Weber State Transfer Edge Rusher George Tarlas Visits UCLA Football
The first transfer visit of the season has occurred, and the player in question could potentially fill a spot on the Bruins’ defense next year.
UCLA football (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) has had five players leave through the transfer portal over the past three days, but former Weber State linebacker/defensive end George Tarlas could be an option to join the fold for 2022. After leaving Weber State on Nov. 24, Tarlas visited Westwood on Monday, per his Twitter account.
In the 2021 season for the Wildcats, Tarlas had 55 tackles, 5.0 sacks and 8.0 tackles for loss. Tarlas recorded four tackles against UCLA’s Pac-12 foes Utah in a 40-17 loss for Weber State.
Tarlas played two years of football at Borah High School (ID) after moving to the United States from Greece and signed with Weber State in January 2017.
Being from Boise, Idaho, the first offer Tarlas received after joining the transfer portal was from Boise State. It could be possible that the Broncos be a contender because of locality, but Tarlas’ first official visit seems to be to UCLA. Since his transfer announcement, Tarlas has also received offers from Toledo and Ball State, but UCLA has yet to officially extend a scholarship offer.
Before playing defensive end in his two most recent years in college, Tarlas played more outside linebacker in 2019 and accumulated two interceptions in that role.
In both the spring and fall of 2021, Tarlas was named a part of the All-Big-Sky Second Team, which are the two times he has been honored for athletic performance, in addition to his academic awards within the conference.
UCLA linebacker Myles Jackson and defensive lineman AJ Campbell both left for the transfer portal on Sunday and Monday, respectively, but now with Tarlas’ visit and his two years of eligibility remaining, he could stand as a notable addition should he commit. Defensive lineman Datona Jackson and edge rusher Mitchell Agude, two of the Bruins’ top pass rushers this season, came to Westwood as transfers, and coach Chip Kelly has shown an affinity for building his roster through the portal the past two years.
The 2021 season is not over yet, but UCLA’s coaches are already getting off to a quick start trying to fill up their open scholarships. With the outgoing transfers who have entered the portal as of Tuesday, the Bruins have 30 scholarships to utilize this cycle should they so choose.
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