Top priority should be given to recruiting some good offensive linemen which has been a problem for UCLA, even before Kelly. The game starts and ends with good line play.
The WBB team is awesome--looking forward to beating U$C and winning the national championship!!
Top priority should be given to recruiting some good offensive linemen which has been a problem for UCLA, even before Kelly. The game starts and ends with good line play.
The WBB team is awesome--looking forward to beating U$C and winning the national championship!!
Here's my hope... Foster has a lot of relationships with past players and alums really love him as a person. All he needs is a few who are willing to make an investment to start the ball rolling.
However, the funding may be dependent on making some changes like a new OC. I don't know how NIL donors can influence coaching changes or any other changes but I would imagine those conversations will happen.
The OC was not the problem. This roster has almost no talent whatsoever. The fact that there was discussion about whether Martin should take the job over from Garbers is really the end of that inquiry. Even bad past UCLA teams were peppered with draft picks. Outside of maybe Sturdivant, who on this roster is getting drafted? That's not on the OC....at all.
NIL is a big part of the problem, but that is not going to be fixed so long as Foster is the coach and Jarmond is the AD. Virtually nobody agrees that he is qualified to carry this team forward, and NIL donors are just not going to throw money at a program under those circumstances. Would you contribute $100? Why? So we can make a bid to keep Harden from transferring and maybe win 4-5 games next year? Why?
This program is a massive dumpster fire thanks to our AD. The new president needs to cut bait fast and hire an AD who is actually qualified for the job and competent to address NIL. Then get an actual coach who will motivate players to come and NIL donors to donate. Until then, I'd recommend anyone considering donating to our NIL to save that money until there's a possibility the money might actually make a difference.
No doubt Jelly 2.0 is an unmitigated disaster and needs to be fired yesterday. Yes, until the culture is fixed, top to
bottom, Foster is up against a losing combo of Jelly, 'the powers that be' and lack of talent - more on O than D. And with his inexperience and so far, inability to implement discipline, here we are...
But despite all odds, I still expect significant improvement from Foster on every front, especially recruiting as he has more control over quality HS recruiting than other variables. He will be here next year so I will support him as at least he loves UCLA and the Bruin community, and has a genuine desire to succeed.
It truly is a sad and ugly state of affairs that NIL has transformed and in many ways destroyed the landscape of college sports. Foster does have relationships built with alums and former players... perhaps they won't drop a dime but those relationships may be his only hope for starting to fill the NIL void. Perhaps I am still grasping at the proverbial straw...
the problem is recruiting does not really matter anymore, and it certainly cannot transform a program in 1 or even 2 years. The vast majority of difference makers are transfers not incoming freshmen. We are not going to be able to afford to pay any, or more than a few, high school players who can make an immediate impact.
NIL has ruined college sports, particularly football. It was intended to supplement the living expenses of college athletics. It was intended to allow them to capitalize on actual marketing opportunities, not pay for play. They need to outlaw the collectives and allow the universities to pay the players directly pursuant to a salary cap, then give the players unlimited access to true external marketing opportunities. But then I supposed Oregon is going to give shoe deal in name only contracts to 50 football players per year.
I was wrong and you are correct about HS recruiting. As you said HS recruiting is long term and we are flat out broke in the NIL portal arena. So after all the comments from everyone here, which I appreciate, I think I need to rethink any optimism I had...
NIL is 💯 out of control and thank you for your insight - it is so sad to see college sports ruined as I have been in love with UCLA from the moment I first stepped on campus, and UCLA sports has been such a big part of my life.
i feel that high school recruiting is only helpful if you can recruit super stars who can contribute as freshmen. not many programs can do that. NIL still factors into that anyway and it's more of a crapshoot since they are just prospects at that point. It is honestly a waste of resources to focus on high school recruiting if it in any way takes away from transfer recruiting because that is where the real game ready talent is these days.
