It's unfortunate that Jarmond has decided to waste another year hoping that Kelly is going to somehow have a marginally acceptable season. Our recruiting has gone from bad to worse and it's going to be a long season next year. Not sure what Jarmond was hired to do; so far he's done nothing.
Holy Crapola! This is like the Titanic going down by the bow! I hope there are enough lifeboats to handle all the folks abandoning ship!
That said, I bear none of these souls a grudge. They're looking out after their own interests and trying to pick up the pieces of wrecked college careers as best they can. As for the guys who opted not to play in their senior years -- particularly Laitu Latuir -- why risk an injury that would jeopardize conditions for the draft and/or pro combine performances?
This really puts a lot of weight on the narrow shoulders of the Boston College phenom -- as in he ain't phenominatin' any more! What greater proof that Kelly is a stiff? When coaches head out the door and latch on to any opportunity AND players bail as well, the rep in Westwood will be so-o-o-o stunkeroo that you won't even get JC transfers to sign on. Wonder if the Bruins will have a Varsity team next year?
Someone cue Sports Illustrated! NOW is the time to write your "Bruins In Ruins" article. There's a serious possibility that the Georgia Tech v Cumberland score is in jeopardy of being erased. Exit question: anyone gonna watch the game Saturday. Personally, I gotta primer my Jeep.
First, a statement up front: I believe Chip Kelly did a poor coaching job this year, and could easily have been fired; had it not been for the victory over a clown-show SC team, they would have finished with four losses in which they appeared woefully unprepared and unmotivated.
But are the recent events in coaching changes and the portal symptoms of a total disaster ? Let’s look a little closer….
…Lynn was always moving on, and going to a school who could dramatically raise his salary plus buy better players was a no-brainer. Guarantee that the fact it was crosstown rival SC didn’t play into it at all; money and exposure are far more important to a young coach on the rise.
Gunderson was the QB coach, who has one job; and the Bruins highest-ranked recruit in years left the program whining that he needed someone to “develop me”….Chip gets some blame here as the de facto OC, but again….Gunderson had one job.
As far as Faris goes, it’s generally considered a good thing when someone (even a small school) recruits one of your assistants to be a head coach, especially a first time head coach.
Now, the portal entries:
Dante Moore - well, you could write all day about his saga, and I understand that he had some personal problems that may have affected him as well. But I’ll simply say this: DTR came to UCLA with one year of HS experience at QB, and it really showed at times with some absolute WTF moments, and he got beat up pretty good behind some spotty OL play….but at no point in his five seasons in Westwood did he ever look as overwhelmed and intimidated as Moore looked last season; in that final game against Cal, I was literally afraid for his safety as he froze in the pocket and got crushed. Best to move on, and hopefully he’ll find the right coach and program to develop him. Wonderful arm talent, but virtually everything else desperately needs that ‘ol development. Maybe he’ll look at Oregon State….
Keegan Jones - thought we’d see more of him this year; always held my breath when he ran into traffic, and he had some trouble holding on to the ball. Was definitely not the next Demetric Felton, but a useful player.
Kam Brown - like all Bruin WRs, hurt by the inability of the OL to pass block for longer patterns and Bruin QBs to hit them; was here several years but never carved out regular playing time.
Carson Ryan - good player but had to share time in a deep position group. Maybe he’ll find a team that will feature him more prominently…or not.
Jake Wiley - if you couldn’t secure a job with this group…..
Kamari Ramsey - the biggest loss from this group, the rare Bruin DB who could actually tackle. Makes sense that he’ll follow Lynn to SC.
Nimmo and Humphrey - both members in good standing in the UCLA DB Never Look For The Ball Club. Like many seniors, looking for greener pastures.
So, a few good players, some useful pieces, a few reserves, a failed big-time recruit (where have you gone, Soso Jamabo ?) a couple of coaches promoted to better jobs elsewhere….not ideal, and the mood around the program is a little grim, but…..the “rats off a sinking ship” thing sounds a little Fox News-ish. But yeah, Chip needs to step it up…having the team actually ready to play in the LA Bowl would be a good start, since West Coast teams have a tendency to mail it in when playing mid-level bowl games….
Pretty fair assessment, Jim, and hard to argue with. W.r.t. the transfers and coaches leaving, I tend to ask myself one simple question: had we ended the year 10-2, a program definitely on the rise, would we have lost so many? Or would they stay around, looking forward to another year of excellent play? Because of Chip, we may never know.
Can't argue with any of this, but hard to have any optimism after six years of mediocrity, a piss-poor year considering the level of competition, and so far no significant help in the pipeline via recruiting or the portal. The Bruins have played poorly for many years in low level bowl games and we'll see if this is any different.
Sorry, I don't see Boise St even having a chance in this game with a new freshman QB leading the way. Even the Chipster (OG) as bad as he truly is, should be able to give UCLA a comfortable win. Boise St has lost more critical pieces, when you lose your starting QB, it's pretty tough to recover. Ask Florida St.
With Chip coaching, every opposing team (good or bad) has a high percentage chance of defeating the Bruins based on what has transpired the past six years. With the flood gate already open with players and coaches leaving the program all bets are off on defeating Boise State. Tough to watch this bowl game. I might opt to sort my sock drawer. Meanwhile Chip is hoping to receive a participation trophy if UCLA loses.
Oh, I don't know... given the 8 players who have opted out of the program and the 25 or so who I watched at the Rose Bowl opt out of the 2nd half against UC Berkeley, I'd be surprised if we win against what appears to be a motivated team/program who's been playing hard the last month to impress a new coach.
Yeah it's going to be ugly next year. Also on Saturday. How did it come to this I swear to Pete.
