DeShaun Foster, UCLA continue to prepare for season opener vs. Hawai’i

LOS ANGELES — DeShaun Foster has expressed confidence that his UCLA football team is ready for his first game as head coach when the Bruins play at Hawai’i on Aug. 31.

“We could play right now,” Foster said Wednesday. “We’re not too far off but you want all your days. Ten days is a lot of days, there’s still a little bit of stuff we can implement. … If we had to play today I wouldn’t shy away from it.”

While Hawai’i is seen as a paradise for some, Foster and the Bruins will treat the season opener as a business trip.

“We’re not on (vacation),” Foster said. “You know bowl games, it’s a different feel; this is our first game – people are always saying this is their Super Bowl, this is ours too.

“We want to get this started off on the right foot and we have enough Hawaiians with connections to the islands that they want to go back and win the game, so we’re excited.”

Offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy is expected to continue installing his offense and might even introduce a few more plays as part of the game plan against the Rainbow Warriors.

Bieniemy had told reporters earlier this month that he was pleased with the progress quarterback Ethan Garbers and the offense had made with learning the new offense.

The defense also remains a work in progress in the final days of camp.

Starting middle linebacker Oluwafemi Oladejo was spotted working with the defensive line for the first time during individual position drills on Wednesday.

There had been an indication that the Bruins might explore Oladejo on the line when he was seen rushing off the edge during the spring practice.

Linebacker Kain Medrano has also been spotted this month as a defensive end during team periods but continued to work with the linebackers on Wednesday.

The Bruins continue to look for an effective pass rush combination with their available players while trying to match the production of Laiatu Latu, Grayson and Gabriel Murphy.

The UCLA defense finished in the top 10 in the nation in 2023, allowing just 301.5 yards per game and produced a solid rush defense that ranked second in the country (allowing just 80.5 yards per game).

The defensive line also saw the debut of Cherif Seye as a participant during the same individual period.

Seye had been limited to working off to the side after arriving at training camp late. Seye transferred from Florida A&M after recording 22 total tackles (9.5 tackles for a loss), 4.5 sacks and a forced fumble.

ON THE LIST

The Senior Bowl announced that 10 Bruins were on its watch list Wednesday.

The Senior Bowl is an annual all-star college football exhibition game that will be played in Mobile, Alabama on Feb. 1, 2025.

UCLA had six defensive players on the watch list, including defensive linemen Jay Toia, Gary Smith III and Keanu Williams.

Williams and Toia were also named to the 2024 Polynesian College Football Player of the Year Award watch list earlier this month.

Toia returns as one of the Bruins’ top NFL prospects. He has 66 total tackles, two sacks and a forced fumble in 38 total games played over the past three seasons.

Williams had 14 total tackles and a sack and a fumble recovery in his first year with the Bruins in 2023 after transferring in from Oregon.

Smith continues to recover from a leg injury and his status for the season remains questionable.

Oladejo, Medrano and Joseph Vaughn are the other UCLA defensive players named to the Senior Bowl list.

Vaughn transferred in from Yale and it remains unclear what his role will be in a linebacker room filled with experience for the upcoming season.

Receivers Logan Loya and J.Michael Sturdivant were also named to the watch list.

Sturdivant was also one of 93 athletes named to the Earl Campbell Tyler Rose Award watch list on Wednesday. The award is presented annually to the nation’s top Division I offensive player who was born or graduated from a school in Texas.

Offensive lineman Josh Carlin and Arizona State transfer tight end Bryce Pierre also made the list.

Players can be invited to participate in the game as early as November.