I would rather use NIL money on transfers and build a team that way. Martin is a good example. There was excitement when he signed because why wouldn't there be when you add a 4 star qb to your depth chart. But he was not going to start right away and was therefore extremely likely to transfer before he got his shot. No reason to be upset about it though, there's going to be dozens of qb's in the portal to go after.
Well, they just lost Justyn Martin and TJ Harden as both are entering the Transfer portal, so as I do agree both OL and DL are priorities, now they will need a QB and RB. This program is going nowhere. Best to just end it.
Players on most teams, especially those who are dissatisfied for whatever reason or fear not starting in the next season, enter the portal every year. There will be better QB's than Martin in the Portal such as Moss from USC who has been rumored to be looking at UCLA. That may be the reason Martin entered.
Only a mean intentioned person, not a true fan of UCLA, would say "best to just end it" and I doubt the loss of your support will be missed by the UCLA faithful.
Being someone who is simply being a realist isn't "mean intentioned" or "not a true fan", how ridiculous. So yes, just keep pouring more money, time & effort in and getting even worse results than before, makes sense to me. This program isn't advancing, its regressing and has been for the past ten plus years. UCLA's administration and Athletic director have been telling everyone and anyone who is willing to listen that they'd care less about the football program, but it seems some just don't want to confront the reality or the truth. After another few years and yet another coach and another "Now things will change" mantra and another $10-$20 million wasted, the cycle will simply repeat. If you don't want to end the program, then simply move it down to another level, it doesn't belong with the "big boys" of College football, move them to the FCS. There, they will definitely be more successful and competitive. Get them out of FBS where they have now proven year after year, they don't belong. UCLA finished 12th out of 18 teams in the Big10 this year and some are saying that was a successful season! Huh? Really. Seriously. Their recruiting and portal standings are just as bad as when the Chipster was there, so no advancement there. So, you go ahead and tell us all how great they will be in 2 years or 5 years from now. Always up for more humor.
I think you are right. It's been obvious for awhile that UCLA's 2025 QB is not currently on the roster and that we will be going after the best available on the transfer portal. The chances that the best available will not be an improvement over Martin are pretty slim, at least when you consider that he has almost no game experience and would be indisputably a wild card next season. I would expect us to get a low ceiling high floor guy who started a few years at a mid major, or perhaps a former 4 star type guy who started at a power 5, performed ok, but lost his job (i.e. Moss).
Harden obviously just wanted out of the dumpster fire. The guy has NFL aspirations and cannot be playing out his senior year on a squad with no o-line to speak of.
Harden was not very productive and we have many other QBs in the room who are very good. We gave Chipster a multi year multi gazillion $$$ contract and his first few seasons were a disaster and his recruiting was non existent. Coach Fos was left with a bare cupboard and on a terrible timeline for recruiting.
I think Fos did pretty well considering all of the circumstances. There is a lot to resolve to be truly successful but UCLA Football should never ever end - that doesn't sound like you BB. I hope you really didn't mean it.
Losing Harden and Justin is not that big of deal. They are not the greatest players by any means, Give Fos a chance to right the ship. I know he is not giving up and despite the frustrating season, the team did not give up.
Harden was very productive in 2023, and Foster was hired in part to keep him from transferring last time. I'd say the fact that he is deciding to transfer after one year of Foster and Bieniemy says more about their ability to get the most out of their players than anything. Same with Martin, who got to see a full season of the Bieniemy offense up-close and is deciding to transfer rather than slide into the starting role.
I think this is a crucial offseason for Foster's long-term prospects. If he puts together a worse roster than the one we got this year (which is more and more possible by the day) then that won't bode well for next year, especially if they lose Malloe like I'm expecting will happen. NIL is non-competitive at the moment, and that's not something that Foster is going to be able to fix thanks to a useless athletic director and a poor season. He's likely on his way out alongside Jarmond after a year, which makes the hiring of Demetrice Martin understandable; get your friends paid while you can.
