UCLA football coach Chip Kelly thought Charles Barkley would be the ideal head coach for the Bruins' basketball team. Then the school hired Mick Cronin.
“Spring is going good, we’re having a lot of fun with this being our second year under Coach Kelly,” Toailoa said. “We’re taking the next step as far as having a team bond … the chemistry we built in the offseason is starting to show on the field.”
Toailoa believes players are taking more initiative this spring instead of waiting for the coaches to tell them what to do. “We went from being a coaches-fed team to a player-led team,” he said. “What I mean by that is as a whole we started taking pride in what we’re doing and taking ownership. Leaders started stepping up, other guys started following and it started with the workouts every morning. We took that ownership thing to heart and we’re one big family. Outside of here, we’re always together and we love each other’s company.
Joining UCLA’s talented linebacking corps is redshirt junior Je’Vari Anderson, who is switching from safety after being sidelined because of concussions last season. “It’s great being out here, being healthy and being able to contribute to my team,” said Anderson, who had an interception in his first day of practice. “That’s just film study. Our coaches harp on details and that was one of them. I was in the right place at the right time.”
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