UCLA defensive back Darnay Holmes runs a drill at the NFL football scouting combine in Indianapolis, Sunday, March 1, 2020. Credit: AP/Michael Conroy
Darnay Holmes saw some of his teammates at UCLA playing a game and he asked what they were up to.
Chess, they told him. Sometimes kooky head coach Chip Kelly, always looking for a non-traditional edge, had encouraged his quarterbacks to spend some time learning the tactics and strategies of the centuries-old game. He thought it would be good to open their minds and foster some competitiveness. It was meant to be a passing exercise; after checkmate they would move on to the next outside-the-64-box pursuit.