Jarmond Jelly 2.0 unfortunately got an extension until 2029 so I am not sure anything will change in the AD dept.
I do think EB should be fired. And I also agree that next season will reveal a lot and is very important in terms of seeing great recruiting, DRE, coaching - pretty much everything. We need to see improvement on all fronts.
Jarmond's contract was set to expire this year, his extension to me reads like a fake extension that keeps him in the job until the new president decides what he wants to do with him. Jarmond has seemingly tied his future to Foster's success, so we'll see how that works out.
I cannot blame any incoming senior running back with NFL aspirations for not wanting to play at a program that does not have at least an average o-line. It could be the difference of several million dollars for him.
No, tired of the losing, Tired of, well things will improve next year and the next year and on and on. This program wasn't even a decent Pac-12 program, then you move them to the Big-10 where they will be relegated to the bottom 7 or 8 teams. That's not where I want to see my school performing year after year. DeShaun Foster is not head coaching material, perhaps someday he will be, but not now and not for a Big-10 team. Just listen to Jarmond Jelly 2.0 and the rest of the UCLA higher ups... THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR SPORTS PROGRAM AND NEVER REALLY HAVE, so why should anyone else.
I have little to no respect for Jelly 2.0. I have a lot of doubts that Frenk will give support to Football either - to me he is a relic who will bury himself in the UCLA healthcare bureaucracy where he will schmooze with the establishment for their deep pockets and relate to their shallow souls. I digress.
So you are correct in stating that our Football program has little to no support and we have been awful for a long time. However, I do believe that over time Foster can be a very good coach... but I also understand that he is up against a losing culture and he is simply inexperienced. I would like to see him shake things up and garner a great recruiting class, replace EB, and make good on his promise for DRE.
Foster will have another season to show what he can do. I think it's fair to say we must see significant improvement in all areas.
You are probably right about Frenk schmoozing with the establishment and their shallow souls. But it's acedemia...what candidate would not do that. The best we can hope for is an establishment swamp dweller who happens to care about football. Hopefully that's Frenk, but I'm always under the assumption that any UCLA administration hire is going to be a disaster. Just look at who is doing the hiring.
Just lost Logan Loya. Now I don't mind losing some players as was pointed out by 4Ever, but here is the problem, Foster is losing either starters or potential starters for next season and he's losing them almost immediately after the season ended. Not a very good sign.
Oooo... top of a 4-coach field (UMass fired theirs). Even still, not a great choice - given the circumstances he faced at Wazoo - which we all understand - Jake Dickert getting them to #18 in the CFP rankings after Week 10 with wins over Tex Tech and U-Dub is far more impressive, even with the late losing streak, than anything UConn accomplished
Just flipped Madden lamaleava and Jace Brown from UCLA to Arkansas. ARKANSAS, did you say ARKANSAS?!?!
lamaleava was of course being courted by EB and like his offense all year long, he failed at this as well. EB has to go yesterday, Foster had better make this move or he will only win 2 games next year instead of the typical 4 or 5. This recruiting class is worse than the Chipster's!! At this rate, just wondering if they can even field a team next season! Of course, I'd trade these two players for some solid Offensive Lineman, but that's a no-go as well. These people will never learn.
Apparently, he wants to compete against his brother at Tennessee, or so they say. If Foster doesn't get rid of EB, then again, I think they only get 2-3 wins. They definitely don't beat Utah or UNLV. They may beat Mich St, Northwestern and New Mexico, but even those games could be thought of as toss ups.
Daily News reporting that UCLA has fired EB. USA Today's article about Lamaleava flipping to Arkansas stand that his father said that the then rumor, of EB being fired, was the main reason the two players flipped to Arkansas. So it was apparently keep EB, ho you want fired, or the two players flip to Arkansas.
there's other quarterbacks. Can't keep an OC because of one recruit. He's not a very good OC. But we suck because we have no talent, and that's not his fault.
