BLEAV in UCLA joins BLEAV in Buckeyes to discuss move to BigTen, wanting Chip Kelly gone and NIL.

and yes we got a very special guest for you guys today all the way from the West Coast man from from the Pacific time zone I'm saying that right right Pacific time zone we got we got James Williams from beli in UCLA football how you doing today James what's going on I'm I'm doing good man I'm doing good you know this whole move to the Big 10 thing I've been doing a few different believe podcast and whatnot and I'm trying to get this these East Coast times down these Central times down it's getting a little confusing and the season hasn't even started yet so I'm gonna have to I'm GNA have to figure that out but other than that I'm doing okay I can't complain that's good that's good well good luck with that time change it's gonna be some early mornings and for us it's gonna be some late nights that's I haven't even started traveling around anywhere man that's it's gonna be crazy yeah yeah yeah yeah so yeah thanks for joining us today as you know we wanted to kind of talk about UCLA football obviously there this would be their first year joining the Big 10 I guess first question is you know how's that how's that going like how's that sitting around the university are the guys excited to start traveling East and traveling north they're playing some snow like what is the mindset of that right there for you guys yeah you know it's kind of interesting they're kind of just taking it business as usual they're not kind of tipping their hand too much on on making it a bigger deal than then obviously it it is but you know they're just kind of sticking to to what they can do on the field obviously they got a lot of things to work on when you lose your head coach they didn't really lose anybody in the portal but they're kind of just trying to stay about their business because of the coaching staff and the new guys that they've had to bring in but yeah I mean there hasn't been too many changes I mean you'll you know you'll notice during the interviews the backdrop they got the big 10 logo on there they got not so much on the practice jerseys but obviously anytime the game jerseys are kind of out on display or whatever you get the the Big 10 patches on there but other than that it's just kind of business as usual but I mean as soon as you start to get into some of these games and more so when you when they have to get on that plane and uh you know they kind of touch down in some snow or something yeah it might change it might change a little bit so I I have a very very important question to ask UCLA okay y'all got any money man like are y'all good in terms of uh nil dollars I'm I'm I'm interested because the word you know around the Big 10 uh the word the Big 10 stre is that UCLA doesn't have the the money committed to football like some of these other schools what what's going on there I'm I'm I'm curious so you're talking about like from an nil standpoint I'm specifically for not not money from I know the university does but in terms of money committed to nil and college football um gotcha do do do we do you'all need a sponsor or I mean I don't know I don't I don't think they' say no maybe I don't know it might depend on like they probably couldn't put something down on the field like Tennessee did but um you know it it's it's interesting you know a lot of people say that the move to the Big 10 was kind of you know other aside from the story of oh they're just following Big Brother USC uh to to the you know the Big 10 but a lot of it was there was probably some some money factor to it the thing I had heard especially like the university has money CU they have a whole hospital they medical you know a lot of alumni and whatnot they got money but the athletic department they they kind of been in the red the last you know a couple years and I think a lot of that is because the you know previous coaches they still had to owe money to for basketball and for football um the basketball team is looking pretty strong especially from the nil standpoint this this off season with the guys they've been able to bring in especially after a bit of a Down year um for football it kind of remains to be seen a lot of it is just because you got a lot of the same guys coming back so it's not like you're really having to spend any extra cash to bring anybody in the way you did with a guy like Dante Moore last year maybe we'll talk about him in a little bit but yeah um just from the from I would say it's getting better and a lot of it is is because Chip Kelly's not there anymore the the the knock on Chip Kelly aside from recruiting is that he wasn't really willing to go ahead and shake hands and kiss babies and and go out and and talk to those donors and meet with those donors so the understanding always was is there was a little bit of hard feelings there and there were a lot of people who were like I'm down to donate I'm down for the ca but it's not going to be till after chip is gone so like people weren't weren't sad to see chip go like no no they were frustrated that it didn't happen sooner I mean I started covering the team in in 2019 this is going to be year six for me so the in the LA past five years people had wanted chip fired throughout the last five years like every year but the first year because there was optimism there right they won the press conference that day but yeah a lot of that was that was kind of the word and we're starting to see that you know the nil's picking up they're doing nil events they're doing a lot of nil things that they were not doing some during chips last year but now more so it's kind of you know I I never went and had to cover an nil event for UCLA that's starting to change I've had to go out to an event or two so far um you know you're starting to see the players having to do more things toward you know as a as a result of earning or working towards that nil um that they're being presented with so is the money there the way it should be because it's the LA Market probably not could it be better it definitely could always be better um but yeah I mean