2020 UCLA Football Season Preview: Upping the Run Game
With Joshua Kelley now in the NFL, the Bruins look to build the run game with returning talent as well as an intriguing addition.
Demetric Felton looks to take over from Joshua Kelley as the Bruins’ starting RB. (Photo credit: Greg Turk/uclabruins.com)
With the season opener just about a week away, our next position preview focuses on running backs. There is one glaring loss at this position, but the cupboard definitely isn’t empty.
Who’s Gone
The most obvious loss at the running back position is Joshua Kelley, who is currently playing for the Los Angeles Chargers and getting quite a bit of playing time as a rookie. This man’s work ethic, demeanor, and skill level is second to none, and who could forget that smile! His breakout junior season saw a monster game against Southern Cal where he hung 289 yards and two touchdowns on the Trojan defense. His absence is one that will definitely be felt this year.
In addition to Kelley, redshirt Freshman Sitiveni Kaufusi has moved to linebacker, and sophomores Jahmon McClendon and Dusty Mitchell have both transferred. Mitchell has found a spot on the Cal Poly Pomona roster and McClendon just entered the transfer portal this week.
Who’s Back
The most notable returner will be redshirt senior Demetric Felton, who had 379 yards on 86 carries in 2019. Apart from quarterback Dorian Thompson-Robinson, Kelley and Felton accounted for a good chunk of UCLA’s rushing yards last year.
Redshirt sophomore Kazmeir Allen is returning, and there is something about this guy that Chip Kelly just hasn’t tapped into yet. He was a big-time track star in high school in addition to running up and down the field scoring touchdowns at will. His speed is something that can help fill the void left by Kelley.
Junior Martell Irby and redshirt junior Cole Kinder saw limited game action last year, and are also players we will see in the rotation. Redshirt freshmen Keegan Jones and Christian Grubb will also be back in action.
Who’s New
One of the more intriguing additions to the UCLA roster is grad transfer Brittain Brown. He played for and graduated from Duke University. In his redshirt junior year, he suffered a season ending shoulder injury, which led him to apply to the NCAA for a sixth year of eligibility, which was granted. So, he will actually have two years at UCLA. He put together 1,344 yards and 11 touchdowns over three seasons at Duke, with his best year coming in 2017 when he notched 701 yards and 7 touchdowns on 130 carries. Before his injury in 2019, he was a preseason candidate for the Doak Walker Award, which goes to the nation’s top running back. It will be interesting to see how Kelly uses Brown and to what degree he can help the Bruin run game.
Additionally, UCLA has added preferred walk-on Brian Kowall, who had foot injuries just before his senior season, but still managed to put together a whopping 4,337 yards and 57 touchdowns over three years in high school. He is the younger cousin to UC Berkeley standout Patrick Laird, who was also a walk-on turned star in college.
Projected Depth Chart
At this point, Felton should get the bulk of the snaps at running back, but Brown will certainly bring some expertise and skill to the position. After that, we should see at least three other individuals in a rotation that could look something like this:
Brown is going to be the most interesting piece of this puzzle, especially since his skill level is undoubtedly there. His only hurdle will be learning the UCLA offense and putting everything together come game time. Allen still has a lot to offer. So, this group actually has the potential to be extremely productive this year.
Go Bruins!
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