UCLA Football: Chip Kelly Unpacks Thinking Behind 3-Quarterback Approach

How will it affect the rest of the Bruins' promising 2023 season?

Your UCLA Bruins thrived with true freshman Dante Moore starting under center Saturday, in a 35-10 dismantling of the San Diego State Aztecs on the road. 

Still, head coach Chip Kelly seems to remain open to trying out his various options at quarterback this year, per postgame comments recorded by Tracy Pierson of Bruin Report Online/247Sports. After Moore roundly outplayed Week 1 starter Ethan Garbers at the position in UCLA's 27-13 trouncing of Coastal Carolina, Garbers didn't leave the bench in Week 2 against SDSU. But a third quarterback, 6'3" junior Collin Schlee, did see some run, albeit in late-game spot minutes. In just two attempts, he had one six-yard completion and 75.2 rating.

"Just talked about it as a staff," Kelly said of how he decided to dole out minutes at QB. "He [Moore] was going to start. We were trying to get [all] three guys in, you got Colin in, which was good for him 'cause Colin missed some time in camp," Kelly explained. "You could see his athleticism and what he can do. We still feel we have three quarterbacks and [we] feel [really] good about that situation. I think it's comforting to know that all three guys can play for you."

When pressed by one reporter (possibly Pierson judging by the location of the audio relative to the phone's camera, it's hard to exactly gauge though) if he intended to officially announce Moore as his full-time starter, Kelly seemed to be deliberately cagey.

"We just played a game, so we do everything as a staff," Kelly rebuffed. "We'll sit down and talk about everything we do and what gives us the opportunity to be successful. Again I feel like we have three guys that are really good football players so that's something that not every team can say. We'll see how this whole thing plays itself out."

Moore certainly seems like the current best prospect, judging by what we've seen on the field thus far this season. It will be interesting to see how much toggling Kelly does based on the opposition in the immediate future, though one would expect for him to get his rotation finessed later into the season.