I mean there's probably some some truth to to some of what you guys probably been hearing a little bit I I I wouldn't I wouldn't shy away from that so the Kelly so real quick the Chip Kelly um comments are interesting because while UCLA you mentioned is kind of happy that he's gone most you know a lot the the fans Ohio state is happy that he that he left right we're happy that we to get him on as office of coordinator right what what what went into that I know you kind of alluded to recruiting um not actually being all in on you know doing what was necessary for niio dollars to be um donated but what was the why why did Chip Kelly War where always welcome up well a lot of it again yeah it was just the recruiting right so again when you look at the recruiting and then a lot of it was the first year or two you had a mass Exodus of guys so I think his second year he had one of the younger rosters in the country um so a lot of it was like oh let's wait till year three year four when it's kind of his whole full cycle of guys and whatnot and they actually did well I think it was so that 22 season when it was Zack shanet and Dorian Thompson Robinson as seniors there before they went on to get drafted uh I think they they went I think they went like nine and three nine and four whatever they made it to a bowl game um and there there could have even been a 10th win in there and that would have matched a program record so things got good but it was kind of like what happened after that so Dorian had been his quarterback the whole time so there was consistency there for the five years through covid and all that with the quarterback but even that last year you bring in Dante morres the highly touted true freshman you have a guy that was waiting in the wings like Ethan Garver who's expected to be the starting quarterback this year then they also brought in Colin schle from Ken State and I don't know if he promised all these dudes starts or time or what but it was just this rotating door of quarterbacks I think each of them probably started three or four games so it just this was the fir last year was the first year where the defense was was actually solid and you're not necessarily always thinking of Chip Kelly's teams being led by the defense so when the defense is rolling you're kind of almost looking at the offense and wondering like what is going on here because if we got the offense right things probably could be uh moving along and we could be you know having some better goals in mind especially going forward but you know the the stuff with the quarterbacks just wasn't working out um what chip says and I think there kind of was some truth to it his his quarterback's coach left uh to go to Oregon State after the offseason right before the bowl game and he said this before but he had a coach the quarterbacks and he had to kind of be more in a meeting room and on the Whiteboard and kind of it it kind of was a refresher for him outside of just the head coaching duties and I think he missed that and I think he he maybe realized hey this is what I want to do so I think he started pursuing those roles uh and a lot of the the the buzz going around was with these NFL teams he was going to either be a head coach or he was going to be an offensive coordinator he was going to do something he was going to go somewhere and the fans weren't happy the last time or two he signed an extension so they're waiting for him to go U going back to your money your money question a little bit UCLA wasn't necessarily gonna buy him out even though fans wanted to buy him out but they didn't want to spend the x million dollars it was going to take and Chip was just you know I'm chilling if something comes around something comes around but if not you know I could just sit here make this bag so um you know it just it went way past the hiring cycle chip was just kind of looking for an out the NFL team started hiring the coaches they were gonna hire you know he looked at his buddy Ryan day and it just kind of made all the sense in the world with the way things kind of worked out I mean it wasn't surprising once it happened because I mean he talked to chip talked about how he was you know him and Ryan Day are boys and obviously day was on his staff back I think in the Eagles years and I think maybe even with the 49ers but um you know chip was saying yeah I was golfing with Ryan Day the the day that it was announced that UCLA was going to the big 10 and I'm sitting in the golf cart and Ryan day just uh kind of looks over at me he says Hey UCLA is in the Big 10 now and he's like oh okay so I mean so so they hang out on the regular so it it wasn't like any any bit of a surprise that relationship was still strong and um I think that opportunity to be with some familiar faces um Justin fry being one of them I I I know Justin fry is a name that isn't kind of very very well liked it seems at least on Twitter nowadays but hey I like I'm an old line guy I like him I I you know what hey Justin fry he's Justin fry is a good dude I mean sure maybe he's not recruiting the three the four or the five star guys fans expect or whatever the deal is over there but he's he's a good dude I mean I'll give him that but yeah so I think he was just I could I could imagine I could imagine so was just it was just the right situation for chip again I don't know if he was necessarily looking to stay in college just because now nil you know players have more more power um in the room than they have before and stuff like that so I think chip was a little bit old school he was kind of like kind of over it a little bit but um you know opportunity to reunite with some guys he was familiar with I think uh played out perfectly for him and Ohio State if you ask his wife though I don't think she was really happy about leaving California that was that was supposed toly one of one of the biggest things that supposedly was keeping chip in California is that the wife liked it there um so however that Dynamic working out but yeah um he's at Ohio State yeah that's that's interesting because as you know like as well I guess for the fans