Tag: Chip Kelly

UCLA is feeling the loss of D’Anton Lynn more than Chip Kelly leaving

According to Matt Wadleigh of UCLAWire.com, losing Chip Kelly hurts, but loss defensive coordinator D’Anton Lynn hurts more.

The UCLA athletic department was in quite a quandary when Chip Kelly up and left the Bruins. Now having a head coach leave isn’t out of the norm, but Kelly left for Ohio State for the offensive coordinator position.

The ones in charge were left in a lurch, but they also had to replace another key coaching spot within the football program and that was defensive coordinator.

D’Anton Lynn transformed the Bruins defense into one of the best of the country. If Kelly could have replicated Oregon’s offensive success, UCLA would have competed for a conference title or perhaps more.

Not only did Lynn leave, but he left for the cross-town rival USC Trojans, which made it sting even worse. UCLA replaced Kelly and Lynn with DeShaun Foster, a first-time head coach, and Ikaika Malloe, respectively. So far. the returns have been very little.

According to Matt Wadleigh of UCLAWire.com, losing Lynn was a much bigger blow than losing Kelly.

“The writing was on the wall for Chip Kelly to leave, and there were rumblings that he wanted to go back to being a playcaller, so it wasn’t too surprising,” Wadleigh said. “But Lynn leaving for a division rival in the same city with the sale role was a shocker in all aspects.

“At the end of the day, money talks and Lynn must have sensed changes were coming and instead moved to a Top 25 program not entering a rebuild. Smart move all around.”

UCLA is going to find it difficult to find two or even three wins on the remaining schedule and it doesn’t let up, beginning with Oregon on Saturday night.

UCLA fans and writers not yet sold on DeShaun Foster to lead the way

UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster is off to a rough start and going 1-2, including being pounded by Indiana, hasn’t helped things.

The DeShaun Foster Era of UCLA Bruin football got off to an inauspicious start at Big Ten media days when Foster got up to the podium and spoke for 90 seconds, which was complete gibberish.

It wasn’t a good look for the first-year head coach that is stepping into a head job for the very first time. He obviously won over the administration with the interviews and eventual hiring, but Foster hasn’t quite endured himself in the early going with a lackluster offense and losses in two of his first three games.

UCLA got stomped at home to Indiana in the Bruins’ first ever Big Ten game and the Hoosiers are by far not the best conference team they’ll face. A 2-10 or 3-9 season is definitely on the table.

Ahead of Saturday’s game with the Bruins, we went to UCLA Wire and their own Matt Wadleigh to find out if Foster is truly the right man to lead the way through this time of rebuilding.

“When he was first hired, I thought so. He had energy, had support of alumni and boosters, and is a former UCLA player,” Wadleigh said. “After three weeks, I am now concerned. UCLA might not win another game until maybe Oct. 12 against Minnesota, but that’s even a question mark. Furthermore, the most wins I see them getting the rest of the year is two, max (Rutgers and Minnesota). If UCLA finishes with a 3-9 record, it will be difficult to recruit. Does Foster bring that name value to the recruit’s house?”

Recruiting is the name of the game and although Chip Kelly didn’t have that much success on the field, he could gain entry to almost any recruit’s house just on name recognition. Wadleigh is concerned Foster doesn’t possess that.

“Does he have the appeal as, let’s say, Tony White or Barry Odom? Foster has to win games in order to land top-end recruits, and it isn’t happening,” he said. “(UCLA athletic director) Martin Jarmond has some thinking to do if things continue at this rate.”

Oregon’s goal is to keep the misery in Westwood continuing.
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The storied history of the UCLA Bruins and the Oregon Ducks’ football series

Check out the history of the Oregon Ducks series with the UCLA Bruins in college football.

This weekend, the Oregon Ducks are venturing into their first-ever Big Ten matchup, but unlike many of the games ahead of Oregon this season, they’ll meet a familiar foe on the field this Saturday. The Ducks and the UCLA Bruins have been conference opponents in the Pac-12 for almost six decades, and this weekend, the Bruins will be the Ducks’ first conference matchup as a member of the Big Ten.

UCLA and Oregon first played one another in 1928 as members of the Pacific Coast Conference, and since then, they’ve played 71 games. The Ducks have won 39 of those meetings — including the first in 1928 and the most recent in 2022. UCLA has won the other 32, with no games between these teams ending in ties.

Recent history hasn’t been kind to the Bruins, as they’ve won just three of the 16 games played between these two schools in the 21st century. Oregon’s win in 2022 was the fourth consecutive win for the Ducks over UCLA.

The 2022 game was one of the most exciting in the history of this series. Coming in, Oregon was ranked 10th in the AP Poll and UCLA was 9th, with UCLA favored by many to take down the Ducks in Autzen Stadium.

Both teams had high-powered offenses, neither of which wavered through the start of the game. But when Dan Lanning chose to attempt a surprise onside kick in the second quarter, all the momentum swung in favor of the Ducks, who won the game 45-30.

