Tino Sunseri's Hands-On Approach is Being Felt in Fall Camp

The UCLA head coach and his offensive coordinator are on the same page during fall camp.

Indiana Quarterback Coach Tino Sunseri before the start of the Indiana versus Michigan football game at Memorial Stadium on Friday, Nov. 9, 2024. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

In the first episode of UCLA's 'Chasing Saturdays' series, which documents the Bruins' fall camp in Costa Mesa, a clip of new offensive coordinator Tino Sunseri doing a quarterback drill where he rolled out of the pocket at full speed and threw a perfect touchdown pass made waves among UCLA fandom.

Not because of how good the throw was (seriously, it was a dot), but because it showed exactly who Sunseri is as a coach -- a fiery, passionate and hands-on individual who will go to great lengths to teach his players what they need.

Second-year Bruins head coach DeShaun Foster can't help but praise the former Indiana co-offensive coordinator/ quarterbacks coach. Foster, a former running back, and Sunseri, a former quarterback, are a perfect match to lift UCLA's revamped offense.

Indiana University Quarterbacks Coach Tino Sunseri instucts players during fall practice at the Mellencamp Pavilion at Indiana University on Tuesday, Aug. 6, 2024. | Rich Janzaruk/Herald-Times / USA TODAY NETWORK

"He just does a good job with the quarterbacks," Foster said during Wednesday's media availability. "He's fiery. He holds them to a standard and he's not budging. I love everything that Tino's bringing to the offense and the guys are responding to it."

The Bruins' offense is going through a lot of changes. Not only personnel-wise, after adding key transfers like Nico Iamaleava under center and Jaivian Thomas in the backfield, but also schematically. UCLA is pivoting into an "everything" offense under Sunseri, and Foster thinks they are coming along well through two weeks of fall camp.

"We're in a good place," Foster said of the offense. "They're taking strides and people are playing multiple positions at each level. So, the outside guys are playing multiple positions, receivers and tight ends are doing the same, and running backs. And it's all coming together."

How The New Offense Affects Returners

The returners may have it the hardest, though. Some tenured Bruins on the offense are going through their third system in as many seasons, but Foster doesn't think that should be an excuse. And he pointed to a Super Bowl Champion to prove his point.

"That's part of ball, you know? Systems change," he said. "I believe Jalen Hurts has been in five different offenses all the way through. So, if you make it to be an excuse, it'll be an excuse. But if it's not, it's not."

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