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UCLA RB TJ Harden plans to enter NCAA transfer portal

Barkley-Truaxby: Barkley Truax12/03/24BarkleyTruax
UCLA Bruins running back TJ Harden (25) runs during the first quarter against the USC Trojans at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum
UCLA Bruins running back TJ Harden (25) runs during the first quarter against the USC Trojans at United Airlines Field at Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.(Jason Parkhurst-Imagn Images)

UCLA running back TJ Harden plans to enter the NCAA transfer portal, per report.

He was the Bruins’ leading rusher during the 2024 season, totaling 124 carries for 505 yards and two touchdowns across all 12 games for UCLA during the regular season.

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He best performance of the season came during a 20-17 win over Iowa, where he carried the ball 20 times for 125 yards and two touchdowns. He also rattled off a 14-carry, 98-yard performance against rival USC on Nov. 23.

Harden started playing his best football during the latter half of the season, particularly over the last four games of UCLA’s season. During the first eight matchups of the season, he amassed 226 rushing yards while in the final month of the season he doubled his season numbers and rushed for 279 yards.

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Harden was a three-star recruit as a part of the 2022 recruiting class, according to the On3 Industry Rankings, which is a proprietary algorithm that compiles ratings and rankings from all four primary recruiting media services. The LA native was the No. 1,288 player in his class and the No. 85 running back before arriving on campus.

Based on his status as the team’s leading rusher, he has outperformed that ranking and could have a list of suitors calling his name when the portal officially opens up.

The portal officially opens on Monday, Dec. 9, 2024. More than 2,800 FBS scholarship players entered their names into the NCAA’s transfer database during the 2023-24 school year. Removing those who withdrew or went pro, the final total sat at 2,707 transfers. That means roughly 25 percent of all FBS scholarship players hit free agency in one year, per On3’s Pete Nakos.

To keep up with the latest players on the move, check out On3’s Transfer Portal wire for the 2024 season.

The On3 Transfer Portal Instagram account and Twitter account are excellent resources to stay up to date with the latest moves.