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DeShaun Foster uses Jalen Hurts comparison to downplay challenge of offensive changes at UCLA

FaceProfileby: Thomas Goldkamp08/13/25
DeShaun Foster
UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster seen here during a spring practice on April 18, 2025. (Photo by Matt Moreno | Bruin Blitz)

As UCLA heads into another year under coach DeShaun Foster, it will do so with the players adapting to a third different offense in three years. The Bruins turned over the coordinator position this offseason.

Out is Eric Bieniemy, in comes Tino Sunseri. Along with him, Tennessee quarterback Nico Iamaleava transferred in.

All that change can be difficult on the supporting cast, which not only has to get used to the new system but the new personnel. But Foster isn’t allowing his UCLA team to make any excuses this offseason.

“That’s part of ball, you know? Systems change,” Foster 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.”

The message is pretty straightforward. Adapt or be left behind.

But UCLA has a whole lot of improving that needs to happen if the team is going to be competitive in the Big Ten race this fall. Last year wasn’t particularly close, with the program stumbling to a 5-7 record.

The good news? Many who are plugged in in the sport are exceptionally high on the hires Foster made offensively. Specifically, ESPN analyst Greg McElroy raved about Sunseri.

“New offensive coordinator in Tino Sunseri. I absolutely love this hire. I love that they went out and got Nico Iamaleava,” McElroy said. “Nico Iamaleava obviously did an amazing job at times last year for Tennessee, but there are also a lot of things that he missed. He’s got to take a big step this year because the supporting cast is one that I’m not super familiar with – a lot of new faces, a lot of new pieces.”

Can UCLA make it all hum and surprise teams this fall? It’s not out of the realm of possibility.

But the schedule is tough — including games against Indiana, Nebraska, Penn State, Ohio State, USC and Utah — and Foster is already feeling some pressure at UCLA. He’ll need Iamaleava and Sunseri to, as he put it, adapt the way Jalen Hurts has.