UCLA Football: 2 Cornerbacks Continue To Shine Despite Starting Change

It takes a team to win games, not individuals.
UCLA Football: 2 Cornerbacks Continue To Shine Despite Starting Change
UCLA Football: 2 Cornerbacks Continue To Shine Despite Starting Change /
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UCLA Bruins head coach Chip Kelly has been known for his interesting tactics when it comes to depth charts. He mixes and matches players to try and find the best possible combination of things.

For this version of the Bruins, Kelly has already done this with the Bruins cornerback situation, as they have seen some struggles in that area. Last week, the Bruins made a change in their depth chart to have Devin Kirkwood be replaced by Jaylin Davies

He had been targeted by opposing teams over the first few weeks, and it has started to become an issue. With Kirkwood showing some problems early in the season, the Bruins decided enough was enough. But despite the change, Kirkwood still saw a good amount of playing time against North Carolina Central last week.

“After UCLA released a depth chart last week showing that Jaylin Davies had overtaken Devin Kirkwood as a starting cornerback, only to reverse course less than two hours later with a revised version, Davies did start against North Carolina Central.”

Per Ben Bolch of The LA Times

Kelly said that it doesn’t matter who starts the game, but rather who ends it. He wants his guys to be ready to go at all times, and not to worry about the small details like who starts.

“Who takes the first snap of the game is really inconsequential in our minds,” Kelly said. “We have a bunch of guys who can rotate and a bunch of guys who can play, and I think one of the strengths of our team is our depth.”

Per The LA Times

As the Bruins get set to start the heart of their schedule, they will need to make sure they shore up the cornerback issues. They can't have problems in the secondary as they face off against tougher teams, otherwise, it will come back to bite them.

They get their first real test this weekend as they head to Salt Lake City to take on the Utah Utes. UCLA will need to make sure their defense is up to par, otherwise, Utah will make quick work of them in this one.

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Matt Levine
MATT LEVINE

Matt earned a Master of Science degree in Sport Management from Louisiana State University in 2021. He was born and raised in the Los Angeles area, covering all Southern California sports in his career.