WATCH: Chip Kelly talks quarterback depth chart, new additions, virtual recruiting

Coach Kelly answered questions from the media prior to UCLA football's latest practice

UCLA football coach Chip Kelly talks to the media about recruiting during COVID, the depth of the 2021 squad and important eligibility questions ahead of Wednesday's fall camp session.

CHIP KELLY

Status update on Dorian?

Dorian is unavailable.

For today?

I know. It’s protocol. He will not be available today.

How does the team look to you?

They’ve been great. They’ve been really sharp. We’ve changed the timing of training so obviously we started off a little early and we start to build up to our training sessions so they’ve handled that really, really well. We got a lot of really good situational work in the last couple days and got more into coaches on the sideline, players on the field. They gotta fix things without being coached and we put a lot of really good things on tape and teaching. They’ve been great so far. So we’ve got really good leadership from our older guys and the young kids are really falling right in line. They’ve really picked up and kind of accelerated but I think it’s because our older players are doing a really good job of helping those young guys.

Examples of players leading?

Just corrections that normally a coach would make that a player makes. He doesn’t wait for a coach to say something. If an older player sees something where he can help out a younger guy, just give him a little bit of either a coaching point or this is what we do here, this is what coach means, you see that a lot. Our guys are trying to help out each other. You have no idea when you get to the season who’s going to play. You can’t say, geez, I wish I helped that freshman out two weeks ago because he’s actually lining up next to me now. They’ve done a really good job. Our players really care about each other so they’re just trying to make everybody better around them.

How are Devin Apuiu and Jay Toia looking?

Devin Aupiu is enrolled and practicing. His first full practice was either yesterday or the day before. So like everybody, there’s a protocol of dress so this is our first day in full pads but Devin hasn’t gone through the acclamation period so he’ll go through that. Jay has gone through that, Jay has been here since Day 1. Jay will be in full, Devin will be in I think — Devin gets to put on shoulder pads today but he can’t put on pads for two more days.

Aupiu's recruitment?

He obviously — loved Devin coming out. Coach Kaufusi had really identified him early. Had a great relationship with him and Coach Moon over at Pacifica and the last second, Notre Dame came into the picture and he decided to go over there, but when you talk to Devin, he never got a chance to visit, that’s one of the unique parts of COVID that everyone had to deal with. Everything was done over Zoom. So he got out there and from our understandings, he was doing a good job at Notre Dame, but I think he just felt like he wanted to be home. So he went into the transfer portal and we contacted him after he went into the portal, brought him over, showed him around so he could see what we had to over and he committed to us. We’re excited to have him back. Always loved how hard he plays and love his upside. I think he’s going to be a tremendous college football player.

No hesitation with the fact he decommitted and flip flopped on you?

Nah. I just — there’s a lot of things that happened during COVID that I don’t think people would really, when they look back five years from now, 10 years from now, you can really put things in perspective. But it was a different time period for everybody. He was always very honest and up front with us. It wasn’t one of those things where you pick up the paper one day and found out that he wasn’t here. He always kept in great contact with myself and Coach Kaufusi so we knew exactly where he stood. He’s a really quality young man and we’re excited to have him. 

Talk to Erin Atkins about eligibility for Aupiu or Toia?

We gotta wait to talk to anybody about that, it's nothing. We're just trying to get everybody in and practicing and we'll get to that. For us, it's really you start to get to Week 1, that's when you start to kind of hone in who's available, who's not available.

How deep is this team compared to others you've coached?

Well, compared to my first years here, and that's all I can compare it to, this is the deepest team we've had since I've been here. I think comparing teams from different years and different schools is, I don't really think of it that way. I think since we've been here, obviously. Even in the spring, we had 115 players in the spring. My first spring here, we had 65. So obviously the biggest concern, especially when you play the schedules that we play, you go from our out-of-conference schedule into our conference schedule, you gotta have depth and that's what's always tested over time in any of the Power Five conferences. It's the teams that have the best depth overall that will be able to survive because obviously it's a game of attrition at some point in time and you're going to lose some players at some point in time, but if you have quality backups that can go in when you lose your first line players, and we feel like we've improved our depth every year overall. Now that was part of the plan.

