WATCH: Chip Kelly on Utah, UCLA Football's Books and Ball Culture
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UCLA football coach Chip Kelly spoke with reporters ahead of Wednesday morning's practice session at the Wasserman Football Center. Kelly talked about offensive lineman Tyler Manoa's absence, what he expects to see out of Utah on Saturday, the performance of the Bruins' defense so far this season and how he would describe UCLA football's overall culture.
What's going on with Tyler Manoa?
Tyler Manoa is no longer with the program.
Did that happen last week?
Last week.
Any additional information on that?
Said he wants to go put his name in the portal and transfer and see if he can play somewhere next year.
Key part of your offensive line depth?
We're fine. Bruno Fina and Jaylan Jeffers are doing a great job at tackle behind Raiqwon and Garrett, so we're solid there.
A matter of actually wanting to play?
That's – talk to Tyler.
Status of Carsen Ryan?
Carsen Ryan is unavailable right now.
DJ Justice?
Unavailable.
Utah's defense giving up yards but forcing turnovers?
Yeah, it's all about stopping people. You don't get point for yards, you get points for points, so there's as good a defense as we'll face all year. They've had a tremendous scheme since Kyle's been there and Kyle's been there a long time. First, he was the defensive coordinator when Urban was there and then took over as the head coach. They present a lot of problems, they're active, they create a lot of turnovers, that's by design and how well they play defensively. They really understand their system, it's been in place for a really, really long time, so we've got a big task on Saturday – our offense versus their defense.
Challenges their offense presents?
Multiple tight end formations, not as much spread as some of the other teams that you face in college football. They do a great job with their tight ends – they lost a great tight end a couple weeks ago, one of the best in the country, but they still got a slew of kids in that position. Thomas, at running back, I think really complements Cam very well. Cam can beat you with his feet – I think he was the leading rusher last week against Oregon State – extremely accurate passer. They've got a really good scheme, Andy Ludwig has been there for a couple years now, I think it's his second time there. Andy does a really good job offensively with their scheme, there's gonna be a lot of motions, a lot of shifts, a lot of things that can distract your eye discipline and you think the ball's going here but it's going back over there. So they're the defending champs for a reason, they're really good in all three phases of the game.
Defense starting to click the past two games...
It didn't click in the first two games?
Seems more consistent and efficient from an outsider's perspective
I think, from an insider's perspective, I think they've been good all season long. So I think they're doing a really nice job. We're getting contributions from all three levels, I think our defensive front is really active in making plays. I think Darius, at the linebacker spot, along with CBS and JonJon and we play Kenny there, it's been really helpful. And I think Blay and those guys in the back end have done a really nice job, and I think all three phases have complemented each other in all of our games this year.
With the way the team has played the last two games, what can you say about the scheme McGovern and the defensive staff has put together?
Yeah, I think in all five games, they've played really well on the defensive side of the ball. And so it's a compilation of that whole coaching staff over there and the players, we have some real veteran players, Blay and Mo on the back end, have really done a nice job in kind of bringing the young kids along. So I think it's the whole group – the players and the coaches – but I've been pleased with our defense in all five games we've played this year.
Lots of early kickoffs early this season – do you like day games as a college coach?
I love day games as a college coach. I think – I love getting up and playing. I don't think anybody enjoys waiting around all day and kicking off at 8 o'clock at night. You know, you wanna get up, it's kinda in your DNA, you wanna play. So I think we've got a bunch of guys who wanna play, but we don't get caught up in that very much cause we have zero control over when we play. It's all television driven, so the only thing is we just have to apologize to our fans in Manilla.
DTR's success starts with OL – thoughts on Raiqwon and Garrett?
I think it's the whole group and Duke and Sam and Jonny Gaines and Nio. All that whole group, I think they've meshed really well, there's a lot of continuity there, Garrett played last year, everybody that's played for us was with us last year, with the exception of Raiqwon. You're plugging in a kid who's got 30 starts in the Big Ten, so his transition has been really natural for him. He's a really smart football player and he's fit in really quickly with that group, so the group of guys we've got up front, I think there's a continuity to it, they've been around each other for a long time. Drev was with us before Justin left, so Drev was with us as an offensive analyst, so he knew the group really well, knew our terminology, so we really didn't miss much. Justin's an unbelievable football coach, but to be able to have Drev here to take over when Justin left was a real plus, and I think he's doing a really good job with that whole group.
How much weight do you put on your undefeated record? Use the zero losses as a motivator or is it not important?
No, we put on the Utah tape, that's our motivation. They're the defending champs in our conference for a reason, they've been really successful for a long, long time. 5-0 is in the past, there's nothing about the past, we don't live in the past, we live in the present and our focus and attention is on Utah. So we don't really talk about being undefeated, it doesn't mean anything until Saturday night, will we continue to be undefeated, that's what our goal and our aspirations are. Every week is a season for us, so we're firmly entrenched in getting prepared for Utah, not worried about what happened in the past and not worried about wherever we're heading in the future or whatever happens after this Saturday, but just our sole focus and attention is on this Saturday.
How would you define the culture of UCLA football?
Books and ball. Books and ball, that's what this place is all about, it's the No. 1 public institution in the country, plays football at the highest level and kids that are totally immersed in their development – they want to be great in the classroom, they want to be great in the library, they want to be great in the weight room, they want to be great on the practice field, they want to be great on the football field. It's kids trying to reach their full potential, but we've got a bunch of kids that are self-started, intrinsically motivated and want to be great and they challenge themselves by coming here academically and they challenge themselves athletically by coming here. And what they're seeing on the football field and in the classroom, we're as proud as – we've got 20 graduates, we have 20 kids in grad school right now, we had 18 last year. We're as proud of that as we are of our record, so it goes hand in hand. These kids want to be successful in everything they do, not just sports. Sports is a small part of it, but it's great to be around these guys, it makes it fun every day as a coach when you've got a bunch of kids that are – they're hungry, they're lifelong learners, they're thirsty for knowledge. And then our job, we gotta be on our toes cause we gotta be prepared every single day cause know they're gonna be prepared every day. So I think the coaches and the players kinda feed off each other.
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