Being the new guy can come with its downsides. For UCLA’s newest head coach, DeShaun Foster, he knows this all too well.
After a smattering of rankings that showed UCLA near the bottom of the BIG 10, the hits kept coming. This week, a ranking by CBS Sports writer Tom Fornelli has Foster as the lowest-ranked Power Four coach.
Fornelli writes of Foster, ” Somebody has to be ranked last, and as is usually the case, it’s a newcomer who has yet to coach a game. Foster is in a unique spot. He was the choice to replace Chip Kelly at UCLA, and not only is he stepping into the head coaching spot for the first time (he’s been an assistant and former player“
Though his critiques of Foster are fair, they do eschew the potential that he brings to the program and the rebirth of excitement surrounding the team since Chip Kelly’s departure.
On top of trying to improve the team in 2024, Foster and Co. will look to prove the doubters wrong as they approach the start of the season this fall.