UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast: Football Recruiting Roundup

In today's episode, we round up a big week of football recruiting for UCLA and project what may be in store in the coming weeks.

Feb 13, 2024; Los Angeles, CA, USA; DeShaun Foster answers questions from media after he was introduced as the UCLA Bruins head football coach during a press conference at Pauley Pavilion. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images / Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

In today's episode of the UCLA Bruins Insider Podcast, we talk about football's big weekend of recruiting and what lies ahead for DeShaun Foster and his squad.

To watch today's episode, view below:

The Bruins baseball team advance to the College World Series after beating UTSA over the weekend. Below is a transcription of coach John Savage's postgame media availability, courtsey of UCLA Athletics:

opening statement
“Again, I think it was a team effort, a lot of guys being on the same page. That’s what we’ve been throughout the season. We’ve taken some lumps along the way, but for the most part, they’ve stayed together through thick and thin. To their credit, they believe in one another. We had outstanding pitching this weekend. We had a bunch of naysayers questioning our pitching, and you can’t question that now. At the end of the day, we had a lot of really good at-bats. Our defense was championship-level, clearly. On to the next tournament. I think this team doesn’t feel like this is the end of the journey. It wasn’t our goal to just get to Omaha. We’ve talked a lot about going and playing well, taking our game to whoever we play. I’m really excited for the guys, excited for the alumni, the fans. I’m excited for everyone involved. At the end of the day, it’s an appreciation on my behalf towards a lot of people.” 

on what it means to return to Omaha after twelve years
“It tells you how difficult it is to get there, particularly in the West. They make it very difficult. There are so many great coaches and players in the West, and we beat each other up. This is for the West. Arizona won today, that was big. Oregon State’s playing tonight. I think there were 11 teams that got into the tournament, and only three could really advance into the Super Regionals. Everybody has played well, and that’s a credit to the West. It’s great to be back. I’m looking forward to the challenge.” 

on the turnaround from last season to this season
“The players [made the difference]. The coaches did a great job; my assistants did a great job. I’ve always been very consistent in my approach, win, lose, or draw. It’s not easy, but we have the right cast of characters in terms of great people on this team. We have people who want to represent UCLA, represent their families. At the end of the day, they came together. We got kicked out of the stadium on day one in the fall. It’s quite the story; you could write a little bit about this. We had no home, and we came back in January. To our guys’ credit, they came back and played to the maximum of their ability all season long. Last season was a good learning experience; we played a lot of young guys. Obviously, you’re seeing the payoff right now.” 

on Toussaint Bythewood’s performance
"He’s been really consistent in practice. He should have had more opportunities at the end of the day. He was ready for that opportunity and came up with a big hit. I’m so happy for Toussaint and his game today.” 

on his mentality going into the World Series
“I think that the Big Ten tournament was a big deal. They experienced the ballpark, being there for a week. They got a little taste of it, and they said that they wanted to come back. We’ve always been a really good postseason team, in all honesty. You look at the record, and you look at the wins; we’ve won a lot of games in the postseason. We just haven’t been back to Omaha in the last twelve years. That’s challenging and hurtful in a lot of ways, but at the same time, I think I can use my experience. Telling them to enjoy the moment, enjoy the process, enjoy the journey. I think they’re looking forward to playing in front of big crowds. I thought we played really well in Omaha when we went a couple of weeks ago. The ballpark isn’t going to surprise us in any way; there will just be a lot more people. I know that this team is looking forward to the next team, the next challenge. That’s what is so fun about this team; they don’t care who they play, where they play, what time they play. At the end of the day, that’s how you get on the board here.” 

on the depth of the bullpen"
A lot of guys are stepping up. They pounded the zone pretty well, I think we only walked two guys in two games. It seemed like we were very competitive. We came back into counts; we won a bunch of 3-2 counts. We had some double plays, thanks to [Landon Stump]. It was a nine-on-one operation, and they just went after people. [Easton] Hawk is really coming into his own as a freshman; he’s taking that closer role to a different level. [August] Souza in the 8thinning, [Jack] O’Connor in the 7thinning, and [Chris] Grothues today. A lot of contributions from a lot of different guys, and that’s how you move on.”  

on the youth of the team and returning important players
"We had a really tough year last year. We could have had some guys leave. But they saw the heart of the program, they felt that they could turn the needle. At the end of the day, that’s what they did, and they did it together. It was really the sophomore class that was the staple in moving it forward. Just because you had a tough year doesn’t mean that you leave. Why not get it right? That’s how I look at it. It’s baseball, it’s a hard game. There is a lot of failure in this game. If you’re running from failure, you’re playing the wrong game. At the end of the day, these guys believed in the program, and I can’t say enough about them. We’re fighting in a lot of different ways with a lot of different odds, but there’s no place like UCLA. They know that. It’s not any greener on the other side. They’ve realized that, and they knew that we were capable of winning, and that’s what they’re doing.” 

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