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Is Chip Kelly a good recruiter? What to know about Ohio State's new offensive coordinator

colin gay, columbus dispatch
·5 min read

Chip Kelly has developed a reputation as one of college football's premier offensive minds.

The award-winning offensive coordinator and head coach led Oregon to the highest-scoring offense in the country in 2010, which allowed the Ducks to finish their season in the BCS National Championship against Auburn. After a four-year stint in the NFL with the Philadelphia Eagles and San Francisco 49ers, Kelly then brought his no-huddle "blur" offense to UCLA, where the Bruins finished top 20 in scoring three times.

Kelly may be a two-time Pac-10 Coach of the Year and a recipient of the Walter Camp Coach of the Year. But Kelly has not found the same success as a recruiter.

Kelly, Ohio State's new offensive coordinator, joins a staff that has secured five straight top-five recruiting classes, including a 2024 class that includes two five-star wide receivers and a five-star quarterback.

More on Chip Kelly: Three thoughts on Ohio State football hiring Chip Kelly as offensive coordinator

Here's a look at Kelly's history on the recruiting trail in his time with Oregon and UCLA,

Chip Kelly has never had a top-10 recruiting class

FILE - UCLA head coach Chip Kelly looks on during the second half of an NCAA college football game against Washington, Oct. 16, 2021, in Seattle. Kelly agreed to a new four-year contract with UCLA on Friday, Jan. 14, 2022, after he led the Bruins to their best season since 2015. The agreement also came two days before the $9 million buyout on Kelly’s original contract would have expired. (AP Photo/Ted S. Warren, File)

Kelly has never secured a top-10 recruiting class in his coaching career.

At Oregon, Kelly had four top-15 finishes nationally: 2007 (No. 14), as an offensive coordinator, 2010 (No. 12), 2011 (No. 12) and 2012 (No. 14).

Kelly's best class in his seven-class tenure as the head coach at UCLA was in 2018 when the Bruins had the 19th-best class in the country. No other UCLA class under Kelly was better than 30th.

Chip Kelly led UCLA to the bottom-ranked 2024 recruiting class in the Big Ten

FILE - UCLA head coach Chip Kelly looks on from the sidelines during the first half of an NCAA college football game against Utah, Saturday, Sept. 23, 2023, in Salt Lake City. Chip Kelly has informed UCLA officials that he is stepping down as coach of the Bruins, a person with direct knowledge of the decision told The Associated Press on Friday, Feb. 9, 2024.(AP Photo/Rick Bowmer, File)

In UCLA's first Big Ten recruiting class, the Bruins were at the bottom of the conference in recruiting.

With a 10-player recruiting class in 2024, the Bruins finished with the No. 18 class in the Big Ten and the No. 88 class overall per 247Sports' composite rankings.

UCLA's class was headlined by four-star wide receiver Kwazi Gilmer and four-star offensive tackle Mark Schroller along with eight three-star signees.

How many 5-stars has Chip Kelly recruited?

Nov 25, 2023; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Dante Moore (3) throws the ball against the California Golden Bears in the first half at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports
Nov 25, 2023; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins quarterback Dante Moore (3) throws the ball against the California Golden Bears in the first half at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Kirby Lee-USA TODAY Sports

As a head coach at Oregon and UCLA, Kelly landed five five-star players.

Defensive end Arik Armstead in the 2012 class was the only five-star commitment on defense.

Dante Moore, the No. 5 player in the 2023 class, was Kelly's only five-star commitment at UCLA. Moore transferred to Oregon after one season with the Bruins.

  • Lache Seastrunk (Temple, Texas): No. 32 player in 2010 class, No. 2 running back

  • De'Anthony Thomas (Los Angeles, California): No. 13 player in the 2011 class, No. 1 all-purpose back

  • Arik Armstead (Elk Grove, California): No. 14 player in the 2012 class, No. 1 athlete

  • Thomas Tyner (Beaverton, Oregon): No. 20 player in the 2013 class, No. 1 running back

  • Dante Moore (Detroit, Michigan): No. 5 player in the 2023 class, No. 3 quarterback

Which states does Chip Kelly have the most success recruiting?

Most of Kelly's commits have come from California.

