UCLA Football: 3 takeaways from meltdown at Colorado in Week 5
By Zach Bigalke
1. Joshua Kelley could be Chip Kelly’s next great running back
After transferring from UC Davis in 2017, Joshua Kelley was unable to break into the Bruins backfield rotation as a junior. In the first few games of the Chip Kelly regime, it was much of the same for the UCLA running back as he earned just 14 touches. In addition to 11 carries for 27 yards, Kelley also caught three passes for 19 yards.
As such, it is not all that shocking that Kelley took Colorado’s defense by surprise. Despite leaving Boulder with a fourth straight loss, UCLA might have broken through in at least one way. After struggling to run the ball to start the year, the Bruins got at least one bright spot as Chip Kelly possibly found his next great running back.
In the loss to Colorado, Kelley nevertheless broke out on the prime-time stage on Friday night. Earning a dozen carries, Kelley racked up 124 yards for a 10.3 yards-per-carry average. Though he didn’t punch in any touchdowns, Kelley still showed himself to be a formidable runner for the Bruins.
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Bolu Olorunfunmi and Soso Jamabo have more experience in a Bruins uniform. Kazmeir Allen had a bigger role in the first few games for UCLA this season. But when Kelly finally opted to give the rock to Kelley, he repaid his head coach with a dominant performance that gave UCLA its second 100-yard rushing performance by an individual this season after Allen did so in the opener.