Insider: UCLA's DeShaun Foster a 'Work in Progress'

The second-year Bruins head coach found himself in an interesting tier of coaches ahead of the 2025 season.

Jul 24, 2025; Las Vegas, NV, USA; UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster speaks to the media during the Big Ten NCAA college football media days at Mandalay Bay Resort. Mandatory Credit: Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images | Lucas Peltier-Imagn Images

Despite finishing his first season at the helm of the UCLA football program with a 5-7 record, DeShaun Foster is widely viewed as one of the top rising culture-shifters for what he's done in his first full offseason with the Bruins.

And yet, he still has some doubters. Even after making a splash in the transfer portal by acquiring former Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava and conjuring up one of UCLA's best recruiting classes in recent history for the class of 2026, some college football insiders still aren't sold -- at least not yet.

Nov 30, 2024; Pasadena, California, USA; UCLA Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster on the sidelines during the third quarter against the Fresno State Bulldogs at Rose Bowl. Mandatory Credit: Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images | Robert Hanashiro-Imagn Images

The Athletic's senior college football writer and insider, Chris Vannini, released a new college football coaching tier list ahead of the 2025 season, the first year Foster is on the annual list. Of the eight tiers, each with its titles and descriptions, Foster found himself on Vannini's seventh tier: the "Works in Progress."

The Tier List

Foster is joined on Tier 7 by Trent Bray (Oregon State), Jeff Choate (Nevada), Clark Lea (Vanderbilt), Joe Moorhead (Akron), Eric Morris (UNT), Ricky Rahn (ODU), Brent Pry (Virginia Tech), Lance Taylor (Western Michigan), Scotty Walden (UTEP) and Justin Wilcox (Cal).

Here's what Vannini had to say about the tier and the coaches in it:

"This tier is a mix of hot seats and newcomers. Six members of last year's Tier 7 were eventually fired. Coaches like Akron’s Joe Moorhead, Old Dominion’s Ricky Rahne, Virginia Tech’s Brent Pry and Cal’s Justin Wilcox face a lot of pressure in 2025.

"Nevada’s Jeff Choate and UTEP’s Scotty Walden are both coming off three-win FBS debut seasons last year, but their previous success in the Football Championship Subdivision keeps them from the bottom tier. Choate built Montana State into the top program it is today, while Walden took Austin Peay to a top-10 season. Oregon State’s Trent Bray and UCLA’s Deshaun Foster also debut on this list after 5-7 seasons.

"Vanderbilt’s Clark Lea is the lone coach to move up into Tier 7, coming off a 7-6 season and Vandy’s first win against Alabama since 1985."

It's still early in Foster's UCLA tenure, but the impact he's made in such a short time shouldn't go unnoticed. It's not far-fetched to see him go up a few tiers as early as next season.

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