Chip Kelly reveals UCLA's timeline for naming a starting quarterback

Spring practice continues to push forward in Los Angeles for the UCLA Bruins, and so is their quarterback competition. Kent State transfer Collin Schlee and five-star freshman quarterback Dante Moore continue to battle for the Bruins starting job, looking to fill the big shoes left by former UCLA QB Dorian Thompson-Robinson.

It’s still far from the season, but following a recent practice, head coach Chip Kelly was asked when he plans on naming a starting quarterback. And Kelly didn’t disappoint, breaking down how he believes the journey of naming his starter will look throughout the rest of the year.

“As you get into the week of the game whoever is gonna play that week you want to be able to make sure they get the most reps, but that’s really, probably the end of it. But most of the time that I’ve been involved in these in my career I think they kind of happen organically. And I don’t it’s ever really a surprise when you say we’re going to pick Joe as the starter. But really? But 90% of them thought it was gonna be the other guy,” Kelly joked. “It’s usually I think everybody, after watching it because of the amount of reps we get in our training sessions you’ll see kind of the cream rise to the top so to speak and one guy.”

Kelly anticipates that one of his two quarterbacks will naturally pull away when the time comes, but also admitted that it is a close battle between Moore and Schlee.

“Collin Schlee has the in-game experience that is, obviously, very valuable as you walk into any QB battle. With that being said, Dante Moore chose UCLA to give himself a chance to play as a freshman,” On3’s J.D. PicKell said. “His quick release fits really well in Chip Kelly’s up-tempo scheme and I think it’s truly a matter of time for his grasp of the system/college game mesh with his God-given ability to make him the guy in Westwood.”

Regardless, Kelly’s main focus is on continuing to develop his passers, and using his time between now and the fall to advance them versus compare them.

“And it’s never gonna be one guy’s at 90% and the other guy’s at 10%, it’s close, and if we had to pick a starter right now it’d be really close. The good part is we don’t and I think we’re all a byproduct of our experiences, so the more reps they can get, we’re in number 10 of 15 (practices), they’ll get a whole offseason program, a summer program to get a chance to get more familiar with the receivers and what we’re doing schematically,” Kelly explaiend. “And then we got 20 some odd practices in fall camp before we really have to get who’s gonna start.”

If you’re expecting a QB1 to be announced at UCLA soon, keep dreaming. But paying attention to who whose stock is rising during fall camp may hint at who will be under center for the Bruins this upcoming season.

“But usually right around before that first week you’re going to say alright we’ve decided we’re going with this player, or this player we’re not actually deciding it anything I think it’s that player has earned it. And most people will know by the time we get to that point in time who it is,” Kelly said.