UCLA coach DeShaun Foster, leading his team onto the field before the rivalry game against USC last season at the Rose Bowl, enters spring football practice this week with several new assistant coaches and holes to fill on the roster. (Wally Skalij / Los Angeles Times)
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.
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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.
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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:
Are Foster’s new hires an upgrade?
Tino Sunseri takes his first offensive coordinator position with UCLA after being a co-coordinator with Indiana last season. (Darron Cummings / Associated Press)
In perhaps the most encouraging development of the offseason, Foster did not double down on a disappointing staff.
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His jettisoning of offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy and every other assistant besides defensive coordinator Ikaika Malloe and tight ends coach Jerry Neuheisel showed a willingness to acknowledge that the staff he put together quickly after his hiring was not getting the job done.
“Just what was needed for the program,” Foster told reporters of the changes at UCLA’s pro day. “I wanted to make sure that I just had the right people in place.”
That means Foster went from the offensive coordinator that Bieniemy’s agent, Jason Fletcher, described as a big brother to one who could be considered a smaller sibling. Foster has known Sunseri since Sunseri was a teenager hanging around the Carolina Panthers with his father, Sal, who was the team’s defensive line coach when Foster played running back for the Panthers.
“I’ve known him pretty much his whole life,” Foster said. “But just to see how far his football knowledge has gone and just how much he’s grown as a quarterback, as a play-caller — I’m just really excited for what he can do here for us.”
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This will be the first time that Sunseri, 36, the co-offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach who helped take Indiana to the College Football Playoff last season, has full control of an offense.
UCLA’s offense can’t be any worse than it was under Bieniemy.
Is Joey Aguilar the guy?
Quarterback Joey Aguilar played for two seasons at Appalachain State before transferring to UCLA. (Jacob Kupferman / Associated Press)
He’s certainly acting like a big-time college quarterback.
Aguilar was spotted taking selfies with students waiting in line to attend a UCLA women’s basketball game in early March.
The question: How revered will those photos be by the end of the year? After putting up big numbers the last two years at Appalachian State, Aguilar will try to show he can sling it at a much higher level.
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The hope is that the Bruins get the 2023 version of Aguilar — when he completed 63.7% of his passes for 3,757 yards for 33 touchdowns and 10 interceptions — versus the 2024 version that saw his numbers dip across the board.
There’s always the chance that one of the scads of backups on the team overtakes Aguilar after spring practice and fall training camp, but don’t count on it based on the fact that no one else on the roster has thrown a pass at the college level.
Aguilar and his new team were recently dealt a setback when wide receiver Kaedin Robinson, who had committed to UCLA after being Aguilar’s top target at Appalachian State, announced that the NCAA had denied his bid for an additional season of college eligibility.
Will the offensive line buckle again?
Nebraska’s Jimari Butler (10) tackles UCLA quarterback Ethan Garbers (4) during the first half of an NCAA college football game Saturday, Nov. 2, 2024, in Lincoln, Neb. (AP Photo/Rebecca S. Gratz) (Rebecca S. Gratz / Associated Press)
All you need to know about UCLA’s last offensive line is that a former walk-on was probably its best and most consistent player.
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Now that player — Prongos — has left for Stanford, leaving another massive hole.
It helps that starting left tackle Garrett DiGiorgio and center Sam Yoon are back, likely to reprise their same roles from a year ago. But who will join them as part of the first unit?
Courtland Ford, who started 11 games over two seasons at left tackle for USC before transferring to Kentucky, could be a leading candidate to take over the same position with the Bruins. Other possibilities include Jacksonville State transfer K.D. Arnold and Reuben Unije, who is seeking a final year of college eligibility after being limited to four games last season because of injuries.
Eugene Brooks, a four-star prospect out of Sierra Canyon High, has the pedigree to take over one of the spots at guard after spending his first college season at Oklahoma. The other candidates for a starting guard spot include Julian Armella, who spent three seasons as a backup at Florida State, and Alani Makihele, who was a part-time starter for the Bruins last season.
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New offensive line coach Andy Kwon must get significantly more out of this group than the bunch who rarely opened holes for running backs and gave up 34 sacks a year ago.
Can the running backs get loose?
Running back Anthony Woods, trying to evade Washington State linebacker Francisco Mauigoa, had two productive seasons at Idaho before transferring to UCLA. He missed last season because of an Achilles’ tendon injury. (Young Kwak / Associated Press)
Harden’s departure after a season in which his productivity dipped might be a clue as to why such a massive shakeup was needed on the coaching staff.
The Bruins brought in a promising transfer in Anthony Woods, though his college success has come entirely at the Football Championship Subdivision level. In 2023, during his final season at Idaho, Woods ran for 1,155 yards and 16 touchdowns while becoming a first-team All-Big Sky Conference selection. He sat out last season at Utah while recovering from an Achilles’ injury.
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The top returner among the running backs is Jalen Berger, who became a bigger factor last season once rounding into form from injury. Berger ran for 178 yards in 48 carries, averaging 3.7 yards per carry.
Other candidates to emerge are freshman Karson Cox, the top running back recruit in California, redshirt freshman Cameron Jones and redshirt senior Anthony Frias II.
Got any duct tape?
Oregon State linebacker Isaiah Chisom fights through a block to chase after Boise State running back Ashton Jeanty during a game last season. (Steve Conner / Associated Press)
No one does more with less than Malloe, who could give MacGyver tips on building something formidable with next to nothing.
But it’s conceivable that Malloe could face his biggest challenge in 2025 after a handful of players with NFL talent moved on.
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The Bruins will need a high rate of return on the 12 transfers they brought in to bolster their defense. Leading the way will likely be linebacker Isaiah Chisom, who was a star in the making as a freshman at Oregon State. Ashton Sanders (Oklahoma) and Nico Davillier (Arkansas) should fortify a defensive line that returns Gary Smith III and Keanu Williams, whose status remains unclear after being sidelined by injuries.
New secondary coach Demetrice Martin will preside over a group of eight transfers at cornerback and safety — including his son, Cole, who was limited to two games at Arizona State last season because of a hip injury.
Just like with his coaches, now will be the time to show what he can do.
This story originally appeared in Los Angeles Times.
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