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UCLA Football Recruiting: Trust the process, even though it is slow going

By Mike Regalado

WESTWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 27: UCLA Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero (L) and Chip Kelly shake hands after a press conference introducing Kelly as the new UCLA Football head coach on November 27, 2017 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images)
WESTWOOD, CA - NOVEMBER 27: UCLA Director of Athletics Dan Guerrero (L) and Chip Kelly shake hands after a press conference introducing Kelly as the new UCLA Football head coach on November 27, 2017 in Westwood, California. (Photo by Josh Lefkowitz/Getty Images) /
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There has been a lot of upheaval about UCLA football’s recruiting strategy, but fans should trust the process because Chip Kelly has everything under control.

The UCLA Football team has begun their journey into the future with Chip Kelly guiding their ship into new territory. The new coach has already made massive changes to the program which includes a new direction in recruiting.

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It is a slow process, but one that Bruins fans have to trust. They have to because they have no choice. Chip Kelly is going to do what Chip Kelly is going to do.

The issue that many fans are decrying is the fact that as of mid-July, the Bruins do not have an impressive recruiting class. But that is just perspective.

The reason fans believe recruiting is falling behind is because UCLA only has six players committed (as of July 24) and not a single one is a 4 or 5-star rated player. Whilst looking at the rest of the Pac-12, the 11 other teams have an average of 10 players already committed. On top of that, six teams have at least one 4 or 5-star recruit committed (Oregon leads the way with 11).

If this was the Jim Mora era (or any other era besides the Chip Kelly era), this might be cause for concern. But things are different in Westwood nowadays.

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UCLA might have the 10th highest ranked recruiting class in the Pac-12 and the 76th highest ranked class in the nation (per 247Sports), but that is not something that keeps Kelly awake at night. But it is funny how it keeps certain Bruins fans up and questioning the leadership, especially on certain message boards.

Kelly is not going after the best players in the nation. He is going after the best players that fit his system. Let me repeat that… CHIP KELLY IS GOING AFTER THE BEST PLAYERS THAT FIT HIS SYSTEM.

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First off, Kelly wants to make sure that the players that are committing are actually committed. If they give their pledge to the Bruins, he does not want them taking visits to any other schools. As harsh as that may be, it is not an uncommon practice. Washington’s Chris Petersen has been doing it ever since he was at Boise State.

Secondly, Kelly has already done a fine job with his first recruiting class, though he did have help as Jim Mora started the process. Though he has kept many of Mora’s recruits, several others have jumped ship after Mora was terminated (and some were told they would not make a good fit in Kelly’s system).

But the new Bruin coach was also able to turn several recruits towards Westwood, some that would not look the Bruins’ way before Kelly was hired. If Mora was still in charge, we would not have Chase Cota, Kazmeir Allen or Chris Murray, to name a few.

So when it comes to recruiting, just take a breath and believe in Kelly. Good things are coming. Kelly does not need the best because he will turn the players he has into the best.

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That is the most important thing to note going forward. Go Bruins