LOS ANGELES — LaDainian Tomlinson was no easy tailback to drag to the ground.
The former San Diego Chargers star – the 2006 NFL Most Valuable Player – played like a monster truck in the backfield, tearing through defenses in college, while at Texas Christian University, and in the pros.
Tomlinson’s stature never mattered to Tim Skipper. Only 5-foot-8 yet always making plays with grit and fury at linebacker, the Bruins’ interim head coach matched up against “L.T.” three times in three years while at Fresno State from 1997 to 2000.
He might have been undersized compared to Tomlinson, but his fearless mentality – as described by his former and current players – created a belief that no matter who the undersized middle linebackers were up against, he slammed them into the turf.
“I’ve been undersized, underdog, whatever you want to call it, my whole entire life,” Skipper said. “I came to the realization when I got to high school that we all are breathing the same air.”
Skipper asked himself a question: “So, why not me?”
Skipper’s UCLA football team, in just his second game in charge of the Bruins, surged into the national spotlight, embracing their coach’s “Why not me?” message in their 42-37 stunning upset of then-No. 7 Penn State on Saturday. He’d yet to be around his players in a true coaching fashion for a full month, but when UCLA athletic director Martin Jarmond handed Skipper the game ball in the locker room after the game, you’d think every one of those Bruins had been personally recruited by “Coach Skip.”
He described the locker room as Mardi Gras, “a disaster,” the Bruins’ first opportunity to celebrate a win with new offensive play-caller Jerry Neuheisel – a choice Skipper made – leading his “It’s a great day to be alive and be a Bruin” ritual, throwing water into the air as if it were champagne.
“This ball here is for all you guys,” Skipper shouted to his players and coaching staff after the game Saturday, while hoisting the ball high in the air. ”I told you, ‘No more sad Sundays. No more sad Sundays.’”
Everything about Skipper turns back to the players themselves, former Fresno State Bulldogs and current Denver Broncos linebacker Levelle Bailey said.
“One way to really describe him, he’s a players’ coach, and he’s actually been in those players’ shoes,” Bailey said. “It all starts with confidence. If you lose confidence in yourself, then you shouldn’t be confident going against anybody else.”
When Skipper became the acting coach for Jeff Tedford before Fresno State’s game in the New Mexico Bowl in 2023, there wasn’t any time for Skipper to relish the then-first chance to lead his own team into battle. Tedford stepped away from the Bulldogs for health concerns, Skipper taking over a team struggling with morale.
He went straight to work, turning his first practice in charge into an Oklahoma drill; every player on the Bulldogs, whether a walk-on or the starting quarterback, participated, Bailey said.
“He was showing like, ‘He’s in it with us,’” Bailey said. “We’re sad for Coach Tedford and we’re praying for him, but we’re here to win this game no matter what.”
Win they did, swiftly taking down New Mexico 37-10 on its home turf. It wasn’t close. Bailey said he and his Bulldogs teammates simply believed – and Skipper cultivated that belief.
It didn’t surprise former Fresno State linebacker Malachi Langley – who played for Skipper from 2022-24 – that Skipper spoke as if UCLA had a legitimate chance of defeating Penn State in the days leading up to Saturday.
Langley said the way Skipper shares information with his team creates confidence, which was more than on display at the Rose Bowl just a few days ago.
“I’ve had coaches who, when we’ve had big opponents, you can hear their voice crack when they speak,” Langley said. “Skip is going to keep it the same way: ‘These guys are just like us. We can beat them. They’re on scholarship, we’re on scholarship. Let’s go play.’”
Sound familiar?
Skipper put his team, despite a 26½-point spread that sent Nittany Lions fans into the Rose Bowl with expectations of dominance, in a position to win. The Bruins elected to receive, storming downfield for a touchdown, their first lead in five games.
Immediately after the score, Skipper called for an onside kick – Mateen Bhaghani flawlessly dribbling a ball past the 50-yard line and into Penn State territory for Kanye Clark to recover.
From there, UCLA never took the gas off the pedal. And when they did – it was smart coaching maneuvers, like when punter Will Karoll milked 10 seconds off the clock with less than a minute left, stalling until the moment Penn State forced him out of bounds in the end zone for a safety.
The guts to make those calls led Skipper back to his high school days. He remembers turning his back to the offensive huddle. Skipper, smaller than his peers, couldn’t see over the offensive linemen to get an eye on the quarterback or running back.
It was a test of Skipper’s willingness to attack a battle head-on.
“Am I gonna be scared to play now, or am I gonna go?” Skipper said he asked himself. “And it all came together right then and there. And I’ve been that way ever since, to be totally honest with you.”
Skipper earned the Dodd Trophy’s Coach of the Week honors as an interim coach, an improbable moment for UCLA, just a few weeks after DeShaun Foster was fired after the Bruins’ previous game at the Rose Bowl.
“Coach Skip took over, the transition was so smooth,” redshirt senior defensive lineman Jacob Busic said. “It wasn’t any like, ‘I don’t like this. I don’t like that. I liked it the old way. I like it the new way.’ It’s more just, this is the situation that we’re in, let’s make the most of it.”
Skipper’s phone was buzzing all weekend long. His coaching mentors – Tedford, Pat Hill, Terry Tumey (who watched Saturday’s game from the stands), Jim McElwain and Tony Sanchez – reached out to congratulate their friend. Family members bombarded Skipper with texts and calls, the excitement boiling over into a more-than-memorable moment for Skipper, who dreams of becoming a permanent head coach in the future.
“Just a lot of love in the air, and you don’t realize it when you’re coaching because you’re just coaching and trying to win a game,” Skipper said. “You don’t know the national reaction that’s going to happen from it, so it’s been amazing.”
As his former Fresno State players had said, for Skipper, it’s not about himself.
His newfound UCLA family is the group that’s keeping him going.
“I’ll tell you this – the best thing about it is just seeing our players and coaches smiling again,” Skipper said. “We hadn’t had a lot to smile about, and just to see guys happy, excited, and hugging and being a family, that was a joy for me, man. It was awesome.”