Of late (HERE, HERE, HERE, HERE), UCLA football had reversed the trend of players fleeing the program. Tuesday, though, there was another roster leak for the Bruins.
First reported by Yahoo! Sports, quarterback Austin Burton has taken the first step in leaving UCLA football by putting his name into the NCAA transfer database. Subsequent to that, a UCLA football official confirmed that Burton has taken his place inside Ye Olde Portal.
Interestingly, the Bruins opened up spring practice earlier in the day Tuesday. And, adding to the intrigue, Burton was in attendance.
It’s expected that Burton will graduate this spring. That would give the quarterback immediate eligibility at another FBS school. Not only that, but he would have another season of eligibility he can use in 2021 as well.
A three-star member of the UCLA football Class of 2017, Burton was rated as the No. 62 pro-style quarterback in the country. The Massachusetts native had originally committed to Boston College before flipping to UCLA.
Burton didn’t play at all his first two seasons at UCLA. This past season, Burton saw action in six games. He even made his first career start, a 48-31 loss to Oregon State in early October.
In those appearances last season, Burton completed 44-of-64 passes (68.8 percent) for 365 yards and a touchdown. He also ran for another 100 yards and a touchdown on 23 carries.
UCLA football had entered spring practice with six quarterbacks on the roster. Dorian Thompson-Robinson, who started 11 of 12 games in 2019, is the presumptive frontrunner at this point in the offseason. Washington State transfer Colson Yankoff will also be a part of the under-center equation this season.
Those two players likely played a role in Burton at least considering a move away from the UCLA football program.