UCLA Football: Bruins Officially Sign Ex-Navy Lineman

Chip Kelly lands another one!

While the USC Trojans have made headlines with a rash of splashy comings and goings via the NCAA transfer portal and assorted NFL departures, their crosstown Pac-12 (soon to be Big Ten) nemeses at UCLA taken a decidedly quieter approach.

Your Bruins casually announced a variety of new transfer portal additions this week, after many had already been unofficially reported.

One of these key fresh additions is former Navy defensive lineman Jacob Busic, whose new digs have been officially verified by UCLA’s Twitter/X account:

WELCOME HOME! 4️⃣🆙

We’re excited to announce that @jacob_busic is officially a UCLA Bruin! pic.twitter.com/r0eZYnGPno

— UCLA Football (@UCLAFootball) January 17, 2024

Busic, a 6’4”, 256-pound senior midshipman, will help shore up the Bruins’ post-D’Anton Lynn defense, a highlight of an otherwise forgettable season wherein Chip Kelly struggled to lock down a reliable starting quarterback on the other end of the field.

During the 2023 season, the bulky edge rusher notched just four total tackles, one sack, one recovered fumble and one pass deflected. Those numbers obscure his actual upside. In 2022, he logged 39 total sacks (17 solo), six sacks, three forced fumbles, and one recovered fumble.

UCLA finished the year with an 8-5 record (4-5 in the Pac-12), including its first bowl game victory since 2015, a 35-22 win over Boise State in the LA Bowl.