UCLA transfer receiver J. Michael Sturdivant commits to Florida Gators
Receiver arguably is the Florida Gators’ biggest need this offseason in the transfer portal and they’ve now landed one of their top targets — J. Michael Sturdivant, formerly of UCLA. He has committed to Billy Napier’s program.
Sturdivant, who visited the Gators last weekend and is coming off his junior season, has several traits that got Florida’s attention: He’s tall, talented, experienced and productive. The 6-foot-3 Sturdivant is the No. 25 receiver in On3’s transfer portal rankings and has recorded 123 catches for 1,667 yards in college.
Florida has to replace senior starters Elijhah Badger and Chimere Dike, both of whom transferred to Florida in 2024. Sturdivant was a 4-star recruit in the class of 2021 from Flower Mound (Texas) Marcus when he signed with Cal. He caught 65 passes for 755 yards and seven touchdowns his freshman season, then transferred to UCLA.
J. Michael Sturdivant is a veteran receiver
He recorded 58 receptions for 912 yards and six touchdowns in two seasons with the Bruins. He missed some time this season with an injury. Of note, Sturdivant had five catches for 117 yards vs. USC.
With Sturdivant’s combination of size and speed, he has the potential to provide returning Florida quarterback DJ Lagway with a deep threat the offense needs. Sturdivant has 12 career games with at least one catch of 30 yards or longer. Before the 2024 season, Phil Steele named Sturdivant the 16th best draft eligible receiver for the 2025 Pro Football Draft.
Transfer portal background information
The NCAA Transfer Portal, which covers every NCAA sport at the Division I, II and III levels, is a private database with names of student-athletes who wish to transfer. It is not accessible to the public.
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The process of entering the portal is done through a school’s compliance office. Once a player provides written notification of an intent to transfer, the office enters the player’s name in the database and everything is off and running. The compliance office has 48 hours to comply with the player’s request and that request cannot be refused.
Once a player’s name shows up in the portal, other schools can contact the player. Players can change their minds at any point and withdraw from the portal. However, once a player enters the portal, the current scholarship no longer has to be honored. In other words, if a player enters the portal but decides to stay, the school is not obligated to provide a scholarship anymore.
The database is a normal database, sortable by a variety of topics, including (of course) sport and name. A player’s individual entry includes basic details such as contact info, whether the player was on scholarship and whether the player is transferring as a graduate student.
A player can ask that a “do not contact” tag be placed on the report. In those instances, the players don’t want to be contacted by schools unless they’ve initiated the communication.
The window for FBS players to enter the portal opens Dec. 9 and closes on Dec. 28.
![Florida s Ron Roberts will serve as executive head coach, co-defensive coordinator and linebackers coach. Roberts was coaching drills Saturday. The Florida Gators held their second Spring football practice at Sanders Practice Fields in Gainesville, FL on Saturday, March 9, 2024. [Doug Engle/Gainesville Sun]](https://on3static.com/cdn-cgi/image/height=215,width=393,quality=90,fit=cover,gravity=0.5x0.5/uploads/dev/assets/cms/2024/07/30115745/Untitled-design-20-2.png)
