UCLA Football: National Signing Day position group report card

Mike Regalado

It was the first National Signing Day for new UCLA football head coach Chip Kelly who pulled in an amazing class, but there was still room for improvement. Go Joe Bruin looks at how the Bruins did with our position group grades.

After the exodus of payers that decommitted from the UCLA football team after the hiring of Chip Kelly, not many knew how the new coach’s first class would look like.

UCLA might not have pulled in five-star recruits, but they did pull in players that are going to help Kelly execute his game plan. There were definitely some surprises, as well as missed opportunities, but for the most part it was a pretty good class Kelly assembled in his first year with UCLA. So let us check out how he did on an individual group basis, which will eventually give us an overall grade.

Quarterbacks: A

★★★★ QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson 6’1, 195 lbs., (Bishop Gorman HS/Las Vegas, NV)

UCLA fans might have had to wait a little bit longer in the day to find out that DTR is officially a Bruin, but it was worth it. The four-star quarterback out of Bishop Gorman High School in Las Vegas has been committed to UCLA since the summer of 2017. Though that was back in the Jim Mora era, he has stayed true to his word by not only remaining committed, but finally signing his national letter of intent.

Even though there was a change in coaches, it seems as though Chip Kelly will be a better fit for the dual-threat quarterback. In his days at Oregon, Kelly ran up-tempo offenses which was beautifully orchestrated by several quarterbacks who have the ability to not just throw the ball, but use their legs to advance down the field.

Thompson-Robinson is essentially a perfect fit for Kelly. The only issue here is that he will not be at UCLA until the summer, missing spring practice. Until then, Devon Modster, Matt Lynch and Washington grad transfer K.J. Carta-Samuels will be leading the offense.

Though it will take a little bit of time for DTR to get acclimated with UCLA’s style of play, it shouldn’t be long until we see him running the offense himself.

PASADENA, CA – OCTOBER 21: Bolu Olorunfunmi

Runnings Backs: B+

★★★ RB Kazmeir Allen 5’10, 185 lbs., (Tulare Union/Tulare, CA)

★★★ RB Martell Irby 5’8, 204 lbs. (Morse/San Diego, CA)

Through no fault of his own, Kelly had to quickly address the running back situation on the recruiting trail. Before he took over, UCLA did not have a commitment for the backfield (they did, but at the time the recruit had decommitted).

That quickly changed when he offered Allen. The central California product did not even have UCLA on his final list, but when Chip Kelly comes knocking, you listen and he not only committed to the Bruins, but signed his NLI during the early signing period.

On NSD, the Bruins picked up another speedster as they flipped Irby from Arizona who is now heading to Westwood and bringing the skills that could help him thrive under Chip Kelly.

It will be interesting to see who emerges as the primary backs given that UCLA also has Soso Jamabo, Bolu Olorunfunmi, Jalen Starks and Brandon Stephens on the roster.

At least now the Bruins have several reliable options to choose from. They have the power backs like Olorunfunmi, Starks and Stephans and now have the speedsters Allen and Irby to go along with Jamabo. Expect another running back group by committee next season.

PASADENA, CA – SEPTEMBER 09: Darren Andrews

Receivers/Tight Ends: A+

★★★★ ATH Bryan Addison 6’5, 180 lbs., (Junipero Serra/Gardena, CA)

★★★★ WR Chase Cota 6’3, 195 lbs., (South Medford/Medford, OR)

★★★★ TE Michael Ezeike 6’5, 220 lbs., (Colony/Ontario, CA)

★★★★ WR Kyle Phillips 5’11, 176 lbs., (San Marcos/San Marcos, CA)

★★★ TE Matt Alaimo 6’5, 235 lbs., (St. Joseph Regional/Montvale, NJ)

★★★ WR Delon Hurt 6’0, 190 lbs., (Servite/Anaheim, CA)

★★★ TE David Priebe 6’6, 212 lbs. (Midway/Waco, TX)

There are several position groups where UCLA went above and beyond. This is one of them. Not only that, this is the best receiving group UCLA has signed in several seasons.

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Not only did they get several top (and local) talents, but they got the pieces that will fit perfectly into Kelly’s puzzle. With it being assume that UCLA will operate in a run-based spread offense, Kelly needed to get, as he says “players that are fast a long.”

He did that and more with his receivers and tight ends, hauling in seven total pass catchers with five of them standing 6’3 and over.

I would not doubt that several of the receivers, including Addison and Cota, playing decent minutes next season. UCLA also loses several notable receivers, so it is quite possible for a handful of these new Bruins to see some early field time.

The Bruins also brought in three tight ends which may seem like overkill, but if it works for Kelly, then we are all for it. Ezeike was this late surprise when he picked the Bruins over USC and Oregon. Although it might be sometime before we see any of these players get meaningful minutes (the Bruins already have depth with their TEs including explosive Caleb Wilson, Jordan Wilson and now eligible Devin Asiasi), it is good to see Kelly is planning for the future.

Offensive Line: C+

★★★★ OG Chris Murray 6’3, 300 lbs. (Mater Dei/Santa Ana, CA)

★★★ OT Alec Anderson 6’5, 283 lbs., (Etiwanda/Rancho Cucamonga, CA)

★★★ OT Jon Gaines 6’5, 270 lbs., (Marquette University/Milwaukee, WI)

★★★ OG Baraka Beckett 6’4, 280 lbs., (Palisades Pacific/Palisades, CA)

This grade was going to be a lot lower, but the Bruins got a very late NLI which keeps this at a passing grade. The last few seasons, recruiting offensive line men has been a weakness under Jim Mora. The Bruins were looking good with five players committed before the end of this last football season, but a lot has happened since then, which includes Mora being replaced by Kelly.

