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UCLA Football: 2018 coaching/position grades via the B-Team Podcast

By Nathan Eberhardt

PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 06: Head coach Chip Kelly of the UCLA Bruins on the sidelines during the second half of the game against the Washington Huskies at the Rose Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images)
PASADENA, CA - OCTOBER 06: Head coach Chip Kelly of the UCLA Bruins on the sidelines during the second half of the game against the Washington Huskies at the Rose Bowl on October 6, 2018 in Pasadena, California. (Photo by Jayne Kamin-Oncea/Getty Images) /
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(Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images)
(Photo by Katharine Lotze/Getty Images) /

Runningbacks. . DESHAUN FOSTER. A-.

Hanna: Are we on to your boy, DeShaun Foster, yet?

Eberhardt: There’s no need. He gets an A++++.

Hanna: Superstar, shining star – Chip sends him little notes with little stars and hearts around it: ‘You’re my favorite!’

Eberhardt: Yes, as is only right and fair and just.

Hanna: He gets an A- for sure. The work he did with Josh Kelley is amazing.

Eberhardt: I was going to say that I cannot judge him objectively. He is my favorite athlete of all time. Yes, he did a fantastic job with Josh Kelly.

Hanna: Martell Irby came along as the season progressed as well. Kazmeir Allen kind of took a bit of a step back, but I think that was a realization by the staff that hitting home runs with this team wasn’t the way to go. He might be more of an option going forward.

Eberhardt: I’m hoping that’s the case. And if that’s true then Foster and Kelly working together to make that decision and come to that realization is a mark in his favor for intelligent deployment of resources.

Hanna: It’s good self-awareness or scouting of your own guys, for sure.

Eberhardt: Which, again, is a brand new thing in UCLA football.

Hanna: It’s weird to say, right?

Eberhardt: I know. It’s refreshing and wonderful, as is DeShaun Foster’s smile.

Hanna: You’re so in the tank, it’s unbelievable!

Eberhardt: So I think A- probably. If I were being more objective I might go B+ because I don’t know how much credit he can take for Josh Kelley.

Hanna: No, I’m giving him an A-.

Eberhardt: Okay. But I want to acknowledge if I can step out of myself for a second, that Josh Kelley does seem like someone who arrived fully formed, and it’s more about crafting an offense that works for him rather than teaching him how to be a running back,

Hanna: I don’t know about that. If you read the Bruce Feldman article from the Athletic after the USC game, he was texting with UC Davis coaches, and they were like, ‘Is that the same Josh Kelley that was here? We don’t know that guy.’

Eberhardt: Really…

Hanna: He was a guy who was splitting carries at UC Davis. If I remember the Feldman article correctly I think his max at Davis was like 580 yards in a season.

Eberhardt: Okay.

Hanna: So Josh Kelley wasn’t a guy who ran for 3,000 yards at Davis and was just looking for a step up because FCS wasn’t good enough for him. That’s why he came as a walk-on; he wasn’t able to attract a scholarship.

Eberhardt: All right, then we’re back to A++++.

Hanna: No, no, no. I think A- is about right.