UCLA RB Brittain Brown expects to play in Holiday Bowl

UCLA running back Brittain Brown has been among the players to benefit from the extra time made available before the Holiday Bowl.

The Bruins, who face North Carolina State on Tuesday night in San Diego, haven’t played a game since the regular-season finale against Cal at the Rose Bowl on Nov. 27, but Brown hasn’t played since the 44-20 victory over Colorado on Nov. 13. UCLA became bowl eligible that evening for the first time since 2017.

Brown had six carries for 58 yards and a touchdown against the Buffaloes in his last outing, but he suffered an undisclosed injury leading up to the rivalry game against USC.

“It’s an exciting feeling to have one more game to finish out the college career,” Brown said. “It’s something I’ve been able to look forward to the past couple weeks.”

Coach Chip Kelly believes Brown was “really close” from being able to play in the final two games he missed but didn’t want to rush anything. The Bruins have benefited from having running back Zach Charbonnet in the backfield, which allowed Brown to recover and not have to rush back.

“I think it was just being cautious,” Brown said. “We didn’t want to hurt it any more than it already was. I was definitely ready to get back out there, but they told me just to be smart about the injury and if we need you to go back in there you’ll be ready. We knew we had the bowl game, so might as well just get the extra couple weeks to heal.”

Brown made the decision to come back for the 2021 season, taking advantage of the extra year of eligibility granted by the NCAA to players that participated during the pandemic-shortened 2020 season.

“Brittain is a kid that could’ve gone to the draft last year but didn’t go and decided to come back,” Kelly said. “He had a really good year for us.”

Brown stated that he was battling through a shoulder injury for over two years while at Duke and that he’s been able to benefit from his time at UCLA and improve his draft potential.

“I think it’s helped a lot,” Brown said. “Just being able to get back out there and show the scouts that I’m still here, still trying to run the ball and getting more film out there was the main thing for me. … I’ve been ready to move on to the next level.”

While Brown was out in recent weeks for UCLA, he took on a role as a mentor for some of the younger players on the roster.

“It was good to help those younger guys and help them get ready to get reps,” Brown said. “It also helped me learn a little more and see the little nuances of how (running back coach DeShaun) Foster coaches out there as well. It’s been really good and there’s a learning opportunity in everything.”

The running back has also invested some of his time into the future of the program through the recruiting process.

“If guys call me, I’m always open to talking about taking calls and letting them know what’s going on with UCLA,” Brown said. “It would be cool if a pipeline was set up and more Duke guys wanted to come to UCLA.”

Brown was a host for former teammate and receiver Jake Bobo during his visit to Westwood earlier this month before Bobo committed to Kelly and the Bruins. The 6-foot-5 receiver, who spent four seasons at Duke, had 794 yards and a touchdown catch in 12 games for the Blue Devils this past season.

Duke transfer Gary Smith III announced on Twitter that he received an offer from UCLA on Wednesday. Smith, a 6-foot-2, 320-pound defensive tackle, and Bobo played for David Cutcliffe before the coach and the university mutually agreed to part ways last month.

“All my old teammates know where I’m at and they know how well it’s gone for me,” Brown said. “Coach (Cutcliffe) left the program and they parted ways, so a lot of guys are looking for a new home.”