Since the 2022 season, Oregon’s program has only gotten better, and UCLA’s has seen a significant decline. After last season, Bruins head coach Chip Kelly left for the offensive coordinator position at Ohio State, a sign of the turmoil in the Bruins football program. UCLA hired an exciting, young, and homegrown coach in DeShaun Foster, but the start of his tenure hasn’t been fantastic.

Ohio State football’s Quinshon Judkins has career-best game against Marshall

Ohio State football added a dangerous back in Quinshon Judkins this offseason, and he showed them exactly what he’s capable of Saturday.

Quinshon Judkins had more rushing yards than Marshall had passing yards in Ohio State football’s dominant 49-14 victory Saturday.

The Buckeyes didn’t start out hot, being down 7-0 early in the first quarterback, but they picked it up pretty quickly. Ohio State took a 28-14 lead into the break and put on 14 unanswered points in the third quarter as well.

The Buckeyes got a career-best game from Ole Miss transfer Judkins, who ended with just 14 carries. However, those 14 carries included an 86-yard touchdown. He ended with 173 rushing yards on those carries and 2 scores.

Believe it or not, the yardage wasn’t a career-high number for Judkins. He eclipsed 200 yards twice at Ole Miss, rushing for the highest number in his career on November, 19, 2022. He ended that battle against Arkansas with 214 yards.

However, in each of the three times he topped 173 yards, he scored just one rushing touchdown. He also had 24 or more carries in each of those. Saturday, he was efficiency and got the ball in the end zone twice.

Expect more big-time performances as Judkins continues to show his value to Chip Kelly and the coaching staff.

Chip Kelly starts his Ohio State coaching career with successful run game

Ryan Day loves what he saw from Chip Kelly.

Chip Kelly, the former UCLA Bruins head football coach started his run as offensive coordinator with the Ohio State Buckeyes on Saturday. The Buckeyes, who are the favorites to win the Big Ten, and one of the national title contenders had a successful start to their season.

The Buckeyes blasted Akron 52-6 on Saturday. The biggest key for head coach Ryan Day was the Buckeyes’ ability to run the football on offense. The Buckeyes carried it 32 times for 172 yards and two touchdowns in the game.

Ohio State has a pair of running backs that are both going to be plenty involved. TreVeyon Henderson was one of the main guys last season, and now the addition of Quinshon Judkins has made them awfully tough in the run game.

Head coach Ryan Day applauded the former Bruins head coach on his ability to stay with the run in the win, per Nathan Beighle of Buckeyes Wire:

“I thought Chip did a nice job, continually pushing the run. You could see that start to take its effect in the second half.  I thought Chip called a good game. I really do. He knows what he wants to get done with this team. He wants to establish this run and that means maybe that’s not scoring 70 or whatever, but we need to establish the run late in the season.”

Kelly will get his second chance as the offensive coordinator this coming Saturday, as the Buckeyes battle the Broncos of Western Michigan.

Ryan Day applauds Chip Kelly devotion to the run game against Akron

Ryan Day is already liking what he sees from his former mentor. #GoBucks

Ohio State football should be able to dominate the trenches in just about every game this season. With one of the most talented lines on both sides of the ball, the Buckeyes will look to impose their will often.

On Saturday, they did just that. Ohio State ended with 170 rushing yards. Five players ended with a carry as TreVeyon Henderson led the bunch. He ended with 65 yards on 8 carries, an impressive 8.1 yards-per-carry average.

On top of Henderson, James Peoples and Quinshon Judkins both saw significant usage. Peoples ended with 6 carries for 30 yards and a touchdown. Judkins, an Ole Miss transfer, ended with a team-high 13 carries, 55 yards and a touchdown.

Over the last decade, the Buckeyes have had dynamic quarterbacks leading the way, but Chip Kelly, the team’s offensive coordinator, may flip the script. He’s going to establish the run game early and often.

Kelly did that Saturday, and head coach Ryan Day commented on it following the 52-6 victory.

“I thought Chip did a nice job, continually pushing the run. You could see that start to take its effect in the second half,” Day said. “I thought Chip called a good game. I really do. He knows what he wants to get done with this team. He wants to establish this run and that means maybe that’s not scoring 70 or whatever, but we need to establish the run late in the season.”

https://twitter.com/LanternSports/status/1831029815249609058

Day and Kelly have a long relationship, so the former should trust the latter to control the offense. Kelly, who was the Oregon Ducks head coach when they had one of the nation’s most dynamic run games, should bring that style of play calling to Columbus.

With Judkins and Henderson in the backfield, he’ll have the talent to establish that run game, and the team’s offensive line has the chance to develop into one of the best. Expect those two to get a ton of action moving forward.

The Buckeyes will be back in action on Saturday as they take on Western Michigan at Ohio Stadium. Kickoff is set for 7:30 p.m. ET.

UCLA Wire dives deep into Eric Bieniemy’s offense

The new offense should be fun!

A lot changed over this offseason for the UCLA Bruins. After the departure of Chip Kelly, DeShaun Foster took over as the new head coach.
In the wake of Kelly’s exit, the position of offensive coordinator needed to be filled. Taking over the Bruins offense, seasoned NFL play-caller Eric Bieniemy prepares for his first season in Westwood.

