For someone with such a consistent demeanor, UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster has caused a lot of change – even as a high school football player at Tustin.
He rushed for 3,398 yards and 59 touchdowns as a senior at Tustin, but it was his attitude that was most remarkable. He never wanted to come out of a game. He never believed anyone could tackle him one-on-one. He never showboated after a touchdown. Mostly, he was soft-spoken.
“What he did for us was the people after that came in and realized it could be done at Tustin,” said Myron Miller, Foster’s high school coach. “I think we had five more guys go pro. We were getting kids in that saw DeShaun make it and he just made the foundation for us to become a solid program for the next 20 years.”
Foster, 44, is quietly embarking on a UCLA football image revitalization through increased exposure to the community and a relationship-driven recruiting approach as the Bruins’ new home in the Big Ten Conference begins next month.
Discipline, respect, enthusiasm
If Dr. Dre’s “Still Dre” was the theme song of spring football camp, then the new coaching staff was the opening credits.
Foster had brought on a host of coaches with playing experience, including offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy, who both coached and played in the NFL. Every position coach on UCLA’s staff has played football at the college level or above.
The group of players-turned-coaches under the leadership of Foster, who is a player’s coach, has immersed the team deep into a new Bruins football culture. With everyone a player at heart, a player-led team is unavoidable as the program leans on Foster’s three pillars of UCLA football: discipline, respect and enthusiasm.
“I think we established that going back to January,” Bruins linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo said. “Accountability, peer correcting, being humble enough to take coaching from the team. Someone who might be younger than you or older than you, but it’s just putting aside that pride and just working together as a team.”
Foster made the decision to house players in a hotel in Woodland Hills for the first part of fall training camp and paired offensive players with defensive players, which is a model that he went through himself during his seven-year career in the NFL.
Players all spoke positively about the experience, another thread in the fabric of this season’s Bruin bond fortified by Foster, who after seven seasons as UCLA’s running backs coach had initially left Westwood in February for the same position with the Las Vegas Raiders, only to return for the top job a week later after former head coach Chip Kelly bolted for an offensive coordinator position at Ohio State.
“I’ve come to training camp as a recruit, I’ve come to training camp as a freshman,” Foster said. “Then I left as a senior, came back as an assistant coach, came back as a position coach and now I’m the head coach. It’s a weird transition but I’m excited for it. I’m a Bruin, and that’s me.”
The coaches and players took part in team bonding experiences while in Woodland Hills, which further galvanized the relationships that were evidently forming already in the spring. At one point, Foster couldn’t hide his emotions after tight end Hudson Habermehl went down with an injury. Foster needed a few moments to collect himself before speaking with media after the practice.
All the while, he’s kept to the habits he developed as a player. He’s the first one at the football facility in the morning, gets a workout in and keeps his steadfast, calm demeanor.
“Starting fast was a big factor Coach Fos wanted to emphasize this season,” defensive line/outside linebackers coach Tony Washington Jr. said. “Hence the early practices. But I think the guys have taken heed to that and taken pride in it. Just coming in here with the right mentality, not oozing into practice and then turning it up at the end.”
Recruiting the next generation
Oaks Christian and Sierra Canyon high schools have seen many of their players choose UCLA. Current Bruins who attended Sierra Canyon include starting center Josh Carlin and freshman receiver Kwazi Gilmer, although the latter also played three seasons at Chaminade.
Linebacker Carson Schwesinger is an Oaks Christian product and assistant coach Shea Pitts is a former Lion.
Foster built relationships with these two schools as a recruiter under Kelly and has maintained those bonds through personal connections.
“DeShaun is like a baby brother,” Oaks Christian coach Charlie Collins said.
The two developed a relationship when Collins coached in the NFL and he’d see Foster training in the offseason. Collins has provided some insight into coaching as Foster transitioned into the role of head coach, but without changing who he is.
“He’s transparent,” Collins said. “He’s a shy personality type. He’s not a self-promoting personality, so sometimes that can be perceived as lack of confidence. He tries to illuminate his players and his coaches, but when he is away from the media, he’s definitely a players’ coach.”
Multiple Oaks Christian players attended UCLA’s Friday Night Lights event in the spring — a brainchild of Foster’s. Recruits were encouraged to visit Spaulding Field under the glow of stadium lights to experience a Bruins practice in a seldom-seen environment.
Foster has said that he wants to keep Southern California-based players in the area. For example, Kayvon Thibodeaux attended Oaks Christian but played college football at Oregon before moving on to the NFL. Servite’s Mason Graham ended up at Michigan.
In addition to Friday Night Lights, Foster has opened multiple practices throughout the fall so parents, donors and community members can get a firsthand look at how UCLA operates on the field. The strategic decisions have not gone unnoticed by high school coaches and recruits.
“What he’s doing is great with getting kids out on Friday Night Lights and the efforts that they’re putting into recruiting,” Sierra Canyon coach Jon Ellinghouse said. “And, obviously, being in the (Big Ten) and NIL and everything that goes along with that, there’s a nice buzz around his program.”
Ellinghouse has dealt with Foster as a recruiter and now as a parent, since his son is currently a Trailblazer. The two maintain a professional relationship, even though the first recruiting cycle under Foster hasn’t truly begun yet.
“The best way I can describe him is he’s just a relationship builder,” Ellinghouse said. “He’s a great recruiter. He’s one of the best that I’ve dealt with. He comes in, he’s relaxed, he asks questions. He’s very direct in what he’s looking for and what he wants in players and the players that I’ve had that play for him love him.”
UCLA football’s season opener is Saturday at Hawai’i, then the Big Ten and home opener will be Sept. 14 against Indiana at the Rose Bowl. It’s a new chapter for UCLA and Foster and although the same emotions of high school football could resurface, they’ll take on a different form.
“It’s going to be a whole new thing because I would still get ‘turnt up’ for the game,” Foster said. “I think I’m going to calm down more as a head coach. I don’t need to be getting riled up, I just need to stay me.”
