While dipping heavily into the transfer portal is widely referred to as plug and play, UCLA’s recent approach under Chip Kelly might be best described as plug and pray.
Largely shunning high school recruiting in favor of transfers has landed the Bruins several high-end talents, such as edge rusher Laiatu Latu, running back Zach Charbonnet and wide receiver Jake Bobo.
It also left massive holes on the offensive line that UCLA could not adequately fill last season, when its quarterbacks continually went down with injuries and the team’s 42 sacks allowed ranked as the ninth-highest total in major college football.