Chip Kelly and UCLA football’s 2018 season did not go as planned. However, there is plenty to be optimistic about going forward into 2019.
To say Chip Kelly’s first year as the head coach of the UCLA Bruins was a “letdown” would be an understatement. The Bruins went 3-9 on the year and came in third to last place in the Pac-12 conference.
Despite 2018 being a rough year for Kelly, and the program in general, there are a handful of reasons to be optimistic about the future.
5. Chip Kelly has had a full year of recruiting
Part of what made Chip Kelly so successful at Oregon was his ability to recruit the very best athletes up and down the West Coast of the United States — the vast majority of these recruits from the West Coast came from Southern California. Kelly’s relationships with high school coaches has proven to be quite useful this recruiting season, as UCLA found itself just outside the top 25 percent of recruiting rankings after National Signing Day.
Even since signing day, the Bruins scored big when the nation’s top fullback prospect de-committed from Army and signed with UCLA. Sitiveni Kaufusi, out of Honolulu, Hawaii, decided to join Chip Kelly’s squad, demonstrating how influential the head coach can be.
While UCLA will want to break into the top 20 next year in recruiting, Kelly is now truly able to begin building a team full of players that fit his model.
4. Dorian Thompson-Robinson
“In Dorian We Trust” will be the motto that everyone involved with the UCLA Bruins’ program will be saying. All the fans, the coaches, and the players will be depending heavily on Dorian Thompson-Robinson, at least at the start of the season.
In 2018, he started seven games for the Bruins, highlighting his athletic ability and legitimacy as a dual-threat quarterback at the college level. This type of quarterback is exactly the kind of athlete that needs to handle the ball every play in a Chip Kelly offense.
Last season, former Michigan quarterback, Wilton Speight was under center often and, frankly, it was just awkward. Given an offseason to grow and develop, DTR will have had ample opportunity to prepare for the 2019 season.
Ideally, there will be a healthy balance of pressure, and confidence that will reside within Thompson-Robinson as spring ball begins. The pressure comes from the fact that because there isn’t much depth at quarterback for the Bruins, the teams’ success of failure will be resting upon his shoulders.
Conversely, since there is no one significant behind him on the depth chart, he should feel confident that this is his team and he will not be benched anytime soon.
3. Joshua Kelley and Co. return
One of the most notable returners on the offense is senior running back, Joshua Kelley. In 2018, Kelley started nine of the 11 games in which he played. Six of those games resulted in over 100-yards rushing. With this type of explosiveness and elusiveness, a read-option style of offense should be exceptionally rewarding, given Dorian Thompson-Robinson’s’ ability to keep the ball himself and run.
Additionally, the Bruins had to rely upon a handful of inexperienced freshman and sophomores on the offense line, especially after injuries. Many of those younger players saw real-game playing time last season, better preparing them for the future.
Lastly, the Bruins return kicker, J.J. Molson. Although some may say, “he’s just a kicker”, he is a very good kicker. He missed only five field goals last season, three of which were from beyond 52 yards. Year after year, we see college kickers miss and change the narrative of the game, or even the season. Having a reliable kicker is more important than many recognize.
2. UCLA’s 2019 schedule is favorable
UCLA’s schedule isn’t perfect. However, it is by no means terrible either.
- Aug. 31: at Cincinnati
- Sept. 7: vs. San Diego State
- Sept. 14: vs. Oklahoma
- Sept. 21: at Washington State
- Sept. 28: at Arizona
- Oct. 5: vs. Oregon State
- BYE WEEK
- Oct. 17: at Stanford
- Oct. 26: vs. Arizona State
- Nov. 2: vs. Colorado
- BYE WEEK
- Nov. 16: at Utah
- Nov. 23: at USC
- Nov. 30: vs. Cal
Playing at Cincinnati isn’t ideal. However, we can expect the game to go much better than last year’s 26-17 loss at home against the Bearcats. Although, Cincinnati was much better than we thought at the time.
Then coming home and likely getting a win over San Diego State will give the team some confidence before hosting the Oklahoma Sooners. Despite the unlikelihood of beating the Sooners, the chances are higher with the game being played in the Rose Bowl.
Away games at Washington State and Arizona should be classified as toss-ups, for now. But a home game against Oregon State should be a very winnable game. Traveling to Stanford will be tough as well, but the bye week will help. Additionally, coming home to play Herm Edwards and the Sun Devils is definitely ideal.
The bye week after hosting Colorado is at a perfect time in order to prepare for Utah. The USC rivalry game is a toss-up as well given the nature of the game. And lastly, finishing the season at home against Cal is a great way to end.
1. Crosstown rival USC is falling apart
The No. 1 reason to be optimistic about the UCLA Bruins is that the USC Trojans’ program is falling apart.
Earlier this offseason, Bru McCoy, a former USC five-star recruit, entered the transfer portal before even stepping on the practice field for the Trojans. Additionally, Trevon Sidney, Randal Grimes, and Josh Imatorbhebhe, all wide receivers, transferred from the program.
How is star quarterback JT Daniels supposed to be any good if he doesn’t have anyone to pass to? Furthermore, Clay Helton appeared to have had some serious issues filling the offensive coordinator position once Kliff Kingsbury departed for the NFL. Ultimately, they settled on Graham Harrell.
The Trojans ended their 2018 season with three consecutive losses to Cal, UCLA and Notre Dame. UCLA fans should be optimistic that the USC woes will continue and the Bruins will be the clear top team of Los Angeles when they beat the Trojans again this season.