UCLA Football Secures Commitment From Duke Transfer Receiver Jake Bobo
After two weeks of seeing their players transfer away from the program, the Bruins have finally hauled in a transfer addition of their own.
Former Duke receiver Jake Bobo committed to UCLA football Tuesday afternoon, giving them their first commit out of the transfer portal in the 2022 cycle. Bobo entered the portal Nov. 29 after playing four seasons with the Blue Devils and getting honored as part of their Senior Day festivities back in November.
Bobo, who was choosing between UCLA and Boston College, has one year of NCAA eligibility remaining.
Bobo visited UCLA over the weekend, getting a look at campus and meeting with the coaching staff for the first time.
"I am really excited to get out there and get to work," Bobo told 247Sports. "I want to compete for a Pac-12 championship and a national championship as well."
Bobo also told 247Sports that the Bruins presented a good combination of talent and coaching that should lead to wins moving forward.
The 6-foot-5, 215-pound receiver is originally from the East Coast, and he attended Belmont Hill (MA) for high school. Instead of going to Boston College, located just a few miles from where he grew up in North Andover, Bobo elected to make the cross country journey and join coach Chip Kelly's offense.
Coming out of high school, Bobo was a three-star recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite. Bobo fielded 10 Division I offers at the time as a consensus top-six player in Massachusetts and top-200 receiver in the country.
In four years with Duke, Bobo hauled in 126 catches for 1,448 yards and three touchdowns. Bobo had a career year as a senior in 2021, ranking in the top 10 in the ACC with 801 yards and 74 receptions.
Bobo made the All-ACC Third Team this fall and racked up several academic honors during his time at Duke. Bobo comes from a long line of athletes as well, with his parents, grandparents and aunts playing football, hockey, lacrosse and field hockey at Dartmouth, SMU, New Hampshire, Harvard, Middlebury, William Smith College and Virginia over the past few decades.
Adding an all-conference wideout to receivers coach Jerry Neuheisel's toolbox should help UCLA replace any outgoing production, should they have any. Receivers Kyle Philips and Chase Cota walked during the Bruins' Senior Night and could enter the NFL Draft, and Keontez Lewis entered the transfer portal Sunday.
Eleven players total have left Westwood via the transfer portal already.
With Bobo joining the fray, UCLA adds a reliable, long body to the group regardless of who else stays and goes. While he has yet to prove himself as a red zone threat in the past – he has never scored multiple touchdowns in a single season – a lot of that can be attributed to Duke only throwing nine passing touchdowns this season, five of which went to receivers.
The Bruins don't have their quarterback situation hashed out for 2022 as of Bobo's commitment, with Dorian Thompson-Robinson potentially leaving for the NFL Draft himself. As a result, either Ethan Garbers or another addition through the transfer portal could end up being the one tossing Bobo the ball next fall.
Many of UCLA's key contributors this season came to Westwood as transfers, whether that's running back Zach Charbonnet, left guard Paul Grattan, striker Qwuantrezz Knight, linebacker Jordan Genmark Heath, edge rusher Mitchell Agude, linebacker Ale Kaho or even Bobo's former Duke teammate running back Brittain Brown.
Bobo is the third receiver the Bruins have added via the portal in the past three cycles, joining Kam Brown and the now-departed Evidence Njoku.
Catch up on all the transfer market news related to UCLA at All Bruins' transfer portal tracker.
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