Big Ten Media Days will showcase four new members in the conference: Oregon, UCLA, USC, and Washington. Head coach DeShaun Foster leads the Bruins in their transition from the Pac-12, and he’ll be joined by QB Ethan Garbers, DL Jay Toia, and LB Oluwafemi Oladejo at the event in Indianapolis. What are the three biggest questions he’ll have to answer in his first year at the helm?
Three Most Significant Questions for DeShaun Foster at Big Ten Media Days
1) Will Foster’s Lack of Coordinating Experience Matter?
The Chip Kelly era got off to a rocky start, as UCLA won no more than four wins in each of his first three seasons. However, the Bruins found their stride in the last three years, going 8-4, 9-4, and 8-5, appearing in back-to-back bowl games and winning the LA Bowl over Boise State in 2023.
Nevertheless, rumors of Kelly being on the chopping block began to emerge after losses to Arizona and Arizona State in November. A convincing 38-20 victory over USC the following week slowed the spread, but after the season, Kelly decided to join Ohio State’s staff as an offensive coordinator instead of being fired or enduring a lame-duck season in 2024.
Enter Foster, a two-time first-team All-Pac-10 rusher for the Bruins from 2000-01. After seven years in the NFL, three years as a student/graduate assistant at UCLA, and one year coaching RBs at Texas Tech (2016), Foster found his way back to Southern California, serving as the RBs coach for the past seven seasons and earning the title of associate head coach in 2023.
In 2022, Foster was inducted into the UCLA Athletics Hall of Fame and nominated for the Broyles Award as the nation’s top assistant coach. That year, Zach Charbonnet, who the Seattle Seahawks selected in the second round, became the fourth Bruins running back chosen in the NFL Draft over the last four seasons.
UCLA’s rushing attack has led the Pac-12 the last two years, reaching 191.1 yards per game in 2023 and 237.2 in 2022. Analysts have lauded Foster for his relationship with players, but that’s only part of being a head coach.
Foster has no coordinating experience on either side of the ball, meaning he’ll be more of a CEO than a hands-on coach during the season. He’ll be tasked with recruiting and reshaping how the Bruins utilize NIL, both of which Kelly dropped the ball on.
But what does that mean on the field? Foster will lean on his two coordinators to run their sides of the field: former Kansas City Chiefs and Washington Commanders OC Eric Bieniemy on offense and Ikaika Malloe on defense, who Kelly promoted from defensive line coach in January.
Bieniemy loves to air it out, as Sam Howell led the NFL in pass attempts last year (612), and Patrick Mahomes was in the top five during Bieniemy’s last three seasons in Kansas City. He’s also a big fan of RPOs, which are even more effective at the college level.
Defensively, Malloe will want to continue the success D’Anton Lynn (now USC’s DC) found with the Bruins. Malloe joined UCLA’s staff as an OLBs coach and special teams coordinator in 2022 after operating as Washington’s co-DC from 2020-21, so he has experience running the unit.
While having zero experience as a coordinator is concerning, Foster is putting his offense and defense in good hands, allowing him to focus on what he does best: recruiting and developing talent.
2) How Much Will Travel Schedule in a New Conference Have?
One much-talked aspect of the Big Ten adding four West Coast teams is the travel schedules they’ll face. New ACC members Cal and Stanford will face similar issues, and their head coaches gave some insight at the conference’s Media Days.
Cal HC Justin Wilcox said, “We got a big plane, the biggest one that Delta makes. There’s gonna be a good number of players who are really, really comfortable.” He also mentioned that the Bears will travel a day earlier than normal this season.
Meanwhile, Stanford HC Troy Taylor confirmed the Cardinal will fly out on the Thursday before Saturday games out East, and they’ll be on a larger plane as well. Additionally, he announced the team will return home for class for the eight-day span between road games at Syracuse and Clemson, saying, “We’ve never done that before … but there’s harder things to do.”
However, when it comes to the Pac-12-turned-Big Ten teams, no one has it worse than UCLA. The Bruins have away games at Hawaii, LSU, Penn State, Rutgers, Nebraska, and Washington this season. In terms of air miles, UCLA will accumulate around 22,048 roundtrip miles across those six contests, which is roughly 3,765 miles per road game.
Last year, UCLA did not have a road trip over 1,000 miles. In 2024, it does not have a road trip less than that.
3) Can the Defense Maintain Success Post-D’Anton Lynn?
In Lynn’s first year ever as a DC, UCLA went from No. 87 (399.8) in the FBS in yards per game allowed to No. 11 (299.0). But the numbers don’t stop there.
The Bruins ranked No. 1 in rushing defense (69.6 YPG), No. 2 in yards per rush allowed (2.33), No. 3 in sacks per game (3.42), and No. 4 in tackles for loss (99). They only conceded multiple touchdowns in five games and held nine opponents to 20 points or less all season.
Will Malloe be able to replicate that success in 2024? It’s unlikely, but the defense shouldn’t fall off completely.
In 2020’s four-game season, he helped lead Washington to No. 1 in the Pac-12 in total defense and passing yards allowed. Then, in 2021, the Huskies ranked third in the conference in total yards allowed (336.9 per game) and first in passing yards allowed (143.3), concerning just six TDs through the air all season.
Heading into 2024, Malloe’s UCLA staff includes a good mix of experience and rising talent. Brian Norwood, 58, has been coaching since 1990 and will work with the safeties in 2024. Tony Washington Jr. comes over to coach the defensive line from Oregon, where he spent last season as a GA and was a standout OLB during his collegiate career (2010-14).
Last but not least is Kodi Whitfield, who was a two-way player for Stanford from 2012-15. After two years as a GA at UCLA from 2020-21, he left to coach safeties at Sacramento State, helping the program to an 11-0 regular-season record. He returned to the Bruins in 2023 as the CBs coach and will add special teams coordinator to his title under Foster.
Big Ten Media Days Schedule: DeShaun Foster, UCLA Head Coach
- Date: Wednesday, July 24
- Time: 11:30 a.m. ET
- How to watch: ESPN+
FanDuel set UCLA’s win total at 5.5, three wins less than they’ve recorded in the last three seasons. A large reason for their expected regression is simply the increase in competition they’ll face in a new conference. In College Football Network’s 2024 Big Ten Power Rankings, the Bruins check in at No. 12.
They’ll face the third-toughest strength of schedule in the conference and the 16th-toughest in the nation. But it’s not just the Big Ten teams that UCLA has to worry about. Its out-of-conference schedule features Curt Cignetti’s Indiana, a road trip to LSU, and a home bout against Fresno State, who has won the last two matchups in Pasadena (38-14 in 2018; 40-37 in 2021).
The roster and fanbase have seemingly bought into Foster’s style of coaching, and his hiring of Bieniemy as OC shouldn’t be understated. Ethan Garbers isn’t an elite passer, but he doesn’t have to be. As long as he can get the ball to J. Michael Sturdivant and Logan Loya and hand the ball off to TJ Harden, the offense will move the chains.
It will take time for the Bruins to turn heads in the Big Ten, but the future is bright in Southern California.
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