Watch: Chip Kelly on Qwuanztrezz Knight, UCLA's COVID-19 Protocols and Precautions

CHIP KELLY

Anyone else missing the game?

We don’t have any more information. Obviously, I think Q announced that he’s unavailable. That’s all I’m really allowed to say. With protocols, guys got tested this morning, the normal occurrence for us. So we’re going to go out and train, we leave this afternoon and that’s what I got so far.

How often are you testing?

It’s once a week. So our testing was yesterday morning. BUBBLED UP MORE?
Yeah, we knew this was coming so we moved a lot of our meetings – you can kind of see us over there (points to chairs on field) – a lot of our meetings were outside if they were bigger groups. All of our individual meetings have been spaced out so everybody’s within six feet. I think the O-line overtook the lobby. We’ve used every space we could in the Wasserman Center. So we’ve been spaced out. The only thing we’ve done different than a week and a half ago is everybody’s masked up while they’re inside. That’s the guidelines we get from our medical doctors. And our players have been through this, we’ve all gone through it for a while. So I think part of it is what we call “operation 22.” The 22 hours that they’re not with us. We have them for two hours a day and what are they doing the rest of the time? I think our kids have done a really good job. You just turn on the news and every second there’s a group of guys in the NFL getting caught with it – not getting caught but getting the disease, because this one’s highly transmissible. So we’ve continued to emphasize that as a group and we’ve got our fingers crossed. So.

Possible you could lose more guys?

Yeah, but that’s the way it’s always been for us. Because we test – this is a weekly deal for us. We’ve always done this, you get the go-ahead and the thumbs up. Yesterday was because we were traveling today. Part of it – Channel four is here! – part of it is just the normal protocols that we’ve gone through since this thing started. So.

NC State defense?

They’re very versatile. It’s a 3-3 stack but they can get the four-down look within it. They’re really well coached. That group, their coaches, have been together for a little bit of time. They were at West Viriginga before that and really understand the defense. There are some intricacies to it and they play it really well. Their inside linebacker is a heck of a player, is a sideline-to-sideline player. Their safety No. 10 is all over the field. They got some really productive players, they got some length up front but they’re active and they can run. So they got a bunch of guys coming from all different angles. The only defense that’s similar that we’ve played – and just similar – is Hawaii in our opener from that 3-3 stack and people blitzing from all different angles. So the good thing is we’ve had some time. This isn’t a one-week deal but it’s obviously a different look so we know what we get in the game it will be certainly different than what our scouts provided for us, but that’s the nature of what they’re doing. But I thin our scouts have done a really good job of at least being in the right spots and making sure we get the right look. So.

Stepping up in Q Knight's spot?

Well Martell. Martell’s played a ton of football for us. Will Nimmo’s played a lot of football for us. Mo Osling, we had that question the other day, where’s Mo. Mo plays all over the field for us. So we’re really a three-safety system so any of those safeties: Kenny Churchwell, Mo, Irby has played it the most and Irby’s done a really nice job for us in that transition from running back to safety. William Nimmo’s played a lot of football for us. So we got a bunch of guys that still have played and done a lot of things for us. So you know, it’s just the nature of what we’re dealing with. We’ve dealt with it going on year two now. We had a bunch of games last year, we never got shut down but we always had a guy or two out. We just gotta deal with it as it comes and I think our guys understand that. We’ll miss him. We love Q, we love what he did here. It’s unfortunate for him that he doesn’t get to play one last game and go out knowing that it’s his last game. So really his last game here was the Cal game, played a hell of a game against Cal so. I talked to him this morning. He says he’s feeling better. He got tested – not in this group but before because he was symptomatic so.

What has Qwuantrezz meant to you and the program?

Yeah, everything. And I think the one thing you’re underselling him, if you’re just talking about the leadership standpoint, cause there's more to him. He’s a heck of a football player, I don’t think he’s done playing football. He’s a tough, hard-nosed, physical player, he practices every day. He embodies what you want in a player. His energy, his enthusiasm, his leadership is one of the many qualities that he has, it's not just leadership. I think sometimes when they talk Q Knight, they're like 'Ah, leadership.' There's more to him, he's a good football player. We're gonna miss that aspect of him, but he would say the same thing that we say – now it's the opportunity for the other guys, and I just mentioned them, to be able to step up and show us what they can do and we've got all the confidence in the world in them.

Martell's mental approach to making the position change?

I just think Martell is happy doing anything, Martell just loves playing football. When you watched him in high school, he played quarterback he played running back, he played safety. He played all over the field when you look at his high school tape. We knew he had that type of versatility. He came in right away and played as a true freshman at running back, was an unbelievable special teams for us early in his career and now he's just transitioning into, really, where we needed him the most moving over to defense, and he had no hesitation. He'll just 'Hey, whatever you need, coach.' And that's the type of player he is. So I'm excited about the opportunity – it's ironic, when we're there, it's his hometown, so it's pretty cool for him to go back to his hometown and No. 12 running around out there.

Genmark Heath wants to bring people over to his house and have his family cook everyone a meal?

I don't know if that's gonna happen. I wish we could, but he still have to have pretty strict protocols when we're down there and I think from a spacing and social distancing standpoint, there's a lot of things – even our meals, we're only gonna do – and I think they talked about moving our meals outside because we do have a big group and a large group. And it's unfortunate cause I don't think it'll be the total bowl game experience that a normal group would have, but I think we're all conscious of what's going on. The last thing we wanna do is to lose – to get down there to the bowl site and then the day before the game, lose somebody to the opportunity to plat the game. So hopefully after the game, we'll have time and Jordan can have people over, but I think we gotta go down there and be really conscious of everybody taking care of each other and what we talk about, protecting our ecosystems, social distancing, making sure we're masked in every situation when we're inside and then seeing if we can get to next Tuesday. And that's the most important thing for us is playing the game.

McQuarrie and Griffin available?

Parker is no longer available, Chase is. I don't know what Chase will do today, but Chase will not (???).