UCLA edge rusher Mitchell Agude enters transfer portal in big blow to defense

UCLA edge rusher Mitchell Agude, perhaps the team’s most disruptive defender, has entered the transfer portal, he confirmed Wednesday.

It’s another significant loss for the Bruins with top defensive lineman Otito Ogbonnia headed to the NFL, striker Qwuantrezz Knight exhausting his eligibility and lockdown cornerback Jay Shaw transferring to Wisconsin.

A second-team All-Pac-12 selection by conference coaches last season, Agude played through an early season leg injury to finish with 54 tackles, including 6½ tackles for loss and two sacks. His four forced fumbles led the team and he ranked No. 12 nationally with 0.33 forced fumbles per game.

A senior who spent the last two seasons at UCLA after arriving from Riverside Community College, the 6-foot-4, 245-pound Agude can play one more college season as a result of eligibility extensions granted in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic.

Agude becomes the ninth member of the team’s defense to enter the transfer portal, joining Shaw and fellow defensive backs DJ Warnell and Shamar Martin; linebackers Myles Johnson and AJ Campbell; and defensive linemen Tiaoalii Savea, Tyler Kiehne and John Ward.

Some reinforcements are expected to arrive in transfer defensive linemen Gary Smith (Duke) and Jacob Sykes (Harvard), cornerback Azizi Hearn (Wyoming), linebacker Darius Muasau (Hawaii) and edge rusher Laiatu Latu (Washington).