UCLA Football: Chip Kelly Doesn’t Offer Much Info on Bo Calvert’s Situation

This morning, Chip Kelly met with the media for what is likely to be the final time before Thursday’s game against the Cincinnati Bearcats. Needless to say, one of the first topics of conversation was Bo Calvert. well, really it was more like a lack of conversation on Kelly’s part as he offered only a few details as to why Calvert has been ineligible by the NCAA. Kelly did indicate that Calvert will likely be out for eight games. When asked what Calvert had done, Kelly simply said, “That’s for Bo.”

He was also asked about Theo Howard and Alec Anderson being listed second on this week’s depth chart and, in both cases, that was done because both players are still recovering from injuries and may be limited this week. In their places, Jaylen Erwin and freshman Sean Rhyan are listed first at their respective positions.

One name which has been coming up in player interview is that of walk-on freshman inside linebacker Adam Cohen. Kelly responded to a question about him by saying:

We were excited about it when we got a chance to get him after we signed the initial class and he’s fit in really well. We’re down there cuz Tyree is down. So, he’s taken advantage of the extra snaps that he’s had an opportunity to get and, obviously with Bo being out, it kind of vaulted him up. There’s two guys that were ahead of him to start camp that aren’t ahead of him now. He’s taken advantage of those opportunities. He’s one of our faster guys. He’s got a really good size. We’re excited to see what he can do.

Kelly was also asked about the program being a player-led program. “They’ve kind of wrapped their arms around that,” said Kelly. “They’re around themselves more than we’re around them. When you look at the NCAA rules in terms of how many hours were allowed to spend with them and how many hours they’re off, then it really depends on how they handle themselves when they’re off.”

Thanks to Thuc Nhi Nguyen of the LA Daily News for videos from yesterday.

UCLA Bruins quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson spoke after practice for the first time since officially being named the starting quarterback when UCLA’s depth chart was released. Thompson-Robinson sounded like he wasn’t resting on that. “As far as I’m concerned, right now, it’s still an open competition,” Thompson-Robinson said.

On the topic of how the team has come together, he said, “The whole offensive unit with the O line to the receivers, the runners and the tight ends...we really all gelled well together this offseason and so this has really shown in fall camp.”

DTR also mentioned that the Bearcats run a lot of man-to-man defense. This could mean that UCLA will look to exploit a situation in the air where there may be a potential mismatch against some of the Bruin receivers.

Go Bruins!!!