UCLA Football Quarterback Parker McQuarrie Latest to Enter Transfer Portal
Another Bruin backup is set to leave through the transfer portal.
Redshirt freshman quarterback Parker McQuarrie plans to transfer out of the UCLA football (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12) program after he confirmed his intentions on Tuesday through Twitter. McQuarrie had not taken a snap at quarterback, nor received any in-game action, through his two years at UCLA.
McQuarrie spent most of the season wearing a scout team uniform, but through fall camp, he had taken snaps alongside Dorian Thompson-Robinson and Ethan Garbers.
Recruited out of coach Chip Kelly's home state of New Hampshire, the 6-foot-7 signal-caller played his high school career at St. Paul's School (NH) and received his first offer from the Bruins in January of 2019. By the end of the year, McQuarrie had committed, visited and signed with UCLA to enroll prior to the 2020 season.
Before entering the Bruins’ program, McQuarrie was the No. 258 recruit and No. 11 pro-style quarterback in the country and No. 1 player overall in New Hampshire, according to the 247Sports Composite. McQuarrie was the only quarterback added in the 2020 recruiting cycle and, as a four-star prospect, was the second-highest ranked recruit for the Bruins for that group of signings.
On the depth chart, McQuarrie struggled to find a place for playing time. Thompson-Robinson led the pack as the starter with Garbers standing in as his backup and Chase Griffin at third-string. Chase Artopoeus was the scout team quarterback throughout the entire season, while McQuarrie and true freshman Kajiya Hollawayne were fifth and sixth in the pecking order and often wore receiver numbers on their scout team jerseys.
With top-ranked quarterback Justyn Martin entering the fold in 2022 and Oklahoma signal-caller Spencer Rattler being a possibility if the Bruins decide to look towards the transfer marker, McQuarrie would have had to battle once again for snaps alongside an ever-growing group of Bruins’ quarterbacks, even with Thompson-Robinson possibly leaving for the NFL
As McQuarrie and other players leave for the transfer portal, roster spots continue to open up for Kelly and the yearly scholarship cap continues to rise, now coming in at 30 for the current cycle. Edge rusher Myles Jackson, defensive lineman AJ Campbell, punter Luke Akers and safety DJ Warnell are the other Bruins who are in the transfer portal.
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