Ucla, Kelly, Thompson Robinson discussed on The Paul Finebaum Show
Automatic TRANSCRIPT
Ask you about chip kelly. Because i've always liked him very much admired him but the reports on his tenure at ucla have been abysmal. What did you hear from him today. What do you. What do you think it's this team is capable of doing and kenny. Do it quick enough. Yeah this is. The this is the year and Just met with chip kelly so cerebral but i think a lot of people forget because they try to compare his time at oregon to you know his time here. He's going into your four. The expectations are there. This is make or break it year for him. They know that he knows that. But i think people forget that when he came in you know eighty seven freshman and sophomore. Years is what they played their their first couple of years. You know he only had. I didn't realize this. We are talking about it today but he only had fifty seven scholarship players his first year at ucla. Fifty seven and slowly but surely they've kind of built up so this will actually be the first season that they have filled every single available scholarship. This is the very first season they were able to do that. Last year they were kind of mid seventies the year before that they were low seventies but fifty seven his first year. So all of that. The expectations are fair in. I think by steal from coach. Kelly is that he really likes this team. He really Is confident in the veteran leadership that they have he. I think knows the expectations are there and things that he has a team that can possibly meet. Those expectations starts at the quarterback position. Enduring and thompson robinson. Dt are who you know. This is a kid who came out only played one year in high school only started one year at quarterback in high school You know and then was kinda thrown into the mix his second game. You know his freshman year he has to go in and play and and so his maturity. I talked to him this week to and that's what really stood out to me about him. It's just his maturity him realizing. Oh okay. I don't have to do everything i don't have to. You know make a play. I don't have to hang onto the ball and try and do something with my legs and then turn the ball over. I think he realizes now at this point. He's got some veteran guys at wide receiver. So i'm really honestly some stuff running backs over there that he can count on to so this team actually for the first time in chip kelly's tenure at ucla. He's got veteran and they have some experience so the expectation are understandable. But i think within this program they feel really good about where they are to and they talked about taking last year because think about it. They didn't have any students on campus at all last year. Still don't have any students on campus until they start school and they don't start school to like september twenty third or something so this team has been like the only people on campus this entire time there super close. It's a veteran group. And i think they feel really good about where they are and and i talked about that debt. That's a big part of it. Offensively defensively for the first time. They feel like they have that depth to be able to do something else on a podcast two days ago don with berry and he understands the west coast very well and he. He frankly ted on on the on the interview that he thought. Ucla would be the biggest surprise team in the country this year. So we're eager to watch it Before you go hawaii Do they have much or should this game favor yorker because because obviously paul. A big question right is well. Are you going to show everything kaz. Lsu sitting at home watching everything play right getting ready for you. Well that's the big one. That's the one all the friends and family members talking about you know well. Lsu is coming up and he's like here's the deal. All we had to do pop in the tape of hawaii and our players are like. Oh okay day. This is a good football team. You know todd graham and you're too has everything kinda clicking. His son is the offensive coordinator program over there and he has talked about just the progress. They've made offensively. Big time. Quarterback is is the guy you might Might recognize his high school but shoving cordeiro who played behind to And so he's another guy that only had a year of starting in high school because let's be honest. He played one of the best quarterbacks college quarterbacks around so but you know he's a junior now he's gotten that experience And they feel really comfortable in what they can do. And they've got a guy calvin turner. Who can you know. Run the ball. Catch the ball do all kinds of things. And and if you're you're not familiar with what todd graham does offensively You know it all starts with a quarterback and he's a guy that can throw and run so you have to account for him and and that's that's hard to deal with so it is not a walkover game You know. I think it's gonna be a good game and not hawaii defense was. They've struggled big time last year and they actually feel like at this point they actually have you know some edge guys and A defense that can can play much better than they did last year. So i think it's going to be a good game. It's definitely not a hey overlook hawaii and get ready for lsu for ucla real serious legitimate college football conversation here on the friday before dawn. Thanks for making time..