Top priority should be given to recruiting some good offensive linemen which has been a problem for UCLA, even before Kelly. The game starts and ends with good line play.
The WBB team is awesome--looking forward to beating U$C and winning the national championship!!
💯 agree! 💙💛
must focus on transfer portal. I don't think donors are going to tolerate a rebuild.
They need to cough up dough if they want a rebuild then
Here's my hope... Foster has a lot of relationships with past players and alums really love him as a person. All he needs is a few who are willing to make an investment to start the ball rolling.
However, the funding may be dependent on making some changes like a new OC. I don't know how NIL donors can influence coaching changes or any other changes but I would imagine those conversations will happen.
The OC was not the problem. This roster has almost no talent whatsoever. The fact that there was discussion about whether Martin should take the job over from Garbers is really the end of that inquiry. Even bad past UCLA teams were peppered with draft picks. Outside of maybe Sturdivant, who on this roster is getting drafted? That's not on the OC....at all.
NIL is a big part of the problem, but that is not going to be fixed so long as Foster is the coach and Jarmond is the AD. Virtually nobody agrees that he is qualified to carry this team forward, and NIL donors are just not going to throw money at a program under those circumstances. Would you contribute $100? Why? So we can make a bid to keep Harden from transferring and maybe win 4-5 games next year? Why?
This program is a massive dumpster fire thanks to our AD. The new president needs to cut bait fast and hire an AD who is actually qualified for the job and competent to address NIL. Then get an actual coach who will motivate players to come and NIL donors to donate. Until then, I'd recommend anyone considering donating to our NIL to save that money until there's a possibility the money might actually make a difference.
No doubt Jelly 2.0 is an unmitigated disaster and needs to be fired yesterday. Yes, until the culture is fixed, top to
bottom, Foster is up against a losing combo of Jelly, 'the powers that be' and lack of talent - more on O than D. And with his inexperience and so far, inability to implement discipline, here we are...
But despite all odds, I still expect significant improvement from Foster on every front, especially recruiting as he has more control over quality HS recruiting than other variables. He will be here next year so I will support him as at least he loves UCLA and the Bruin community, and has a genuine desire to succeed.
It truly is a sad and ugly state of affairs that NIL has transformed and in many ways destroyed the landscape of college sports. Foster does have relationships built with alums and former players... perhaps they won't drop a dime but those relationships may be his only hope for starting to fill the NIL void. Perhaps I am still grasping at the proverbial straw...
the problem is recruiting does not really matter anymore, and it certainly cannot transform a program in 1 or even 2 years. The vast majority of difference makers are transfers not incoming freshmen. We are not going to be able to afford to pay any, or more than a few, high school players who can make an immediate impact.
NIL has ruined college sports, particularly football. It was intended to supplement the living expenses of college athletics. It was intended to allow them to capitalize on actual marketing opportunities, not pay for play. They need to outlaw the collectives and allow the universities to pay the players directly pursuant to a salary cap, then give the players unlimited access to true external marketing opportunities. But then I supposed Oregon is going to give shoe deal in name only contracts to 50 football players per year.
I was wrong and you are correct about HS recruiting. As you said HS recruiting is long term and we are flat out broke in the NIL portal arena. So after all the comments from everyone here, which I appreciate, I think I need to rethink any optimism I had...
NIL is 💯 out of control and thank you for your insight - it is so sad to see college sports ruined as I have been in love with UCLA from the moment I first stepped on campus, and UCLA sports has been such a big part of my life.
😢💙💛
i feel that high school recruiting is only helpful if you can recruit super stars who can contribute as freshmen. not many programs can do that. NIL still factors into that anyway and it's more of a crapshoot since they are just prospects at that point. It is honestly a waste of resources to focus on high school recruiting if it in any way takes away from transfer recruiting because that is where the real game ready talent is these days.
