Tulsa offensive lineman Tai Marks commits to transfer to UCLA

Tulsa Golden Hurricanes offensive lineman Tai Marks has committed to the UCLA Bruins. UCLA will be the third college program that Marks plays for in his college career.

Tai Marks is a native of Santa Ana, California. He played his high school football at Mater Dei, where he was a three-star recruit in the Class of 2020. He was also the 1,556th-ranked player overall and the 101st-ranked interior offensive lineman in that recruiting cycle.

Initially, Marks would attend Colorado State while they were being coached by Steve Addazio. That included the 2020 season, which did not count toward his eligibility before he played in 10 games in 2021. After Colorado State parted ways with Addazio, he would transfer to Tulsa. There, Marks played the next three seasons. That included playing in 24 games in 2022 and 2023 before only playing in three games last season, which allowed him to transfer and use a sixth year of eligibility.

The timing of this transfer is an interesting one. Fall Camp is already underway around the country. That’s going to give Tai Marks very little time to adjust to his new teammates and learn the playbook. Most transfers, even those coming from the spring portal window, would have joined the school in May or June.

Certainly, UCLA has been very active in the Transfer Portal. The Bruins have the 23rd-ranked transfer class in the 2025 cycle, according to the On3 College Football Team Transfer Portal Rankings. That includes 32 players who have transferred out of UCLA and another 31 who have transferred into the program. However, that notably doesn’t yet include Tai Marks.

The most notable player UCLA added in the Transfer Portal this offseason was quarterback Nico Iamaleava. He had a very public dispute over NIL with Tennessee, a team he had just led to the College Football Playoff, which ended with his decision to move on. Now, he’s hoping to spark the Bruins in their second season in the Big Ten.

Tai Marks is one of four offensive linemen UCLA added in the Transfer Portal this offseason. As a group, that unit is going to be tasked with making sure the Bruins are able to protect Nico Iamaleava.

On August 30th, UCLA opens with an interesting non-conference test at home against Utah. The two teams used to be in the Pac-12 together, but now find themselves in two different conferences. A few weeks later, on September 27th, the Bruins are set to open Big Ten play on the road against Northwestern.

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

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