Another Bruin is preparing to leave Westwood.
Cornerback Shamar Martin announced Saturday that he had entered the transfer portal and will be looking to leave UCLA football (8-4, 6-3 Pac-12). Martin did not appear in a game in any of the three seasons he spent with the Bruins and has three years of eligibility remaining wherever he ends up next.
Martin becomes the seventh Bruin to enter the portal this week, joining edge rusher Myles Jackson, defensive lineman AJ Campbell, punter Luke Akers, quarterback Parker McQuarrie, safety DJ Warnell and defensive lineman Tyler Kiehne.
Martin is the first of the outgoing transfers who came to UCLA from in state, though, with the first playing their high school ball in Ohio, New Mexico, Georgia, Texas, Tennessee or New Hampshire. Martin went to Morse (CA) in San Diego, where he played on both sides of the ball with two interceptions on defense and 1,617 yards and 14 touchdowns as a running back his senior year.
The 5-foot-10, 190-pound defensive back was part of coach Chip Kelly's first full recruiting class, and he committed to the Bruins on June 22, 2018. Martin also had offers from Arizona, Arizona State, Colorado, Fresno State, Iowa State, Nebraska, Oregon, Oregon State, Utah, Washington State and Wisconsin coming out of high school.
Martin was a three-star recruit, according to the 247Sports Composite, and he was ranked as the No. 43 cornerback and No. 427 player in the class of 2019 while coming in at No. 56 among California prospects.
The San Diego native had been featured as a member of UCLA's scout team the past two seasons.
The technical rules in terms of scholarships and transfers are complicated enough in a normal year, but with super seniors still a thing and COVID-19 eligibility extensions being granted across the country, it gets even more messy. Essentially, schools are allowed to add up to 25 new scholarship players each cycle, but that number goes up for every outgoing transfer.
That figure maxes out at 32, however, so the Bruins will not be able to replace any additional departures should any more players declare their intentions to leave the program.
Players who enter the portal are still allowed to be with their current teams in practice and at team facilities, and McQuarrie is one of the players who is taking advantage of that rule by continuing to practice with UCLA this week. The Bruins will practice again Sunday morning, and it remains to be seen if Martin will be present.
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