UCLA Football: Which 2024 Recruits Have The Best Chance To Play As Freshman?

Chip Kelly shed some light on who out of his early enrollees have the best chance at playing as true freshmen.

UCLA football is at a crossroads. 

After signing just 10 recruits in their 2024 class (good for 63rd in the country, according to 247Sports), they will once again be heavily reliant on the transfer portal. UCLA head coach Chip Kelly has repeatedly stressed he doesn't too much care where his players come from, whether it be out of high school or via the transfer portal. 

But it isn't often (if ever) you see a national powerhouse so reliant on the transfer portal. Given Kelly's ability to pull in difference-makers from the portal, he has a good of a chance as any to break the mold and become relevant without a competitive high school recruiting effort. 

UCLA signed three offensive tackles, two quarterbacks, two cornerbacks, a linebacker, a running back (my personal favorite recruit in this cycle), and a wide receiver. 

Notably lacking from this haul are any defensive lineman, a position that UCLA needs to backfill given the departure of most of their 2023 production (in terms of sacks) into the 2024 NFL Draft. 

Kelly recently had a virtual media availability session wherein he discussed all things roster makeup. One reporter asked Kelly what his thoughts are regarding who out of the 10 early signees have the best chance at playing as true freshman. Kelly shared his thoughts:

"I think the kids who enroll early obviously have a better chance of playing in the fall just because they get an opportunity to go through winter program with our football performance people."

Kelly essentially is saying that Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, CA) wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer, Yelm (Yelm, WA) linebacker Isaiah Patterson, West Bloomfield (West Bloomfield, MI) cornerback Jamir Benjamin, and Tustin (Tustin, CA) cornerback Kristian Dunbar-Hawkins have the best chance at playing in their true freshman season, due to the fact that those are the four mid-year enrollees who Kelly is expecting. 

Out of that group, I would imagine Dunbar-Hawkins may have the best chance at contributing in a meaningful way. This is because he has played against some of the top competition in high school football. Before Dunbar-Hawkins transferred to Tustin High School, he was a lockdown cornerback playing in Southern California's infamous Trinity League. 

Time will tell which of these four freshman will stand out among the rest..