Remember those sayings about college football coaches in their first few seasons? You know, how people would justify their struggles?
It’s still early. Give him time. He just has to get his guys in.
Well, those excuses are gone.
Less than a week after his first season ended, DeShaun Foster essentially said so himself.
“We’re going to be able to reload,” the UCLA coach said in December when asked about holes he needed to fill on a roster that had just completed a 5-7 season. “That’s the nature of the business. You guys have seen plenty of teams go from three wins or whatever they did to conference championships, you know? Prime [Colorado coach Deion Sanders] has done the same thing — he lost a lot of guys in the portal and he was able to reload.”
In other words, Foster just put himself on a loudly ticking clock.
The Bruins lost NFL prospects Carson Schwesinger, Oluwafemi Oladejo, Kain Medrano and Jay Toia. Starting quarterback Ethan Garbers exhausted his eligibility. Starting left tackle Niki Prongos, running back T.J. Harden and slot receiver Logan Loya entered the transfer portal. So did promising quarterback Justyn Martin.
Isn’t that too many holes for the Bruins to fill in a single offseason? Not according to their coach.
Foster certainly replenished his coaching staff, hiring nine new assistants, including hotshot offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri. He also imported 20 transfers to go with 17 high school freshmen.
A first glimpse of what UCLA might look like in 2025 comes Tuesday with the start of spring practice. Based on how things go, there will undoubtedly be more comings and goings during the next transfer portal window from April 16-25.
Can the Bruins really contend for their first conference championship since 1998 in Foster’s second season? Here are five questions facing UCLA going into spring practice:
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