University of California, Los Angeles, Athletics
Kelley, Four Others Earn All-Conference Honors
December 10, 2019 | Football
SAN FRANCISCO โ Five members of the UCLA football team were honored Tuesday, as the Pac-12 announced its 2019 Football All-Conference Teams.
Redshirt senior running back Joshua Kelley earned second-team recognition to headline the list of honorees. Redshirt junior tight end Devin Asiasi, senior linebacker Krys Barnes, junior defensive back Darnay Holmes and graduate student punter Wade Lees garnered honorable mention acclaim.
Kelley, who made the conference's honorable mention list after a breakout 2018, became just the eighth UCLA running back to rush for 1,000 yards or more in back-to-back seasons. Kelley, who did not play in the Bruins' season opener, finished with 1,060 yards on the ground. His 229 carries, 12 rushing touchdowns and 96.4 rushing yards per game average are all good for second in the Pac-12. Kelley's average jumped to 106.2 in conference games. The Lancaster, Calif. native's standout performances came in UCLA's home upset defeat of No. 24 Arizona State (Oct. 24). Kelley toted the ball 34 times for 176 yards and four touchdownsโall season highsโin the 42-32 triumph. He is the only Pac-12 player to tally four rushing touchdowns in a game this season.
Also in his second season of on-field action as a Bruin, Asiasi totaled 44 catches for 641 yards and four touchdowns in 12 games played. His 14.6 yards per reception were tops among Bruins with five or more catches. Asiasi averaged six receptions for 104 yards over the final three games, including a five-catch, 141-yard performance at crosstown rival USC (Nov. 23) that also saw him nab a 53-yard touchdown. In games that Asiasi scored a touchdown, UCLA went 3-1.
An all-around force for the Bruin defense, Barnes racked up 74 tackles. Ten of those stops went for a loss to tie for the team lead. He also set a new career high with four sacks and added a team-high eight passes defended in 11 games played and recorded 10 or more tackles in three of those contests. In the Bruins' 31-14 home win versus Colorado (Nov. 2), Barnes posted seven tackles, 1.5 sacks and an interception. He also forced a fourth-quarter fumble to set up the game-winning touchdown in UCLA's 67-63 comeback win at Washington State (Sept. 21).
Holmes finished the year with 34 tackles, including a career-best 10 at USC. He led the Bruins with a pair of interceptions, picking off passes at Washington State and versus California (Nov. 30). Holmes defended a pair of passes in games versus Cal and at Stanford (Oct. 17), fronting a defensive attack that held the Cardinal to 198 yards of total offense in a 34-16 UCLA win.
In his first and only season as a Bruin, Lees tallied 49 punts for 2,100 yards. The 42.9-yard average sits at sixth in the Pac-12. Eighteen of the Melbourne, VIC, Australia native's kicks were placed inside the 20-yard line, while five went for 50 yards or more. Lees set a new career high with a 72-yard punt in the season opener at Cincinnati (Aug. 29). He also posted a 59-yarder at Washington State.
