Chip Kelly reveals UCLA's plan to fill out remainder of the 2022 class

One of the unintended consequences of the transfer portal is that college football coaches will no longer be trying to fill spots with as many high school prospects. UCLA head coach Chip Kelly is one such coach who has opted to utilize more of his scholarships for talent from the portal.

He recently told Pac-12 radio: “We’re not going to sign any high school kids in the next two days but we’ll be active in the transfer portal to fill out those remaining seven or eight scholarships.” With college football now becoming a year-to-year product, due to the high roster turnover, Kelly’s quotes should come as no surprise.

Many coaches are not going to want to waste the investment of time, money, and energy on a high school prospect, only to have them leave in a year or in a matter of months. Instead, they can turn to the transfer portal, where they can find a more proven, more reliable prospect.

Speaking of the transfer portal, Kelly landed a huge commitment when he signed former UCF quarterback Dillon Gabriel, who announced on Thursday that he’s coming to UCLA.

UCLA’s 2022 Recruiting Class

Speaking of UCLA’s recruiting class, one of the most exciting prospects they signed was four-star signal-caller, Justyn Martin. One day after he committed to UCLA, Martin threw a mind-boggling 13 touchdown passes for Inglewood High (California) against Inglewood Morningside (California). He set the California high school record for the most touchdown passes in a single game.

The previous record was 10 touchdown passes in a single game, set by David Koral of Palisades High (Pacific Palisades), according to MaxPreps. MaxPreps also reported that Martin’s 13 touchdown passes are the second most in high school football history, behind Arthur Smith, who tossed 15 touchdown passes in 1921 for Cozad (Nebraska).

Martin is currently rated as the 15th best quarterback in America for the 2022 class, according to the On3 Consensus. Kelly also pulled in a four-star wide receiver for UCLA, Jadyn Marshall out of St. Mary’s (Stockton, California). Not only that, they also pulled in a four-star tight end, Jack Pedersen. Pedersen is out of IMG Academy (Bradenton, Florida).

The Bruins currently boast a pretty solid class for the class of 2022. They have seven prospects that are rated as four-stars, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings. Safety Kamari Ramsey is their highest rated signee. He went to Sierra Canyon (Chatsworth, California) and is currently rated as the 194th best overall prospect in America, according to the On3 Consensus Rankings.

It’s going to be really exciting to see how the 2022 class develops for UCLA, especially Martin and his offensive weapons. Their 2022 class is currently rated as the 27th rated class in the country, according to the On3 2022 Consensus Team Rankings.