Bruins lose, but look to add depth via portal

LOS ANGELES » UCLA's football roster showed stability as the program transitioned from Chip Kelly to DeShaun Foster as head coach during the offseason.

That began to change after the first week of spring camp with the Bruins seeing two prominent players enter the transfer portal.

Choé Bryant-Strother was the latest Bruin to enter the transfer portal, just days removed from backup quarterback Collin Schlee making a similar decision.

Bryant-Strother, who is expected to enter the portal as a graduate transfer, spent time as an inside linebacker and an edge rusher last season.

He was seen working with the first-team defense last week. Bryant-Strother was expected to continue competing for a starting role on the defensive line, following the departure of edge rushers including Laiatu Latu and Gabriel and Grayson Murphy.

Bryant-Strother had 38 tackles (four for a loss), a sack, two forced fumbles and a fumble recovery in 32 games played since 2020.

Foster did confirm that the Bruins will strongly consider searching the portal to help bolster depth at edge rusher when the spring window opens from April 15-30.

Junior Devin Aupiu and Navy transfer Jacob Busic worked with the first-team defense on Tuesday.

“I'm excited for the guys that we have,” Foster said. “Busic and Devin Aupiu are guys that want to be here . ... They follow the rules and I'm excited for them.”

Busic's arrival in Westwood briefly reunited him with former Navy head coach Ken Niumatalolo, before he was hired as San Jose State's head coach.

Busic spent four years with the Midshipmen and was a captain this past season. He was denied a fifth year of eligibility at Navy, which led to his decision to enter the transfer portal. He had 62 tackles (15 for a loss), nine sacks, two forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries in 28 games played.

Aupiu is making the transition from having played more as an inside linebacker, but there's a belief that he could be a good fit along the defensive front line.

“He's a big athlete,” Foster said of Aupiu. “That's what spring is.