I would rather use NIL money on transfers and build a team that way. Martin is a good example. There was excitement when he signed because why wouldn't there be when you add a 4 star qb to your depth chart. But he was not going to start right away and was therefore extremely likely to transfer before he got his shot. No reason to be upset about it though, there's going to be dozens of qb's in the portal to go after.
All great points 💙💛
Well, they just lost Justyn Martin and TJ Harden as both are entering the Transfer portal, so as I do agree both OL and DL are priorities, now they will need a QB and RB. This program is going nowhere. Best to just end it.
Players on most teams, especially those who are dissatisfied for whatever reason or fear not starting in the next season, enter the portal every year. There will be better QB's than Martin in the Portal such as Moss from USC who has been rumored to be looking at UCLA. That may be the reason Martin entered.
Only a mean intentioned person, not a true fan of UCLA, would say "best to just end it" and I doubt the loss of your support will be missed by the UCLA faithful.
Being someone who is simply being a realist isn't "mean intentioned" or "not a true fan", how ridiculous. So yes, just keep pouring more money, time & effort in and getting even worse results than before, makes sense to me. This program isn't advancing, its regressing and has been for the past ten plus years. UCLA's administration and Athletic director have been telling everyone and anyone who is willing to listen that they'd care less about the football program, but it seems some just don't want to confront the reality or the truth. After another few years and yet another coach and another "Now things will change" mantra and another $10-$20 million wasted, the cycle will simply repeat. If you don't want to end the program, then simply move it down to another level, it doesn't belong with the "big boys" of College football, move them to the FCS. There, they will definitely be more successful and competitive. Get them out of FBS where they have now proven year after year, they don't belong. UCLA finished 12th out of 18 teams in the Big10 this year and some are saying that was a successful season! Huh? Really. Seriously. Their recruiting and portal standings are just as bad as when the Chipster was there, so no advancement there. So, you go ahead and tell us all how great they will be in 2 years or 5 years from now. Always up for more humor.
I think you are right. It's been obvious for awhile that UCLA's 2025 QB is not currently on the roster and that we will be going after the best available on the transfer portal. The chances that the best available will not be an improvement over Martin are pretty slim, at least when you consider that he has almost no game experience and would be indisputably a wild card next season. I would expect us to get a low ceiling high floor guy who started a few years at a mid major, or perhaps a former 4 star type guy who started at a power 5, performed ok, but lost his job (i.e. Moss).
Harden obviously just wanted out of the dumpster fire. The guy has NFL aspirations and cannot be playing out his senior year on a squad with no o-line to speak of.
Harden was not very productive and we have many other QBs in the room who are very good. We gave Chipster a multi year multi gazillion $$$ contract and his first few seasons were a disaster and his recruiting was non existent. Coach Fos was left with a bare cupboard and on a terrible timeline for recruiting.
I think Fos did pretty well considering all of the circumstances. There is a lot to resolve to be truly successful but UCLA Football should never ever end - that doesn't sound like you BB. I hope you really didn't mean it.
Losing Harden and Justin is not that big of deal. They are not the greatest players by any means, Give Fos a chance to right the ship. I know he is not giving up and despite the frustrating season, the team did not give up.
One season should not define any Coach.
Harden was very productive in 2023, and Foster was hired in part to keep him from transferring last time. I'd say the fact that he is deciding to transfer after one year of Foster and Bieniemy says more about their ability to get the most out of their players than anything. Same with Martin, who got to see a full season of the Bieniemy offense up-close and is deciding to transfer rather than slide into the starting role.
I think this is a crucial offseason for Foster's long-term prospects. If he puts together a worse roster than the one we got this year (which is more and more possible by the day) then that won't bode well for next year, especially if they lose Malloe like I'm expecting will happen. NIL is non-competitive at the moment, and that's not something that Foster is going to be able to fix thanks to a useless athletic director and a poor season. He's likely on his way out alongside Jarmond after a year, which makes the hiring of Demetrice Martin understandable; get your friends paid while you can.
Jarmond Jelly 2.0 unfortunately got an extension until 2029 so I am not sure anything will change in the AD dept.
