2022.
With Bobo out of eligibility, Kazmeir Allen heading to the NFL Draft and Matt Sykes in the transfer portal himself, Sturdivant has a chance to be the Bruins' top target in the passing game. Class of 2023 four-stars Jeremiah McClure and Grant Gray are set to join the roster as well, while class of 2022 four-star Jadyn Marshall stands to take on a larger role himself.
USC receivers Kyle Ford and Gary Bryant Jr. – two former four-stars themselves – have recently entered the transfer portal as well, and they could be options for UCLA if the staff wants additional reinforcements on top of Sturdivant.
Click here to check out All Bruins' 2023 transfer portal tracker
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