Bruins Add to Staff With Two Assistant Coaching Hires

The UCLA Bruins are bringing in two new analysts to join the squad. Per a pair of press releases, Bruins coach DeShaun Foster has announced the hiring of former UCLA linebacker and current defensive analyst Tyree Thompson, as well as offensive analyst Matt Biondi on Tuesday.

Thompson is not far removed from his playing days as he was a linebacker for the Bruins in from 2018-19. His collegiate career spanned over six seasons at four different schools. His best collegiate came with the Bruins in 2018 when he totaled 55 tackles and one forced fumble.

Prior to joining the Bruins, Thompson was only graduate assistant for Arizona State in 2024 and earlier with the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors from 2022-23. He helped lead the Sun Devils to their first ever College Football Playoff appearance this past season and a monumental Big 12 Championship.

This was a familiar hire for Coach DeShaun Foster as he coached Thompson just a few years ago. Before being named the head coach ahead of last season, Foster was the running backs coach from 2017 to 2023. He was still familiar with Thompson even when coaching a different position group.

For Biondi, he will also be taking his first-ever full-time position after being a graduate assistant for the past two seasons with James Madison. The hiring of him and Thompson continues to show Foster's emphasis on bringing a more youthful culture into the Bruins' coaching staff.

He worked alongside UCLA's new offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach Tino Sunseri with both the Dukes and then again with Florida State from 2016 to 2017 as a student assistant. It should be a good fit to bring Biondi into a situation that will be easily to find comfort in with a familiar face.

Biondi's main role will be to analyze offensive strategies while offering different offensive schemes for Sunseri to consider and utilize. Thompson will be doing the same thing on the defensive side as both guys are still early in their coaching careers and are moving up the ranks bit by bit.

They may not be the biggest splash hires in the sport this offseason, but adding Biondi and Thompson are key hires that will help this team improve throughout the season. Both are very familiar with today's college football world and how to best maximize the production of this team.

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