You notice LSU lost their starting QB? Factor in at all?

Well right now it doesn't. I was unaware of that right now.

Myles Brennan is out

He was in a quarterback competition though.

Pop up on your radar yet?

We haven't talked about that cause we're not in to preparing for LSU right now, we're still just kind of preparing for ourselves. If this was Wednesday of the LSU week, that would be very high on our radar, but right now, I feel bad for him, that's awful. He's a really good football player and it would have been a real challenge to go against him. The other kid's really good too, played against Florida. But yeah, what we're concerned with, this is our first full-padded practice and what are we gonna get out of our guys today.

Where you anticipated being re: player development, scheme, depth?

There's a lot of things that you're hoping and wishing for things or what is the reality of things that need to happen. So part of it for us is can we improve incrementally over time and that's the way this works and I believe we have improved incrementally over time. Just the question Tracy asked, it was a great question, is our depth is much better than it's ever been, so that's part of the process. But development goes into everything, what are we doing in the classroom, what are we doing week-to-week, what's our day-to-day look like, how consistent are we, how mature are we, but everything's always, right now, is trending in our direction but that's the great thing about life. Everything can be still and pretty good and then the next day you kind of get knocked down, but it's how you respond to getting knocked down is the key thing, and I think that's what we're trying to impart upon our guys here is using the life lessons that football can teach you to be able to help you with everything else. But I love the mindset of this team and I love where they are right now.

How are QB reps split up without Dorian?

It was even. It usually is even. We're not concerned...because we're not in game week, of the amount of reps. It's just trying to get things on tape for everybody. The good ones, the really good ones can learn from other people. So while you're in there, are you getting a mental rep? So if Chase is in there, it's Garbers and Chase Artopoeus getting mental reps from that and vice-versa when the other guys are in. So that's the way we've approached it. We've always believed in the distribution of two reps for the ones, two reps for the twos and two reps for the threes. We're always training in three groups at this point in camp, so who's in with the ones, twos and threes, is kind of inconsequential for us. They just kind of rotate those three guys through. Each of them got reps with the ones, reps with the twos, and reps with the threes. The more they can get on the field and get experience, the better off they're going to be. Exactly who is the surrounding cast around them isn't the most important thing... schematically, are we making the right decisions, is the ball going to the right place, are we making the right checks when the defense presents us something, so who's with who isn't important right now. As you get closer to game week, obviously now the reps start to...because really we start to get scouting periods and only two groups get reps and usually we go 70%-30% one's to two's. Then it becomes a question of who is running with those groups, but right now, as long as we have a quarterback back there taking snaps, then we're pretty good.

Recruiting during COVID?

The biggest issue for everybody was we weren't allowed to leave campus and they weren't allowed to come on campus. So everything was just turned into virtual...so there were a lot of Zooms and just trying to stay in touch and present and educate whoever we were recruiting about the opportunity that UCLA is and is that a good fit for what they are looking for, and what are their goals and aspirations, and what do they want to get out of their collegiate experience. We really had to highlight that. The unique part about that for everybody was that it was the same challenge for every school. None of us were allowed to have anybody on campus and none of us were allowed to go evaluate in person. We just had to deal with it as it came. In June, when the last group of kids came in, there were 8-9 kids that we had never met in person. Deshun Murrell, Christian Burkhalter, some of those kids that were from a distance that we normally would have gone out, we would have gone to see them that spring, during spring recruiting. We just had to...'Oh okay, I've seen them on a Zoom, that's what he looks like.' But they've been great, if this ends up being our best recruiting class., then maybe we just do that all the time. But that's take 3-4 years to figure that part out. Really pleased with what we have, it's just unique, I think our recruiting staff and coaching staff did a great job of constantly staying in touch with those guys. We did a lot more group work in our recruiting, and the other recruits helped out a lot too, because they stayed connected with each other through Zoom over the course of that time. The Kirkwoods and some of those guys that were kind of leaders in that class, those guys developed a pretty good bond...the technological part of it gives you an opportunity to reach out and touch people a little bit better, but it still doesn't replace face to face.

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