It's unfortunate that Jarmond has decided to waste another year hoping that Kelly is going to somehow have a marginally acceptable season. Our recruiting has gone from bad to worse and it's going to be a long season next year. Not sure what Jarmond was hired to do; so far he's done nothing.
Holy Crapola! This is like the Titanic going down by the bow! I hope there are enough lifeboats to handle all the folks abandoning ship!
That said, I bear none of these souls a grudge. They're looking out after their own interests and trying to pick up the pieces of wrecked college careers as best they can. As for the guys who opted not to play in their senior years -- particularly Laitu Latuir -- why risk an injury that would jeopardize conditions for the draft and/or pro combine performances?
This really puts a lot of weight on the narrow shoulders of the Boston College phenom -- as in he ain't phenominatin' any more! What greater proof that Kelly is a stiff? When coaches head out the door and latch on to any opportunity AND players bail as well, the rep in Westwood will be so-o-o-o stunkeroo that you won't even get JC transfers to sign on. Wonder if the Bruins will have a Varsity team next year?
Someone cue Sports Illustrated! NOW is the time to write your "Bruins In Ruins" article. There's a serious possibility that the Georgia Tech v Cumberland score is in jeopardy of being erased. Exit question: anyone gonna watch the game Saturday. Personally, I gotta primer my Jeep.
First, a statement up front: I believe Chip Kelly did a poor coaching job this year, and could easily have been fired; had it not been for the victory over a clown-show SC team, they would have finished with four losses in which they appeared woefully unprepared and unmotivated.
But are the recent events in coaching changes and the portal symptoms of a total disaster ? Let’s look a little closer….
…Lynn was always moving on, and going to a school who could dramatically raise his salary plus buy better players was a no-brainer. Guarantee that the fact it was crosstown rival SC didn’t play into it at all; money and exposure are far more important to a young coach on the rise.
Gunderson was the QB coach, who has one job; and the Bruins highest-ranked recruit in years left the program whining that he needed someone to “develop me”….Chip gets some blame here as the de facto OC, but again….Gunderson had one job.
As far as Faris goes, it’s generally considered a good thing when someone (even a small school) recruits one of your assistants to be a head coach, especially a first time head coach.
Now, the portal entries:
Dante Moore - well, you could write all day about his saga, and I understand that he had some personal problems that may have affected him as well. But I’ll simply say this: DTR came to UCLA with one year of HS experience at QB, and it really showed at times with some absolute WTF moments, and he got beat up pretty good behind some spotty OL play….but at no point in his five seasons in Westwood did he ever look as overwhelmed and intimidated as Moore looked last season; in that final game against Cal, I was literally afraid for his safety as he froze in the pocket and got crushed. Best to move on, and hopefully he’ll find the right coach and program to develop him. Wonderful arm talent, but virtually everything else desperately needs that ‘ol development. Maybe he’ll look at Oregon State….
Keegan Jones - thought we’d see more of him this year; always held my breath when he ran into traffic, and he had some trouble holding on to the ball. Was definitely not the next Demetric Felton, but a useful player.
Kam Brown - like all Bruin WRs, hurt by the inability of the OL to pass block for longer patterns and Bruin QBs to hit them; was here several years but never carved out regular playing time.
Carson Ryan - good player but had to share time in a deep position group. Maybe he’ll find a team that will feature him more prominently…or not.
Jake Wiley - if you couldn’t secure a job with this group…..
Kamari Ramsey - the biggest loss from this group, the rare Bruin DB who could actually tackle. Makes sense that he’ll follow Lynn to SC.
Nimmo and Humphrey - both members in good standing in the UCLA DB Never Look For The Ball Club. Like many seniors, looking for greener pastures.
So, a few good players, some useful pieces, a few reserves, a failed big-time recruit (where have you gone, Soso Jamabo ?) a couple of coaches promoted to better jobs elsewhere….not ideal, and the mood around the program is a little grim, but…..the “rats off a sinking ship” thing sounds a little Fox News-ish. But yeah, Chip needs to step it up…having the team actually ready to play in the LA Bowl would be a good start, since West Coast teams have a tendency to mail it in when playing mid-level bowl games….
Pretty fair assessment, Jim, and hard to argue with. W.r.t. the transfers and coaches leaving, I tend to ask myself one simple question: had we ended the year 10-2, a program definitely on the rise, would we have lost so many? Or would they stay around, looking forward to another year of excellent play? Because of Chip, we may never know.
Can't argue with any of this, but hard to have any optimism after six years of mediocrity, a piss-poor year considering the level of competition, and so far no significant help in the pipeline via recruiting or the portal. The Bruins have played poorly for many years in low level bowl games and we'll see if this is any different.
Well, that's a lot of bad news, Good luck, Keegan! Let's see if a QB can show up. Go Bruins!
Sorry, I don't see Boise St even having a chance in this game with a new freshman QB leading the way. Even the Chipster (OG) as bad as he truly is, should be able to give UCLA a comfortable win. Boise St has lost more critical pieces, when you lose your starting QB, it's pretty tough to recover. Ask Florida St.
And if we win, Jarmond will wear it like a feather in his cap... i.e., "Read the room".
With Chip coaching, every opposing team (good or bad) has a high percentage chance of defeating the Bruins based on what has transpired the past six years. With the flood gate already open with players and coaches leaving the program all bets are off on defeating Boise State. Tough to watch this bowl game. I might opt to sort my sock drawer. Meanwhile Chip is hoping to receive a participation trophy if UCLA loses.
Oh, I don't know... given the 8 players who have opted out of the program and the 25 or so who I watched at the Rose Bowl opt out of the 2nd half against UC Berkeley, I'd be surprised if we win against what appears to be a motivated team/program who's been playing hard the last month to impress a new coach.