UCLA and DeShaun Foster get first taste of Big Ten Conference
The first-year coach was joined at media day by wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant, quarterback Ethan Garbers and defensive tackle Jay Toia in Indianapolis
UCLA won’t officially join the Big Ten Conference until Aug. 2 but kicked off the second day of the conference’s three-day media day Wednesday with football coach DeShaun Foster at the podium in Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis.
Foster was joined by wide receiver J.Michael Sturdivant, quarterback Ethan Garbers and defensive tackle Jay Toia on the 2,085-mile trip.
The event served as the biggest stage yet for UCLA in the new conference and has already been met with scrutiny.
Foster and the Bruins’ first impression in front of the conference may not have been their strongest, with the first-year coach appearing nervous as he delivered his opening remarks that included a notable pause.
The stage will only get bigger when the season begins and the traveling gets underway with a trip to Hawai’i (2,545 miles) before making several trips the other way for games against LSU (1,830 miles) and Penn State (2,585 miles) among others.
“We won’t be in school for those first two games, so those aren’t too bad with the travel,” Foster said. “But Penn State and Rutgers will be during the school year.”
Rutgers is the farthest scheduled road trip at 2,769 miles each way.
In total, the Bruins are expected to travel close to 24,754 miles round trip for the six road games, nearly the equivalent of a trip around Earth (24,901 miles), and are expected to rank among the highest in the conference and the nation.
“It’s part of the game,” Foster said. “If you’re going to play big-time ball, you’re going to have to travel. You’re going to have to go to new stadiums and hostile environments. So I think we’re looking forward to that.”
The Bruins won’t have to leave the West Coast for most of November, closing out the regular season with a home game against Iowa, a trip to Washington and home games against USC and Fresno State.
Earlier this month, UCLA announced the addition of games against Cal and Utah to future schedules. Those games will help eliminate long trips and keep the Bruins in familiar settings against former Pac-12 opponents.
BACKFIELD DEPTH
Running back Jalen Berger has transferred to UCLA and joined TJ Harden and Keegan Jones in the backfield.
“We’re just excited to add depth with another player that’s been in the Big Ten,” Foster said. ”He’s been at two other schools, and we’re just excited to have Jalen in our program and get him up to speed once he gets into training camp.”
Berger, a redshirt senior, compiled 1,165 rushing yards throughout his career playing at Wisconsin (2020-21) and Michigan State (2022-23). He led the Spartans in rushing with 683 rushing yards and 148 carries in 2022.
His 2023 season was cut short due to an unspecified season-ending injury he suffered against Michigan.
LAST-MINUTE REPLACEMENT
Sturdivant was tabbed to represent the Bruins at media day as a replacement for linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo due to a scheduling conflict.
Oladejo was previously announced to join Foster, Garbers and Toia at the event.
Sturdivant has been mentioned early as a top-receiving prospect for 2025 by NFL draft pundits. The redshirt junior had 36 receptions for 597 yards and four touchdowns in 13 games last season after transferring from Cal.
WINNING THE GOLD
With the Paris Olympics underway, the Bruins were asked during a rapid-fire questions segment on the Big Ten Network in which event they would like to win a gold medal.
“I would go with the 100-meter dash,” Sturdivant replied quickly to Ashley Adamson’s question. “Then I’d take a little victory lap after I win.”
He recorded a time of 10.49 seconds at the Texas UIL 6A Regional in 2021, according to Athletic.Net.
Garbers chose golf while Toia chose shotput.
“I did a little shot put in high school,” Toia said. “It was pretty fun.”
Toia is listed second in Grace Brethren High’s record book, according to Athetic.Net, with a 10-pound shot put throw of 39 feet, 11 inches in 2018. He also had a discus throw of 76 feet in 2018.