UCLA earns transfer commitment from former USC wide receiver Kyle Ford
UCLA continues to bolster its wideout room with transfers who don’t have to travel too far to get from their old school to their new one.
The Bruins have already added former Cal standout J. Michael Sturdivant. Tuesday night, they earned a commitment from former USC wideout Kyle Ford. A junior from Corona, California, Ford has two years of eligibility remaining.
https://twitter.com/Ford_Kyle6/status/1615516875664003072?s=20&t=WhiEQlz5Yk-7H_DVNuYXCg
Ford landed at USC in 2019 while still recovering from a surgery on his knee during his senior season of high school ball. He worked his way back into form and appeared in four games as a true freshman, catching a 20-yard touchdown against Oregon late in the year.
Torn ligaments in his knee during the summer of 2020 cost him his redshirt freshman campaign and the spring of 2021.
As a redshirt sophomore that fall, the 6-foot-3 Ford saw action at receiver in eight games, hauling in 19 receptions for 252 yards and two scores. He had a catch in every game he played in.
Ford saw his snaps fluctuate in 2022 for a loaded receiver room, but when injuries forced the offense to lean on its depth, Ford came up big. He had just two catches through the first two months of the season and then exploded for 114 yards and a score on six receptions in the Trojans’ win over Arizona.
Later, against the same UCLA program he’ll now call home, he had three catches for 73 yards and another score.
For his career, Ford has 40 receptions for 637 yards and five touchdowns across 24 appearances.
In Westwood, Ford stands a good chance of playing a featured role right away. The Bruins have to replace their top two receivers from 2022 — Jake Bobo and Kaz Allen.
Kam Brown, Titus Mokiao-Atimalala, and Logan Loya are the top returning targets, though Brown was the only one with more than 20 receptions in 2022. Jadyn Marshall, a former blue-chip recruit from the 2022 class, could play a bigger role in his second season with the program as well.
But Sturdivant and now Ford give coach Chip Kelly a pair of big-play receivers who have proven themselves in Pac-12 play.