Former UCLA Football OL Baraka Beckett Enters Transfer Portal

The reserve lineman had not been with the Bruins this season and will have two years of eligibility wherever he goes next.

The Bruins have lost another offensive lineman, albeit not one who had been with the team this fall.

Former UCLA football offensive lineman Baraka Beckett has entered the NCAA transfer portal, he announced Wednesday on Twitter. Beckett appeared in one game over the last four seasons and graduated this past year, but was not present at spring camp, fall camp or any practice sessions so far in the 2022 season.

Beckett had already started sharing his highlights and practice tape on Sept. 27, at which point he had already hit the portal, but he made the move public and official Wednesday. He has two years of eligibility remaining.

After 4 great years as a UCLA Bruin, I have entered the NCAA portal as a grad transfer with 2 remaining years of eligibility. Thank you coach Kelly and coach Azzinaro! pic.twitter.com/UjfHUuddEV

— Baraka Beckett (@BarakaFootball) October 5, 2022

Beckett was one of the first recruits to commit to coach Chip Kelly and his new regime all the way back in January 2018, not long after he decommitted from Hawaii as a defensive lineman.

247Sports had Beckett rated as a three-star prospect who ranked No. 61 among offensive guards in his class and No. 156 out of all players in California. Beckett also had offers from Army, Columbia, Cornell, Idaho, Rice, UC Davis and UNLV.

Over the following four seasons, Beckett served almost exclusively as a scout team lineman. The Pacific Palisades, California, native appeared in the 2021 season opener against Hawaii, but did not appear in the following 11 games despite appearing as the second-string left guard in the two-deep throughout much of the campaign.

With Beckett no longer a part of UCLA, he is already starting to scope out his next destination – the lineman posted a video to his Instagram story Saturday from Duke's home game against Virginia.

Beckett's announcement came just hours after super senior defensive lineman-turned-offensive tackle Tyler Manoa entered the transfer portal. As a result, the Bruins have seen two players depart via the portal this fall, both offensive linemen.

The Bruins still have both of their Week 1 starting tackles in Rutgers transfer Raiqwon O'Neal and redshirt freshman Garrett DiGiorgio, with redshirt sophomore Bruno Fina and Oregon transfer Jaylan Jeffers slated to back them up.

Of the 21 UCLA players who entered the transfer portal last offseason, tackle/guard Beau Taylor was the lone offensive lineman in the bunch. Starters Sean Rhyan and Alec Anderson left for the NFL Draft, though, so they had to be replaced by O'Neal and DiGiorgio.

Local three-star Sam Yoon was the lone tackle to join the program this past recruiting cycle, while DiGiorgio and the now-retired Thomas Cole were the only ones the year before that. UCLA does not have a single offensive line commit for its 2023 recruiting class, leaving plenty of questions about where depth will come from at tackle moving forward.

O'Neal and DiGiorgio may have the eligibility to return next season, but the interior is in store for plenty of turnover as well. On top of Beckett's departure, Atonio Mafi, Jon Gaines and Sam Marrazzo will all have exhausted their eligibility and Duke Clemens could leave for the NFL Draft depending on the advice he gets from scouts, agents and the coaching staff.

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PHOTO COURTESY OF BARAKA BECKETT/TWITTER