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UCLA Football: 3 reasons 4-star QB Jayden Daniels should commit to Bruins

By John Mitchell

PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach of the UCLA Bruins Chip Kelly reacts after a Fresno State Bulldogs touchdown to trail 31-14 during the third quarter at Rose Bowl on September 15, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - SEPTEMBER 15: Head coach of the UCLA Bruins Chip Kelly reacts after a Fresno State Bulldogs touchdown to trail 31-14 during the third quarter at Rose Bowl on September 15, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Harry How/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
(Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /

2. Daniels could compete for a starting job immediately

When healthy, Kelly went with graduate transfer senior Wilton Speight as the starting quarterback. Speight wasn’t exactly a great fit in Kelly’s system, so it’s telling for the other quarterbacks on the roster that Speight was still the No. 1 quarterback throughout the season when he wasn’t injured.

Speight has obviously exhausted his eligibility, and sophomore Devon Modster transferred during the season leaving freshman Dorian Thompson-Robinson as the only experienced quarterback on the roster for 2019.

Thompson-Robinson showed flashes during his opportunities this season, and will be the odds-on favorite to be the starting quarterback next season. But Thompson-Robinson wasn’t impressive enough to think that it’s a foregone conclusion that it’s his job for next season and the foreseeable future.

There’s also been some friction between Thompson-Robinson’s family and Kelly, which could cause an eventual split between the parties at some point down the line.

Jayden Daniels is talented enough to come in and push for the starting job immediately at UCLA, and the thin depth chart at quarterback opens up more of a possibility for him to play than the other choices.

There seems to be no path to early playing time at Utah, with incumbent starter Tyler Huntley returning to Salt Lake City for his senior season and his understudy, freshman Jason Shelley, filling in nicely while Huntley has been out with an injury and pointing toward him being the future for Kyle Whittingham at the position.

Arizona State has talented former four-star Dillon Sterling-Cole expected to take over for Manny Wilkins in 2019, along with four-star Joey Yellen and three-star Ethan Long already committed to play for the Sun Devils in this recruiting class, both of which are probably better fits in the pro-style system of Herm Edwards.

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