UCLA Football Fall Camp 2018: 5 things to look for this fall
5. The Youth Movement
Kelly has to replace a lot of players. Since he took over, 47 players have exited the program whether it is due to graduation, the NFL Draft or players leaving because they did not fit into Kelly’s plans.
Because of that, he has had to quickly replace them with incoming freshman, walk-ons, and transfers. So far, he has done an admirable job by bringing in 38 new players to the program.
As of today, UCLA only has 31 upperclassmen on the team (juniors, seniors, and graduate transfers) which includes only 8 seniors. That means there is not a lot of experience. In fact, UCLA will have 77 sophomores and freshmen on the roster this fall.
That is an incredible amount of youngsters that not only have to get up to speed, but many of them will be expected to step up and help out with depth at certain position groups.
That is a lot to put on the young guys, but the upside is that with so much experience early in their careers, they will be well prepared as upperclassmen.
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Still, for the present, Kelly is going to have to find a balance between the few that have experience and the many that do not. Though we expect him to have a plan for this (as he does everything else), there will be some growing pains. Luckily he has recruited a lot of talent and knows how to develop it.