Sophomore wide receiver/running back Jeremy McGee has elected to transfer to Ole Miss, it was announced Tuesday. McGee, who played sparingly in his first year with the Bruins last year, has good speed and was expected to play a bigger role for the team next season.
Used primarily as a kick returner, McGee returned 11 kicks for 204 yards last season. His 18.5 yards-per-return average was good for second on the team to Derrick Williams, who also will not play for the Bruins next year because of medical retirement.
On the year, McGee had just two rush attempts for a total of -6 yards. Toward the end of last season, McGee was switched to wide receiver from running back.
In the Emerald Bowl, McGee ran a route that might have ended in a touchdown if not for a poorly thrown ball by quarterback Pat Cowan.
The Bruins have solid depth at the receiver position. McGee joins graduated senior Junior Taylor as the only losses to the unit from last season.
Last season, McGee’s mother died, and this move will put him closer to his father and his Louisiana home.
CHAMPIONSHIP ENTRIES: After a successful showing at the NCAA West Regionals this past weekend, the UCLA men’s and women’s track and field teams announced Tuesday their entries into the NCAA Outdoor Championships in Sacramento next week.
Eight Bruin men will be heading to the outdoor championships, including redshirt junior Austin Ramos (5,000 meters), freshman Darius Reed (110m hurdles), senior Brandon Johnson (400m hurdles), redshirt senior Mike Landers (pole vault), redshirt juniors John Caulfield (shot put/discus) and Greg Garza (discus), freshman Darius Savage (discus) and senior Jason Rider (discus).
Ramos is ranked 13th in his event heading into the championships with a time of 13:51.73, along with hurdlers Reed, ranked 18th at 13.81, and Johnson, ranked sixth with a time of 49.98. Landers is tied for fifth in the pole vault with a high of 17 feet, 9 inches.
Garza goes into the NCAA Outdoor Championships with the No. 1-ranked throw of 208-11, joining seventh-ranked Savage (200-5), 15th-ranked Rider (191-1) and 18th-ranked Caulfield (189-9). Caulfield also ranks eighth in the shot put with a throw of 63-1.25.
Meanwhile, the women’s track and field team will send seven athletes to Sacramento next week.
Leading the way will be sophomore Rhonda Watkins, who has the No. 1 long jump mark in the country at 22-4.50 and is also ranked sixth in the high jump at 6-0.50.
Joining Watkins in the long jump will be redshirt junior Renee Williams, who is ranked 11th with a 13-4.50 jump. NCAA West Regional champion Nicole Leach will run the 400m hurdles. The sophomore is ranked third at 55.49. Along with Leach, 22nd-ranked MacKenzie Hill will also run the 400m hurdles. The senior’s fastest time of the season is 58.42. Junior Maris Wisdom is set to run the 400m with the 26th best time of 53.43.
Redshirt senior Jacqueline Nguyen will enter the pole vault for the Bruins with her season-best of 13-4.50, giving her the 11th best vault going in to the championships. Finally, junior Ingrid Kantola received an at-large bid for pole vault and has the sixth best mark at 13-7.25.
The 4x400m relay team, who won the West Regional title last weekend, will also compete. The team has the eighth-fastest time at 3:32.55.
Complied By David Woods, Allister Wenzel, Bruin Sports senior staff.