UCLA Football: Darnay Holmes bound to get the respect he deserves in 2018

It should only take a year or two for Chip Kelly to get things up and running at a high level with UCLA football since he has players like Darnay Holmes.

UCLA football is making the push for contention in the PAC-12 South following possibly the biggest hire of the off-season coaching carousel. The PAC-12 North seems to have a lockdown for the first two spots in the division standings between the Washington Huskies and Stanford Cardinal.

Meanwhile, it’s anyone’s best guess as to who will push for top spots in the South, given the departures of star quarterbacks Josh Rosen and Sam Darnold to the NFL. However, both the Bruins and USC Trojans should still figure into the mix for top programs in the division this year.

One player that should help the Bruins get to that next level in conference play is rising sophomore cornerback Darnay Holmes. Many figure this UCLA defense to have a ton of gaps to plug, but there is more talent coming back than this group gets credit for.

Holmes had one of the most underrated freshman campaigns of any defensive back in the PAC-12 in 2017, possibly even in the nation too. He nabbed three interceptions for the Bruins, good for best on the team.

One of those interceptions was also returned for a touchdown, against the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors. His other interceptions came in big games against Washington and the Kansas State Wildcats in the Cactus Bowl.

Other notable stats for Holmes included 39 total tackles and three pass deflections. It seemed like most of the time Holmes was targeted, it ended up in a big play or nothing at all. He was a big time recruit that should turn some heads this season. Holmes and another rising star on the UCLA defense certainly have the capability of making big things happen this fall.

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It took Kelly a very short turnaround time to get the Oregon Ducks up and running when he was the head man in Eugene. UCLA has the resources to do the same sort of thing in Westwood this year. It might not be to the degree of success that Kelly saw immediately with the Ducks, but the Bruins are surely a team to watch this season, partly because of skilled players like Holmes.