you know you didn't fire coach you know coach CH ship and you know he just kind of they kind of mutually decided you know that they they're going to part ways and obviously the story is the story right he wanted to get back into a room and he get he get to do those things then coming into a younger hair coach right he could really focus in on you know what he wants to do running the offense quarterback play things of that nature and then leave it up to the young head coach ran go out there and and still make the recruiting happen from that from that standpoint let me ask you something I guess a little bit more while we're on while we on chip let me ask you a little something more personal because when chip was first hired if you recall soio State we had first hired Bill OB Brien if you recall you know he head coach with the Houston Texans longtime office coordinator with the Patriots things and I was kind of excited for that and then we bring in chip and then my initial thought was kind of like ah it's kind of feel like Co is hiring his dad right it's like know it a little a bit of tension you know we need our head coach to be a general he need to be able right right right check the off of the coordinator if need be right in your op been wondering yeah yeah in your opinion of Chip would he be that dominant figure in the locker room to the team that may I'm going say may may call a little bit of ruffle on the team if you know if if things are not kind of shaking out as plan you know I kind of thought I kind of thought about that I'm like How's that gonna work um but I but I think chipsa got I almost says something but chip Chips chip no I you know I'm not you know chips chips chips about his guys right and again I think it's it might be a little different if they didn't have a relationship already but because they do and maybe I would assume maybe you talk about that kind of stuff or maybe you don't but I think there's a respect level there that that it's kind of maybe even understood that doesn't mean maybe behind closed doors maybe they ain't having a disagreement a friendly disagreement or something like that but you know I I think I think chip will have that understanding and obviously this is what he asked for this is what he wanted right he just wanted to be in a meeting room so I mean yeah I I I imagine that there there probably wouldn't be too much beef but I do think it's it's going to be a little bit interesting of a power Dynamic there because chip used to be the head coach and Ryan day was the position coach or you know the staffer or whatever the case was back during the NFL days so kind of c and I think chip might have been his coach at his coach coach was quarterback and I his yeah so it's a little bit of a of a switch there so there might you know there might be a little bit of a growing pain there but I think the respect level between those two guys will kind of win out and I think they'll manage to be on the same page and I mean as long as things go go well for Ohio State and y'all don't mess around and like lose to Michigan or nothing um it should no like it should work out like if like if they win the games they they win they meet the expectation chip puts up the the high pirate offense and the points that you would expect him to do I I don't see why there would be any reason for any fighting but I think I think they'll you know the respect level is there for those guys what is the expectation from UCLA in terms of competing this year like what like yeah like what is the expectation in terms of record competing are you realistically competing to win something like win a big like compete for a big 10 or is this one of those years where you know we got a we got a new coach um we're trying to build something for the future we're gon have to give this coach two or three years to figure you know uh what the perspective from fans yeah so go ahead did I going set yeah I just wanted to set it up 8 and5 last year for UCLA first year head coach to Sean Foster who I believe played at UCLA been in a program for I believe about 10 seasons and last year was the running back coach and all and if one thing UCLA could do is they can run the ball so I just want to set that up for you no yeah no that that's perfect no I mean I mean yeah so the expectations there I mean as I kind of mentioned they never at least recent in recent years haven't been able to get over the 10 game Mark win win Mark I don't think they're necessarily going to get 10 wins um and again so it just depends on who you ask right if you ask Deshawn Foster they're they're trying to win they're trying to be competitive obviously they're not going to put a number on it one of the players said the other day that the goal is to win the Big 10 championship and you may kind of look at that like come on play what what are we talking about here but at the same time if if you're a football player you should have that attitude right I mean if if you're not willing if you're not down to say that publicly or whatnot then what are you doing what are you playing for so I I totally respect him for that I don't I wouldn't call him out on that for saying that I mean so the expectation is obviously to to you know be competitive right for me they get to a bowl game you know I think that that's a that'd be a successful season a lot of people are saying seven and five there some some you know fans maybe a little hopeful and thinking they can get to eight and five or whatever the number is there and get eight wins maybe I mean I'm looking at six and six you know kind of seven and five honestly for me again I didn't think Chip Kelly was going to leave this season I thought UCLA would have done everything they could to probably try and keep him because I would have figured the last thing you would have wanted to do is be transitioning into a new conference and then also trying to transition with a new coach as well as I mentioned thankfully they didn't have any significant losses in the transfer portal so they bring a lot of guys back so if there's a year for them to probably be a little bit more competitive