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UCLA's Foster puts his jitters aside
Los Angeles Times
|August 30, 2025
A year ago, UCLA was on the verge of Hawaiian humiliation in its season opener.
UCLA COACH DeShaun Foster has a second chance to make a first impression.
The offense plodded. The defense was a blooper reel, committing three penalties on the same play. The special teams failed to put enough players on the field, leading to a busted punt coverage.
Shakiest of all might have been the coach.
Having starred as a running back and assistant coach, DeShaun Foster stumbled in his head-coaching debut. Appearing as disorganized and unprepared as his team, Foster didn’t know the proper way to address reporters after his team rallied to beat Hawaii, asking a media relations staff member for help.
Yeah, you could say he was a mess.
A year later, on the verge of his second season, Foster acknowledged as much.
"Oh, I was scared, you know?" Foster said this week. "And I've never been scared on the football field.
It was a nervous feeling just because it was brand new and I'd never been in that position." And now? "I'm not nowhere near where we were last year," Foster said, "so I feel pretty good." The coach and his team will need to be at their best Saturday night at the Rose Bowl when they open the season against Utah, a trendy pick to become a College Football Playoff contender.
UCLA's roster features 57 new players including two who arrived after the start of training camp - and eight new assistant coaches, including offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri.
How will Foster fare in this second chance to make a first impression after his team went 5-7 in 2024? Here are five things to watch when the Bruins face the Utes:
This story is from the August 30, 2025 edition of Los Angeles Times.
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