UCLA Wire’s own Matt Madleigh took part in a Q&A, with Brock Vierra of NBS Media to talk about the potential changes to the Bruins offense under Bieniemy and what we know so far.

Of Bieniemy’s offensive changes, Wadleigh said, “We can expect UCLA’s offense to be much more exciting than in recent years. Foster loves to run the football (surprise), but Bieniemy will likely add in some new elements and try to open the game up in the air while also controlling the running game. To put it simple: Bieniemy has been pretty mum so far on the new scheme.”

Having an experienced Bieniemy calling the plays for the Bruins should be a good foil for Foster in his first season. Hopefully, the collaborative environment for the Bruins pays off with UCLA’s offense running smoothly and keeping them in games.

UCLA extends offer to four-star 2026 wide receiver

The offers keep pouring in!

The UCLA Bruins have made steady progress in their recruiting since the departure of Chip Kelly this spring. Kelly famously failed to capitalize on recruiting local talent, but things have changed under Southern California native DeShaun Foster.

Under Foster, the Bruins have secured commitments from some top-level players including Warren High School quarterback Madden Iamaleava. This week, the Bruins extended an offer to a four-star wide receiver to potentially pair up with Iamaleava.

Trent Mosely, a class of 2026 prospect, ranks as the 13th-best wide receiver in the country, according to 247 Sports. The Bruins secured a commitment from Mosely’s teammate, fellow wideout Jonah Smith, and could potentially be building a pipeline with the program.

Mosley has qualifying offers from other NCAA heavy-hitters including rival USC, Alabama, Oregon, and Michigan. But if UCLA can put together a similar pitch as they did for Smith, they could have a chance to start stacking high-level players on offense for the future.

Chip Kelly makes known that Will Howard isn’t the clear-cut starter

Is this just coaches’ speak? #GoBucks

The Ohio State Buckeyes are among the most prominent teams in college football.

To play the most important position is not an easy task — Just ask Kyle McCord. While he was solid for most of the season, a few untimely throws seemed to turn all of Columbus against him.

The Buckeyes have yet to let fans know who will be the starting quarterback, and many reports have insinuated that Will Howard, the Kansas State transfer, is going to get the nod over Devin Brown.

However, offensive coordinator and former Oregon Ducks head coach Chip Kelly drew back on that thought process and told reporters thatat it is still an open competition.

“I think they’re doing a good job − all of them,” Kelly said. “We’re still going through that. I would say probably towards the end of this week, we’ll start to home in on it. The lineup changes every day − who’s in with which group. We’re mixing and matching right now, just trying to make the most of our reps.”

Howard threw for 2,643 passing yards and 24 touchdowns last season. His accuracy wasn’t the most impressive, completing 61.3% of his passes and ending with 10 interceptions as well.

As for Devin Brown, he missed out on the starting spot last season to McCord and hasn’t been given much in-game opportunity, but the talent is there. He’s a contender as well.

Both have performed well, Kelly noted, and ideally, there’s will be a starter named soon. For now, Howard is the frontrunner, but it’s not a done deal yet.

Why the Buckeyes running backs should feast in the Chip Kelly-led offense

How much of a difference will Chip Kelly make for the Ohio State rushing attack this fall? #GoBucks

Chip Kelly started his coaching career in Columbia in 1990 and then consistently bounced around from Columbia to New Hampshire to Johns Hopkins, trying to find his rhythm after serving as a coach for multiple different positions.

He found his footing as the offensive coordinator and then head coach for the Oregon Ducks, who are ironically now in the Big Ten. Kelly made his name by featuring a spread offense and running it at 100 miles per hour, which worked perfectly for the players he was able to put on the turf.

Having been a running backs coach earlier in his career, Kelly’s presence should bring career years for TreVeyon Henderson and Quinshon Judkins, just as it did decades ago.

How is Kelly planning to feed two high-profile mouths at the same time? Well, one just has to look at his Oregon offensive numbers to see what success could look like.

In 2008, the Ducks’ lead back, Jeremiah Johnson, went for 1,201 yards on 168 carries. LeGarrette Blount, on the same team, totaled 137 carries and 1,002. The team ended 10th in the AP Poll and finished with the 7th-most points per game in the nation at 41.9.

As a head coach in 2010, Kelly’s team finished 1st of 120 FBS programs, notching 47 rushes per game. Kelly knows how to utilize the players to be success, and he’s going to have a gold mine of talent for 2024.

The Buckeyes secured a surprise transfer in Quinshon Judkins, who is coming from Ole Miss. Now a junior, Judkins rushed for 1,100-plus yards in each of his last two seasons.

There’s also the incumbent Henderson, who notched 1,248 yards as a rookie but then had that dwindle to 926 last season. Henderson has been listed as the starter on most depth charts, but it is going to be a committee.

Looking at Kelly’s past, he’s found ways to utilize his players, and that should be the same in 2024. It wouldn’t be a stretch to think both could hit career-best numbers this coming year.