With that happening, the offensive line was reanalyzed and restructured to try and fit Kelly’s scheme.

Up until 7 p.m. on national signing day, the Bruins only had three O-linemen sign with them, all of which look like projects. UCLA had a commitment from Chris Murray, but it was believed that he would opt out of it as he was not 100% on his decision, or at least others involved were not.

Luckily he stayed with his commitment and the Bruins now have four linemen to show for in the 2018 recruiting class. With this being a position group in dire need of players, this is not a bad collection of signees. They just need more next NSD.

Defensive Line: A

★★★★ DE Elijah Wade 6’5, 240 lbs., (Arbor View/Las Vegas, NV)

★★★★ DT Tyler Manoa 6’5, 260 lbs., St. Francis (Mountain View, CA)

★★★ DT Otito Ogbonnia 6’3, 300 lbs. (Taylor/Katy, TX)

★★★ DE Steven Mason 6’8, 250 lbs., (Southwestern College/Chula Vista, CA)

★★★ DT Atonio Mafi 6’3, 360 lbs., (Junipero Serra/San Mateo, CA)

The overachieving continues as UCLA brought in five very good defensive linemen, of few of which could help out immediately, most of which will be huge factors in the future.

The interesting thing about this position group is that most of these recruits committed in the last month. At the time of the early signing period, Atonio Mafi was the only player that had signed a national letter of intent (or was even committed), and this was just after UCLA flipped him from Cal.

With DC Jerry Azzinaro expected to play an aggressive style of defense, the players he brought in are more than able to develop into those roles. With the position group thin in some areas, it is possible we see a few of these players have significant time on the field next season.

Wade could be an edge rusher that gets time behind Jaelan Phillips. With UCLA trying to erase the memories of bad run defense from the last few seasons, it is apparent Azzinaro wants to change that stigma and now has a few more players that could live up to that billing. He will also get help in the middle with Manoa signed on. His fundamentals are already developed to the point that he could play a significant role next year.

Still, no matter who produces, it is nice to see the Bruins with a lot of players in a position group like this.

Linebackers: C

★★★★ LB Bo Calvert 6’3, 218 lbs., (Oaks Christian/Westlake Village, CA)

★★★ LB Tyree Thompson 6’3, 235 lbs., (L.A. Valley College/Van Nuys, CA)

Well you can’t win them all and the Bruins could not get enough linebackers to help out a position group that is in need of depth. With the defense moving to a 3-4 under DC Jerry Azzinaro, it becomes an even bigger concern.

UCLA’s linebackers, with the exception of a few, seemed to under performed last season. The coaches have a big job on their hands getting the current Bruins up to speed with the new defense, and though they should be better, Kelly and Azzinaro have to get a few more players in next year.

Calvert is a huge pick up and one that flipped from USC during the early period. He is a big, physical linebacker that looks like he can contribute minutes early on, but that depends on the progress of the other linebackers already on the team.

Thompson was a late addition and was also flipped as UCLA was able to pull him away from Vanderbilt. With a year of college football under his belt, his skills are slightly more advanced since high school, but should continue to improve under the new coaching regime.

UCLA got two good LBs, but for the most part, in terms of the recruiting aspect (and not the talent of the individuals) the Bruin coaches missed out, though that happens when you only have two months to recruit after landing a new coaching gig.

Defensive Backs: A-

★★★★ S Stephan Blaylock 5’10, 185 lbs., (St. John Bosco/Bellflower, CA)

★★★ CB Rayshad Williams 6’4, 183 lbs. (Whitehaven/Memphis, TN)

★★★ S Kenny Churchwell 6’2, 180 lbs., (Mountain Pointe/Phoenix, AZ)

★★★ ATH Patrick Jolly 6’1, 177 lbs., (Newsome/Lithia, FL)

★★★ CB Elisha Guidry 6’0, 177 lbs., (Vista Murrieta/Murrieta, CA)

★★★ S Je’Vari Anderson 6’0, 220 lbs., (Laney College/Oakland, CA)

Under JIm Mora, UCLA had prided this themselves on the recruiting, development and execution of their secondary and it looks like that trend will conintue wih Kelly, Azzinaro and DB coach Paul Rhoads.

The UCLA defensive backs that are currently on the roster already have a lot of talent and give the Bruins a lot of depth, so adding six new players just adds to a group that should continue to be successful for years to come.

This could also help out the linebacking crew. There could be several players that change positions and if a few of the UCLA DBs tack on mass or improve their game in certain areas, that would open up more minutes for players in the defensive backfield. Also consider that the defense could use the nickel back and the Bruins have plenty of players that could excel in that position.

As far as the new guys that are coming in, Kelly got what he was looking for… long and fast players. The Bruins’ biggest get, Stephan Blaylock (who is going to be a phenomenal player), is the only incoming DB that is under 6’0. It is going to be a fun time in the backfield the next few seasons.

Next: The 30 Greatest UCLA Football Players of All-Time

As far as special teams, there is no pressing need to get any of these specialty players, so their grade is not necessary. But overall, the Bruins did a fantastic job recruiting.

OVERALL GRADE: B+

Mike Regalado

Editor of GoJoeBruin.com. Lover of animals, collector of vinyl and fan of UCLA Bruins and L.A. Kings. FWAA member.