This post was updated Aug. 3 at 9:32 p.m.
New location, new coaches, new roster.
Although DeShaun Foster is in his second year supervising fall training camp – which commenced Wednesday – the head honcho is voyaging into unfamiliar territory with a largely new coaching staff as he leads UCLA football into its 2025 campaign.
The 16-day training camp was moved to the Chargers’ Hoag Performance Center in Costa Mesa, California, due to resodding at UCLA’s Spaulding Field.
The change in scenery could provide team bonding opportunities for a squad that is filled with new faces, following many roster changes via the transfer portal. Coupled with graduation and the 2025 NFL Draft, the Bruins parted ways with 41 members of the 2024 roster, holes it will attempt to fill with 55 freshman recruits and transfers.
But the roster turnover does not stop with the players in pads.
Foster also added quarterbacks coach and offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri, and offensive line coach Andy Kwon, along with six others, to his staff.
“There’s a lot of new coaches and players, so I wanted to find a way to make us be able to connect a little bit more,” Foster said of his choice to hold the camp roughly 50 miles south of Westwood. “To be able to eat three meals with each other and just be close.”
The camp spotlight will be on redshirt sophomore quarterback Nico Iamaleava, who has exactly one month – from the start of fall camp until Aug. 30, when UCLA opens its season at the Rose Bowl against Utah – to prove he can lead a cohesive offense and rank among the top Big Ten signal callers.
The Long Beach, California, local – who is joined in the quarterback room by his younger brother, freshman Madden Iamaleava – is taking snaps in the blue and gold for the first time since his high-profile transfer from Tennessee to UCLA last spring.
Despite his late arrival in Westwood, the former five-star recruit has had no trouble picking up the reins.
“He’s pretty much grasped the playbook already,” Foster said. “I feel confident. We haven’t had to hold back on anything. And I know at least he has these first two installs down pretty well. … He just has a presence to him. It’s different.”
Nico Iamaleava will likely bring new energy and offensive efficiency to Westwood, having thrown for 2,616 yards and 19 touchdowns while recording just five interceptions at Tennessee last season.
Comparatively, the Bruins’ 2024 starting quarterback Ethan Garbers notched 2,727 air yards for 16 touchdowns, coupled with a shared conference-high 11 interceptions.
UCLA’s offensive woes last season were not limited to misfires from the pocket, though. The Bruins averaged a mere 86.6 rushing yards per game, ranking dead last in the Big Ten. However, two running back additions – California junior transfer Jaivian Thomas and No. 18 ranked running back recruit freshman Karson Cox – could help pull the Bruins up from the bottom of the rankings, bringing depth to the position group.
But only time will tell how Sunseri will piece together UCLA’s newest offensive weapons. While fans and opposing teams have yet to see how Foster will utilize his offensive chess pieces, redshirt junior tight end Jack Pedersen expects the X-factors to shine.
“One word: elusive,” Pedersen said, when asked how he would describe Sunseri’s offense. “We’ve got a lot of playmakers on this team, and we’ll surprise people this year and be able to make a splash in the Big Ten. … That all starts here. That’s why we’re down here – getting us off campus, no distractions, being with the team, building a brotherhood.”
The word “brotherhood” came up multiple times at the Bruins’ inaugural training camp press conference. It seems that is exactly what Foster is trying to cultivate.
Offensive players were paired up with defensive specialists for hotel room assignments to encourage camaraderie outside of position groups and sides of the ball. Although Foster did not go into specifics, he said that he had bonding activities planned for the Bruins off the field as well.
“It makes us build brotherhood. That was something that we had talked about yesterday in our team meeting,” said Oregon State transfer and sophomore linebacker Isaiah Chisom. “You’re staying with some people that you may have not ever talked to before … but it kind of forces us to be close. This is the first time I’ve ever been offsite for fall camp, but I’m excited for it.”
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