UCLA QB Karson Gordon plans to enter transfer portal as track athlete

UCLA redshirt sophomore quarterback/receiver Karson Gordon plans to enter the NCAA Transfer Portal as a track and field athlete, according to On3’s Pete Nakos. Although he’s entering as a track athlete, Gordon still plans to play football wherever he transfers to.

Gordon is listed as a receiver on UCLA’s 2026 online roster, but he originally signed with the Bruins as a three-star dual-threat quarterback out of Episcopal (Missouri City, Tex.) in the 2024 recruiting cycle. Gordon also participated as a triple jumper on the UCLA track and field team, and last competed during the 2025 indoor season. He set a personal record with a winning jump of 51 feet, 11 inches at the Spokane Sports Showcase in January 2025. Gordon also won a national championship in the triple jump with a leap of 51-4.5 at the 2023 Nike Outdoor Nationals.

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Gordon was moved to wide receiver this offseason after previously competing to be the Bruins’ starting quarterback last Spring before UCLA landed former Tennessee QB Nico Iamaleava in the transfer portal in April 2025. With Iamaleava back as the Bruins’ starter in 2026 and his younger brother Madden expected to back him up, Gordon opted to hit the transfer portal this Summer rather than contribute at receiver.

Despite entering the portal as a track and field athlete, Gordon can sign with any program as a two-sport athlete, meaning he can join any interested football program ahead of the upcoming Fall semester. The NCAA’s month-long track and field portal window opened Thursday and will close on June 26.

Given his track background, Gordon is considered one of the fastest quarterbacks on the market, and was reportedly clocked as running a 4.28-second 40-yard-dash during a recent workout at UCLA.

The 6-foot-1 Gordon highlighted UCLA’s competitiveness on the national track scene as well as the Bruins’ 2024 move to the Big Ten as reasons for his commitment in Nov. 2023. He also cited former Bruins head coach Chip Kelly and his dynamic scheme, both of which have changed considerably since Kelly left UCLA to join Ohio State as its offensive coordinator in 2024.

“UCLA just has everything, honestly. Big-time football, moving to the Big Ten next year, with top-tier competition. Their track team is always very competitive in the national scene,” Gordon told On3’s Hayes Fawcett in Nov. 2023. “Scheme-wise, it’s a pro-style offense that translates a lot to the League and that’s what I come from in (high school), so it’ll feel like second nature. They also use QB’s like me and have had success with dual threats, so it was a no-brainer to want to play under the super-experienced Chip Kelly.”

For his part, Kelly praised Gordon’s track background and natural athleticism on National Signing Day in 2023.

“We added two quarterbacks, obviously Karson Gordon who everybody knew about,” Kelly said in late Dec. 2023. “Karson’s the state of Texas triple jump champion, I think he’s gone over 52-plus feet in the triple jump which I think is the state record. So he’s a tremendous athlete but a really sharp kid at a high school where they really do a lot of really neat things and do a lot that’s put on the quarterback’s plate.”