Chip Kelly reacts to connection between Dante Moore, J. Michael Sturdivant

UCLA gave the nod to quarterback Ethan Garbers as the team’s starter in their Week 1 matchup versus Coastal Carolina. But nearing the end of the first half, head coach Chip Kelly turned to his five-star freshman Dante Moore to give his offense a spark.

Moore delivered, manning a touchdown drive in the first possession of his collegiate career, which was highlighted by an impressive deep pass to newly added transfer wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant on his second passing attempt at the college level.

After the game, Kelly pulled back the curtain on the play and gave an in-depth analysis on the Moore and Sturdivant connection.

“It’s something that we’ve had an opportunity to see because he did it there in the spring and he did it during preseason camp,” Kelly said. “But was just a heck of a play by him, it was an off-schedule play. He got flushed from the pocket but he does a great job with keeping his eyes down field and we work on scramble drill a lot.”

It was the first time that Moore or Sturdivant played in a Bruins uniform, but their connection looked as solid as they come between a quarterback and a wide receiver.

Sturdivant early enrolled and joined UCLA this offseason after spending two seasons at Cal, where he started all 12 games last season and led the team in receptions with 65 along with 755 yards receiving and seven touchdowns.

Moore on the other hand early enrolled straight out of Martin Luther King High School in Detroit where he was ranked a five-star recruit and the No. 2 quarterback in the nation according to On3’s Industry Ranking. He battled for the Bruins’ starting job all offseason and may not have one the battle, but he definitely showed why he was rated as one of the top passers in his recruiting class on Saturday.

“For J Mike to take it deep and Dante to have his eyes up, that’s a special quality. Sometimes quarterbacks when they get flushed their eyes go down, they’re looking, are they gonna get hit, and who are they running away from,” Kelly explained. “But the special ones keep their eyes up and big plays can happen and that was as huge play for him at a point and time where we needed it. So I was really pleased with him on that.”

Moore finished the game as UCLA’s leading passer, completing 17 of his 12 pass attempts for 143 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception, with one of those touchdown passes being an electrifying 62-yard touchdown pass to Sturdivant. Sturdivant also finished the contest as the team’s leading receiver with five catches for 136 yards and a score.

It’s still unknown how much of Moore we’ll see in the Bruins’ next matchup against San Diego State, but there’s no denying that the special and dynamic duo of UCLA’s newcomers made their presence felt in Week 1.