What UCLA's DeShaun Foster Said at Big Ten Football Media Days

UCLA coach DeShaun Foster introduced himself to the Big Ten in 2024 by announcing that his school is in Los Angeles. The geography lesson got a laugh, so Foster self-depricatingly returned to the comment this week at Big Ten Football Media Days in Las Vegas.

"Last year I stood up here and reminded everyone that UCLA is in L.A., which looking back might have been the most obvious geography lesson in Big Ten history," Foster said. "But you know what? Important things are worth stating clearly. We are in L.A., and we're proud to be in L.A. This year we're ready to show the Big Ten what L.A. football looks like when it's firing on all cylinders. That moment speaking to you last year taught me a valuable lesson. Authenticity resonates more deeply than perfection."

Penn State will be in L.A. on Oct. 4 for its first road game of the season. By then, the Bruins should have a good sense of their team and their new quarterback, Tennessee transfer Nico Iamaleava. Here are the higlights from Foster's press conference at Big Ten Media Days.

"I've sat in the exact same seats that they're going to sit in."

Few relate more than DeShaun Foster. He once wore the same @UCLAFootball uniform 🐻#B1GFootball pic.twitter.com/Sv3g5nhKpg
— Big Ten Football (@B1Gfootball) July 24, 2025

On the Bruins: Entering year two I expect to see significant improvement. Not just in my team, but in myself as a head coach. Growth is part of the process, and we're all committed to being better than we were last season. I know there are questions about our progress, expectations, and how well we're performing in this conference. That's totally fair. We're here to earn respect, not demand it.

However, I can tell you this. My team is ready. They're confident. They're prepared, and they're hungry to show up and show out and redefine what UCLA football can be.

So, yes, we're still in L.A. We're proud to be Bruins, and we're ready to make it happen starting now. I'm happy to take any questions.

On transfer quarterback Nico Iamaleava: Nico Iamaleava, our sophomore quarterback from Cali, he's an elite quarterback who chose to come back home and help build something special at UCLA.

On UCLA's progress: Speaking of building, we've had an incredible year of progress, and I mean incredible. When I took on this job, I inherited a program with tremendous tradition and immense opportunity. We're not just committed to restoring UCLA football. We're committed to evolving in this new era of college athletics. Our recruiting has been outstanding, and I mean outstanding right
now. We've brought in young men who understand what it means to be a Bruin, academically excellent, athletically gift and committed to being bigger than themselves.

QIUESTION: What are some of the characteristics that you saw in Nico that you felt would elevate your program as well as him being in the locker room to galvanize that entire locker room?

DESHAUN FOSTER: Just the arm strength is just something that you see just from watching him play at all, but he's just a talent. It's not anything that I saw him do last season. It's more of what I had seen him do all the way up. Him being a local quarterback, I had seen him play a few times, and he's played with a lot of players that are on our team, so there's a lot of familiarity there.

We're just excited to have a playoff quarterback, somebody that was able to lead his team to the playoffs. They might not have gotten the outcome that they wanted, but he still was able to play. He showed how tough he was in that game. Just being able to come back home and be comfortable and being in a familiar environment, I think the sky is the limit. We're excited about this.

UCLA quarterback Nico Iamaleava speaks to the media during the Big Ten Football Media Days in Las Vegas. | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

QUESTION: You're replacing four incredible players to the NFL Draft on the defensive end, particularly that front seven. Who were some players that you have seen evolve over the last few months that you are really excited about that could potentially fill that void?

DESHAUN FOSTER: I'm excited about JonJon Vaughns coming in. There's a few linebackers. JonJon Vaughns, Chisom, and also J9 [Jalen Woods]. Excited about them. Up front I got Gary Smith coming back. Keanu is back also. These are guys that we lost to injury. Kanye Clark. There's a few guys that they started the season, but they weren't able to finish it. I'm pretty excited about them because going into their last year, this is going to be a special moment for them. So we're looking forward to it.

QUESTION: What life lessons have you pulled on from your second year at UCLA and your second year in the pros to help you now in your second year as head coach? How do you plan to utilize the world-class speed of Oregon transfer [cornerback] Rodrick Pleasant, whether it's on offense or special teams?

DESHAUN FOSTER: Well, hopefully this season goes as well as my second year in the NFL. We went to the Super Bowl that year. We ended up losing to the Patriots. It was a great run, and we played really well. I'm looking for that type of success this year for our players, and I'll probably be mentioning that type of things to them over the next season and how it goes.

But Rodrick Pleasant, great talent, fast kid. Has a lot of upside. So we're still trying to figure out exactly what we can do with him, but I'm excited to see him doing some special teams, returning kicks, and just finding ways to get the ball in his hands because he is a special talent.

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