than maybe they will be even next year uh this this is probably going to be the year but you're probably looking at one of the bottom you know one of the they're on that that second half of the Big 10 uh when it's all set and done but you know the recruiting has picked up quite a bit they've been able to at the very least even just bring more guys in on visits and stuff so um there's some wins there just from that standpoint um so the fans are happier than they ever have been at least since I've been covering the team um but there's still just that weight to see what it's going to look like on the field obviously uh there were some some promise within Eric benmy but I think that's that's the other thing Eric benmy comes in as your offensive coordinator and you do return a lot of guys on offense but they're all learning a new offense so there's still some of that too so you know you have your Hawaii game you have your Indiana game early on before you get into that ugly three- game stretch yeah ugly is there is is is there going to be growing pains and are you going to stumble on one of those first two easy games before you you know I mean it's going to look a little ugly in in that that stretch of three games LSU Oregon and Penn State I mean it's going to look ugly but you know you got to at least come out here 2 and 0 before you start messing around and somewhere on the back half maybe you you know you're competitive with USC or whatever down the road but I'm looking at something like a seven and seven and five or something along those lines seven wins you don't don't sleep on Indiana now Indiana might you know that's that's hey I'm hey I'm learning not I'm not I'm learning not to sleep on on anybody in the Big 10 cuz I don't know I mean I'm you know any any one of these teams could come up on UCLA I think that's I think that's just the thing is like you don't you don't really know until they play and then you you look at Ruckers I know I think Ruckers is kind of on the come up a little bit but UCLA has to travel to Ruckers so that's not a guaranteed game as maybe it would have been you know in previous years right for whatever that might be wor so there's not a whole lot of gimme games so I mean you beat Hawaii and then you know Fresno State Fresno State at the end of the at the end of the season season isn't a guarantee either because Fresno State has gotten the best of UCLA the last couple times they've met so that's not a guarantee either yeah yeah that's that's kind of that's kind of interesting but one thing I wanted to ask you about obviously like you said you guys didn't lose a ton in the transfer portal but one thing you did lose was was Dante Moore who was your your big time recruit the previous year and coming in starting at the quarterback position and I just want to I you might not know maybe you do know but do you think that Dante Moore is jumping into the transfer portal was because coach Kelly gave him a little hey I'm thinking about possibly kind of slipping out of here or do you think it was the other way around Dante more left so chk was like kind of like you know what it's time for me to do something else you know I thought about that a little bit I I don't think anybody knew I don't know if Chip knew what he was going to do so I think Dante obviously leaving before him I think Dante got out for his own reasons and a lot of it was he's like if I'm going to have to sit and wait or I'm going to through some Growing Pains I might as well do it at the program I was initially just going to go to anyways and that being Oregon right but um but with Chip Kelly I don't think he necessarily left because Dante wasn't going to be there and be his quarterback going forward either I've even kind of heard I think the first kind of interview he did with somebody one of the recruiting ties or something was he said I let when they asked him why he left UCLA they said I want to go somewhere where I could be developed as a a quarterback so that was it was almost a shot at Chip Kelly or or the staff or whatever um but at the beginning of the season that's what he said attracted him to UCLA when things didn't work out at Oregon because Kenny Dillingham went on to be the Arizona State head coach I think that was the Rel relationship there because Kenny Dillingham had been recruiting Dante Moore even before Kenny Dillingham was at Oregon so um I think it was just Dante said hey chip Kelly's kind of worked with Michael Vic a bunch of other guys let me go over here and work with a guy who's known as an offensive GW to some extent and uh see what can happen so Dante didn't start the first game but started a few games it got kind of ugly there was a stretch there where he threw a pick six in three straight games and they kind of had to pull pull the plug on it a little bit they may have said he was injured or something whatever whatever whatever whatever the case was he was injured he didn't play a week and then you know and then he was kind of on the bench they had another guy that guy got hurt then Dante's back in and again the quarterback position was just kind of messy and again I think that's that was just it I think I don't know if it was a one-year rental with Dante anyways but I chip was trying to please too many people and that's something I wouldn't have expected him to do and he didn't have to do with Dorian Thompson Robinson there for the first five years so yeah it was more so he was looking for his next guy and obviously with with a lot of Eligibility remaining for ad Dante Moore he wanted it to be Dante Moore whether he would say it or not I mean I I think ideally down the road you want it to be Dante Moore but it just didn't work out there might have been some other things with they didn't pay him nil maybe going back to the money question again I think there was some unfulfilled promises I believe from what I've been told and some of that might have been him not keeping up his end of the bargain I don't know the whole deal on that but there was some of that kind of out there too but Oregon paid him that's for sure that's for sure or or orgon