If nothing else, personnel attrition is something the UCLA Bruins football program knows all too well under Chip Kelly.
Back in mid-October, it was reported that a whopping 63 players had left Kelly’s team since November of 2017 for various reasons. As a result, we wrote at the time, not only was the team down a number of scholarship players, but the bulk of those remaining were young and inexperienced — with some 53% of the roster was made up of freshmen alone.
Fast-forward three months or so, and the Los Angeles Times is reporting that a 10th player has made his way into the NCAA transfer database since. The 10th is Matt Lynch, who announced via Twitter that, "[a]fter a lot of thought and discussion with my family, we think it is best for my situation to enter my name into the Transfer Portal.”
According to the Times, “Lynch walked with the departing seniors before the Bruins’ final home game against California in November, but coach Chip Kelly said last month that Lynch intended to return to the team in 2020.”
Lynch will be leaving the Bruins as a graduate transfer, which would give him immediate eligibility at another FBS school in 2020. The player will be entering his final season of eligibility.
Thank you UCLA 🐻💙💛 #GoBruins pic.twitter.com/BMXyjLip14
— Matt Lynch (@MattLynch_84) January 7, 2020
Lynch came to UCLA as a quarterback, a three-star 2016 prospect rated as the No. 30 pro-style signal-caller in the country. He attempted three passes as a redshirt freshman, completing two of them for 11 yards and a touchdown.
During spring practice in 2019, however, the 6-4, 230-pound Lynch moved to tight end. Playing in all 12 games, he caught one pass for two yards. That one reception, though, went for a touchdown.
As for those other Bruins who have entered the portal the past couple of months?