In 11 recruiting classes at Oregon and UCLA — including the 2013 class, which was nearly finalized when Kelly left for the Philadelphia Eagles — over 49% of his signees were from California per 247Sports.

Kelly's 256 recruits came from 30 different states. He had double-digit signees from California, Oregon, Texas, Arizona and Hawaii.

Here's a look at the number of recruits Kelly secured from each state.

  • California 126

  • Oregon 22

  • Texas 16

  • Arizona 15

  • Hawaii 11

  • Nevada 9

  • Florida 5

  • Georgia 5

  • Washington 5

  • Michigan 4

  • Ohio 4

  • Utah 4

  • New Jersey 3

  • North Carolina 3

  • Tennessee 3

  • Alabama 2

  • Colorado 2

  • Kansas 2

  • Illinois 2

  • Iowa 2

  • Wisconsin 2

  • Alabama 1

  • Alaska 1

  • Connecticut 1

  • Idaho 1

  • Massachusetts 1

  • Montana 1

  • Nebraska 1

  • New Hampshire 1

  • New Mexico 1

Which quarterbacks has Chip Kelly landed at Oregon and UCLA?

UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1) at the 89th Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against Pitt, Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas.
UCLA's Dorian Thompson-Robinson (1) at the 89th Tony the Tiger Sun Bowl against Pitt, Friday, Dec. 30, 2022, at the Sun Bowl Stadium in El Paso, Texas.

In his time at Oregon and UCLA, Moore was Kelly's only five-star quarterback.

Of Kelly's 15 quarterback signees, six were four-star players and seven were three-star players, including both Karson Gordon and Henry Hasselbeck, who each signed with the Bruins in 2024.

One of Kelly's quarterback signees in 2008, Jeremiah Masoli, joined Oregon as a junior college transfer.

Here's a look at Kelly's quarterback recruiting history.

Oregon

  • Darron Thomas (Houston, Texas): No. 289 player in 2008 class, No. 3 dual-threat quarterback

  • Bryan Bennett (Encino, California): No. 297 player in 2010 class, No. 12 pro-style quarterback

  • Marcus Mariota (Honolulu, Hawaii): No. 512 player in 2011 class, No. 18 dual-threat quarterback

  • Jake Rodrigues (Rocklin, California): No. 227 player in 2012 class, No. 7 pro-style quarterback

  • Jeff Lockie (Cupertino, California): No. 755 player in 2012 class, No. 19 dual-threat quarterback

UCLA

  • Dorian Thompson-Robinson (Las Vegas, Nevada): No. 36 player in 2018 class, No. 2 dual-threat quarterback

  • Chase Griffin (Hutto, Texas): No. 1,250 player in the 2019 class, No. 41 pro-style quarterback

  • Parker McQuarrie (Weare, New Hampshire): No. 258 player in the 2020 class, No. 11 pro-style quarterback

  • Kajiya Hollawayne (San Jacinto, California): No. 649 player in the 2021 class, No. 44 quarterback

  • Justyn Martin (Inglewood, California): No. 295 player in the 2022 class, No. 20 quarterback

  • Dante Moore (Detroit, Michigan): No. 5 player in the 2023 class, No. 3 quarterback

  • Luke Duncan (Orinda, California): No. 510 player in the 2023 class, No. 32 quarterback

  • Karson Gordon (Bellaire, Texas): No. 1,068 player in the 2024 class

  • Henry Hasselbeck (Westwood, Massachusetts): No. 1,265 player in the 2024 class, No. 71 quarterback

Which Ohio recruits has Chip Kelly landed?

In his college head coaching career, Kelly has landed four Ohio recruits.

Here's a look at who the former Oregon and UCLA coach landed from the state.

Oregon

  • Pharaoh Brown (Cleveland): No. 189 player in the 2012 class, No. 11 weak-side defensive end

  • Dwayne Stanford (Cincinnati): No. 330 player in the 2012 class, No. 43 wide receiver

UCLA

  • Datona Jackson (Union City): No. 61 player in 2019 junior college class, No. 7 strong-side defensive end

  • A.J. Campbell (Akron): No. 922 player in the 2021 class, No. 50 defensive end

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This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: What to know about Ohio State OC Chip Kelly in recruiting