WATCH: Chip Kelly on Return to Oregon, UCLA Football's Leadership

UCLA football coach Chip Kelly spoke to reporters ahead of Monday morning's practice session at Wasserman Football Center. Kelly talked about making his return to Eugene, what Oregon means to him all these years later, what he expects to see out of the Ducks on Saturday, the growth of the Bruins over the past few years and what it means to have veterans and graduate students leading the team.

Fake fan noise?

Yeah, that's what we normally do when we play away games.

Don't remember it for the Colorado game

Well, it's ok, we do it every away game, so.

Been back to Oregon a couple times – "been there done that" or always going to be special going back?

It's always special going back there, it's a special place in my life and there's a lot of great people there that had a profound impact on my life. But I'm not playing the game, so, that's – we're totally focused. We get in Friday around six, we play noon the next day – or, 12:30 the next say – so we all know what this entails. It's a business trip, just like any other away game in this league.

Has Oregon changed since the Georgia game or was Georgia just that good?

I don't look at it that way, we just look at scheme and schematics and those things. So, you know, we don't try to analyze what happened or what didn't happen, it's just how do they handle – how does the three-technique play against the down block, what type of twist game do they have, things like that. That's kinda what we do, we try to take the emotion out of our gameplan breakdowns.

What do you see from Oregon on film?

I see a 4-2-5 defense, play a lot of nickel, played a little more 3-3 stack in the Arizona game, trying to get three linebackers on the field and get some speed on the field. Really good defensive end in Brandon Dorlus, DJ's really good at the other side, the linebackers are outstanding, Sewell's been a really good player in this league for a long time, Justin Flowe seems like he's getting back into the flow of things. So on offense, it revolves around the quarterback, he's really athletic and can run, he's the guy you gotta stop with his feet and his arm. So that's what we see when we watch the tape.

How hard to play at Autzen Stadium as a road team?

Yeah, it's a difficult place to play, just like anything in this league. You go to Washington and it's hard, you go to Oregon it's hard, I think that's part of it when you're playing meaningful games in October is you gotta be prepared for crowd noise, so we'll be prepared for it.

Are you guys ready for meaningful games?

Yeah. Already played one and we've got another one coming up, so.

Where has your team made the biggest strides this season?

Um, I think we're just right on track with where we thought we were gonna be. You know, our guys are – really do every day very well, they understand there's a consistency to the process. They've been really good every Monday, they've been really good every Tuesday, every Wednesday, and that's not easy. That's easier said than done, but I think there's a consistency to their preparation and that consistency pays off on Saturdays.

Confidence growing?

Yep, but I saw confidence last year in our team, so it's not like this is new to us. We felt we had a really good football team last year, lost two games on the last drive of the game and we finished 8-4. And I think we have a veteran group of guys, our leaders have been around here for a long time, and they do a really good job of setting the tone every day in terms of what it's supposed to look like when we get out there on the practice field.

You and DTR joined at the hip for five years – how has he grown in that time?

I just think the one thing that I love about him is he's a lifelong learner. He gets better every single day, he's always trying to get better and he has that mentality. I don't think he ever thinks he's arrived, he's always trying to – 'Can I get better at this, can I work at this,' and it's neat to see his growth over that time. But he's got a world of talent, but he's got a work ethic to go with it.

How happy are you that he's still here, since he could have left?

Yeah. I mean, we said that before, both, Zach, all those other guys that made the decision to come back. We were excited about it and the opportunity to play one more season with him and help him grow and help him maintain the goals that he's got set out for himself.

What does Oregon do well that you feel you have to prepare for?

Well, everything. They've got a really good run game with their quarterback, but he also has the ability to beat you with his arm. They do a nice job on both sides of the ball schematically, so it's – they're a one-loss team for a reason, they're a really good football team, so we're excited about playing them.

What do you look for academically with recruits and transfers?

Well we have a standard that the admissions office has here, so all we do with any young man that comes here is we submit the transcript to the admissions office and they give us a thumbs up or a thumbs down on whether he's an admittable student-athlete or not. So that decision's not on our – nor should it be – so the way it works here is very kind of cut and dry, you just – the admissions office will tell us we can take a kid or not take a kid.

Offensive line's experience and a new position coach who was already on staff impact on performance?

Yeah, I mean, I think, obviously we were fortunate enough to have Drev on staff when Justin left for Ohio State, so there's some continuity from that standpoint, not having to learn a new system, being ingrained in what we do here. He's added some of his wrinkles that I think Drev has brought to it. So he's done a really nice job, but to have the veteran players, Sam's been around for a long time, Nio's been around for a long time, Duke has been around for a long time, Jon Gaines has been around for a long time, Garrett's in year two, Raiqwon had over 30 starts in the Big Ten, so we do have experience there and experience is a great teacher. So those guys can go back to situations that they've been in before, when a situation comes up and go 'Oh, we've been in this before and here's the adjustment that we have to make.' There's no substitute for experience, and I think those guys have done a really good job as a group, kinda molding together.

Have the grad school guys taught you or helped you learn anything?

Yeah, pythagorean's theorem. You know, we discuss that a lot in some of our meetings and it's interesting, I've watched some of those guys get on the board and go over through some of those things, so um – the one thing you learn from this group is there's a maturity to them in their approach every day. You're not a kid that graduates undergad, you know, like a Shea Pitts – who graduated here in three years, already got a master's degree and working on a second master's – if you're not disciplined, if you're not mature, if you don't have your priorities in line. And I think that's what filters down to the younger guys in our program, is that – there's a certain amount of discipline that it takes to be a really good student here and it's the same discipline that can be applied to being a really good football player here. So it's the maturity that those guys bring every day, and the example that they set every day, that's why they do every day really well, because there's a consistency to their performance because there's a consistency to their mindset and a consistency to their approach.

Talk to Jacob Sykes about Socrates yet?

I have not, I talked to – I mean, Jake's off the charts. I met him, the first time I talked to him, he was an applied mathematics major at Harvard and then his mom said she was a little disappointed. She wanted him to be in engineering, and he said applied mathematics is the new engineering and he lost me after that. He may be president of the United States someday, so I make sure we're always on Jacob's good side.

Or Chase Griffin?

Chase could be there. We've got a couple guys that could run for office right now and could get, garner, a lot of votes, deservedly so.

Chance Ale Kaho returns this season?

There is, but I don't have – I'm not the doctor. So when they get him cleared to play, he's up moving around, running around, we'll see what happens.

Coaching a mature, older team versus coaching a young one?

I think you don't have to worry about things that I think maybe if you have a younger, immature team, that you do worry about. I'm not worried about 'Are these guys on schedule, these guys on time, where are they?' You don't have to babysit them. I think sometimes what you have to do with younger kids just cause they don't know. And I think the one thing is our older players do a great job of mentoring our younger players, being where you're supposed to be when you're supposed to be there. So the little things – we don't neglect them, I think our older players make sure that our players truly understand the little things cause how you do the small things is how you do all things. So if we can get those guys to understand that there's gotta be a consistency in your behavior, your consistency is a mindset for you, I think that's filtered down through everybody in the program.

Quicker growth that way?

It is. I mean, anytime you have a player-led team and not a coach-led team, that's really what we all strive for. But you gotta have players that can lead the room, that's what we're really fortunate to have is that our older group of guys is outstanding in that aspect.

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