pay him and you know what I mean yeah yeah it was without a doubt so I mean he he's he's making money he's happy you know he's a young dude he was very respectful you know I I can't knock him for anything other than it was just growing paint right like I mean that's going to happen like it's you do have the dominant defense as I mentioned earlier but you also have a true freshman starting some games at quarterback so that's kind of where where the hang-up was and um I think it was just best for him to move on and kind of clear his head and get a fresh start somewhere else and kind of understand and have that that mindset and that level of maturity after your freshman year to say it's okay to sit out a year let me let me just go and sit behind Dylan Gabriel and I can really just kind of learn and then take over the key the keys to that card Oregon and kind of be their guy going forward yeah one last question for you James we got here it's kind of lighthearted now uh coach Foster I knows his first first year taking over man you know he had a he had a viral moment he had a viral he had a moment he had a moment you know he went out to the Big 10 to the Big 10 uh uh media day and he kind of got on stage and you know I ain't gonna say he blanked out but he kind of looked it kind of sort of like Brian Brian Brian like he was lost for words lost words a loss of words there we go uh so so yeah I mean first year coach you know I didn't I didn't remember much of him playing I was probably too young when he was playing in the NFL but I would imagine they do the press conferences and all that he probably had his fair share of those but he wasn't having to do a whole lot of them um you know you see a lot of these other program football programs where the assistant coaches are talking and all that Chip Kelly wasn't doing that it was Chip Kelly was the only one talking the assistant coaches did not talk so much like players they have to have reps they have to practice DeShaun Foster wasn't getting no reps he wasn't he wasn't to talk to the media that's the way I look at it and if I had to get up on that stage Lucas Oil Stadium it's half empty because it's a football stadium not a media venue um you have the RO of media there looking at you I don't know if I would have done any better than Desa did either I probably would have looked up there too and says something silly so I I don't I don't not I don't knock him for that obviously he he played it off well he had the shirt uh for the first a training camp saying we are in LA or whatever the case was that that the players took an in stride a little bit and they stand behind their guy I I think the thing for Deshawn is he just he's a guy who's about his players the players loved him he was the guy that they wanted and that's why there was no Mass Exodus into the transfer portal is because they got the guy that they wanted he was ready to go off and be the running backs coach for the Raiders and they had to pull him back in because the players wanted him he wanted to be back there um so it's a good situation probably could have been a little more prepared had something to say or could have just been a little bit cleaner and say hey you know happy to be here let's get to the questions or whatever it is um for though if you were to dig a little deeper into what the rest of the media day was like for him it went fairly well the you know when when you're at the desk you know you're in a more inate media scrum or you're you're doing CBS or whatever the case is like those all went well it was just thr you get thrown on the stage and say go get them I mean yeah it's the biggest moment where he made you know the the biggest moment but yeah I you know I I don't know if I would have done any better than that situation either so I don't knock him for it I got you I got you well we appreciate it James once again catch James On Believing UCLA football um you know good luck this season obviously we don't we don't play you guys so you guys could win as many as them all Mann them all hey that's what I've been telling them they've been saying this is a hard schedule I'm like I mean they don't have Michigan or Ohio State on the schedule so it's not going to get any better so let's win wi as many games as y'all G to win now because it ain't gonna get easy they got to drop the Fresno States and Hawaii and just play play some you know play some some lesser some even lesser schools well yeah well that's the thing they they were they were playing Bowling Green Alabama State and like Fresno State used to be their big dog non-conference game right but the thing is is they tried to man up and that finish out this home and home with LSU but they kept that game but I don't think they you know they weren't thinking they were going to be switching conferences so they didn't think they were going to be taking a big 10 schedule and LSU so you got cancel the LSU game you got you got you gotta get that you gota get Florida Florida Adam or somebody on the schedule but real the co protocol something something real quick though if you look at the schedule and it's even a little weird just because they have Fresno State a non-conference game to end the season normally they're just playing three straight non-conference if you look at the end of their schedule it works out nicely for them because they don't have to leave the West Coast outside of a game to Washington they're in like that final month you know you you're playing USC at home you have Fresno State at the end I think your one of your other games is Washington and um I think another home game you might have there to finish out the season so you're staying on the west coast there and it it kind of works out nicely for you but yeah playing LSU on top of a big 10 schedule is kind of crazy yeah like San Francisco State or something somebody play up with school somebody somebody a something yeah anything but it is what it is we'll see how they do yeah right all right James we we'll catch you here during the year and uh you know good luck awesome fellas happy to be on anytime thanks for having me all right