In Reply to: Re: It could be the same as 2023...you said they were lazy posted by Deplorable on June 30, 2024 at 12:09:51
was based upon years of observing the actual practice. The categorizing of those efforts came from MULTIPLE sources....again, sources who were witnessing that staff's practice in terms of recruiting efforts.
As an aside, I was the academic advisor for one of the top High School football programs in the state of California for over a decade. I was DIRECTLY involved in the recruitment of scores of very talented high school football players. Some of whom went on to play in the NFL. I have first hand observations of the recruiting efforts of scores of coaches and programs over that period of time.
Chip Kelly's staff wouldn't be the only UCLA staff that I'd have criticism regarding their recruiting efforts. I remember well a conversation I had with then UCLA assistant Eric Yarber (current Los Angeles Rams WR coach) where he assured me that UCLA football was going to start recruiting "NCAA qualifiers" in the City of Los Angeles..... I expressed my skepticism to Coach Yarber, but he was adamant about a shift in their recruiting efforts, and he was on point. Saw Coach Mora multiple times on our campus after that, and his engagement with not only our program, but other programs in the city drastically improved during that time. It was somewhat late unfortunately as UCLA missed out on scores of talented players who would have accepted offers to UCLA but never got one.
But that being said, Chip Kelly's recruiting efforts became lazy. No doubt, no question. He stopped traveling, he relied more on the portal, and simply ignored talented high school players. That's a fact that was reported by people with first hand knowledge. Now maybe you liked Chip Kelly...I did too. Coach Kelly was gracious and extremely helpful to our staff. The coaching clinics he invited our coaches to in Oregon is responsible for us implementing an offense at our school that made us one of the most successful programs in the history of California. I have former players who played for him at Oregon or UCLA who genuinely liked Coach Kelly. So again, I was excited about him coming to UCLA, pulled for him to be successful, and I genuinely like the guy.
But the fact is, he became lazy. Period....and why he basically self-demoted himself to a position more suited to his current engagement energy level.