Chip Kelly raves about UCLA WR Jake Bobo's ability to stretch defenses
No doubt, one of the more exciting parts of this offseason for UCLA head coach Chip Kelly and his offensive staff has been figuring out ways to incorporate Jake Bobo into what they want to do.
The former Duke wide receiver transferred to Westwood earlier this year and went through spring ball. With UCLA looking to replace its top three pass-catchers from last year’s team, there are plenty of targets from Dorian Thompson-Robinson looking for a new home.
The 6-foot-5 Bobo, who put up strong numbers in a weak Duke offense, has built up a good rapport with Thompson-Robinson already. His size and skillset give Kelly a pretty dangerous player to work with, and when he met with local reporters on Friday, he touched on how they can fit Bobo into the offense.
“We’ve had some tremendous inside receivers,” Kelly said, according to All Bruins’ Sam Connon. “Obviously Greg (Dulcich) playing for Denver right now as a tight end inside, and Devin and Caleb Wilson before that, they had been our leading receivers. And then obviously what Kyle (Philips) did in the four years he was here and he’s really playing really well for Tennessee. Our dominant part of our passing game had been our inside receivers, but when you have someone like Jake, who’s a 70-plus catch guy out of Duke when everybody knew that the ball was being thrown to him… I watched a game on a Thursday night when they were playing Louisville, and even the announcers said, ‘Well they’re going to Bobo.’ And I knew they were going to Bobo, I know Louisville had scouted and they were going to Bobo and he was still making plays.
“To have that guy out there, it really just depends on how defenses choose to defend you. Are they gonna play more Cover 2 and put people over the top? If that happens, then that opens up things for other people. But if those people are making plays, then it comes back to him getting singles. The one thing Jake has really proven since we’ve seen him through the spring and in camp so far this year is that he can make the contested 1-on-1 catches when the ball’s up. It’s not a 50/50 ball with Jake, it’s more like an 80/20 ball for him, which is a real positive.
“So, to have a guy out there — and I think you watch our quarterbacks, Dorian, (Ethan Garbers), and those guys — where, ‘Hey, it looks like someone’s running with him, but if I throw it to his back shoulder, I know Jake’s gonna come up with it.’ So I think it’s gonna help us because I think it’s gonna spread out the defenses in terms of how they try to defend us.”
That should be music to the ears of a guy like Kaz Allen or Zach Charbonnet. More space for the hybrid runner/receiver Allen to work the underneath parts of the field could lead to a big year given his athletic ability. Getting the defense to spread out a bit more across the field gives Charbonnet space to eat.
UCLA’s offense was one of the most efficient in college football last season. The Bruins finished top-25 in success rate.
There’s no reason to think they can’t do so again.