I do think EB should be fired. And I also agree that next season will reveal a lot and is very important in terms of seeing great recruiting, DRE, coaching - pretty much everything. We need to see improvement on all fronts.
Jarmond's contract was set to expire this year, his extension to me reads like a fake extension that keeps him in the job until the new president decides what he wants to do with him. Jarmond has seemingly tied his future to Foster's success, so we'll see how that works out.
lmao...."Jarmond has seemingly tied his future to Foster's success"
I cannot blame any incoming senior running back with NFL aspirations for not wanting to play at a program that does not have at least an average o-line. It could be the difference of several million dollars for him.
No, tired of the losing, Tired of, well things will improve next year and the next year and on and on. This program wasn't even a decent Pac-12 program, then you move them to the Big-10 where they will be relegated to the bottom 7 or 8 teams. That's not where I want to see my school performing year after year. DeShaun Foster is not head coaching material, perhaps someday he will be, but not now and not for a Big-10 team. Just listen to Jarmond Jelly 2.0 and the rest of the UCLA higher ups... THEY DON'T CARE ABOUT THIS PARTICULAR SPORTS PROGRAM AND NEVER REALLY HAVE, so why should anyone else.
I have little to no respect for Jelly 2.0. I have a lot of doubts that Frenk will give support to Football either - to me he is a relic who will bury himself in the UCLA healthcare bureaucracy where he will schmooze with the establishment for their deep pockets and relate to their shallow souls. I digress.
So you are correct in stating that our Football program has little to no support and we have been awful for a long time. However, I do believe that over time Foster can be a very good coach... but I also understand that he is up against a losing culture and he is simply inexperienced. I would like to see him shake things up and garner a great recruiting class, replace EB, and make good on his promise for DRE.
Foster will have another season to show what he can do. I think it's fair to say we must see significant improvement in all areas.
You are probably right about Frenk schmoozing with the establishment and their shallow souls. But it's acedemia...what candidate would not do that. The best we can hope for is an establishment swamp dweller who happens to care about football. Hopefully that's Frenk, but I'm always under the assumption that any UCLA administration hire is going to be a disaster. Just look at who is doing the hiring.
Just lost Logan Loya. Now I don't mind losing some players as was pointed out by 4Ever, but here is the problem, Foster is losing either starters or potential starters for next season and he's losing them almost immediately after the season ended. Not a very good sign.
When the coach the players campaigned for can't keep those players after one season, that's a pretty damning indictment.
if we're lucky, Cade McNamara will give us a look. I do not think the Miller Moss rumors are realistic.
Jim Mora literally just won "Independent/Pac 12 Coach of the Year"
Oooo... top of a 4-coach field (UMass fired theirs). Even still, not a great choice - given the circumstances he faced at Wazoo - which we all understand - Jake Dickert getting them to #18 in the CFP rankings after Week 10 with wins over Tex Tech and U-Dub is far more impressive, even with the late losing streak, than anything UConn accomplished
Just flipped Madden lamaleava and Jace Brown from UCLA to Arkansas. ARKANSAS, did you say ARKANSAS?!?!
lamaleava was of course being courted by EB and like his offense all year long, he failed at this as well. EB has to go yesterday, Foster had better make this move or he will only win 2 games next year instead of the typical 4 or 5. This recruiting class is worse than the Chipster's!! At this rate, just wondering if they can even field a team next season! Of course, I'd trade these two players for some solid Offensive Lineman, but that's a no-go as well. These people will never learn.
I will be very surprised if Foster fires EB as much as it needs to be happen. I saw the flip... very strange Madden and Jace chose Arkansas.
Apparently, he wants to compete against his brother at Tennessee, or so they say. If Foster doesn't get rid of EB, then again, I think they only get 2-3 wins. They definitely don't beat Utah or UNLV. They may beat Mich St, Northwestern and New Mexico, but even those games could be thought of as toss ups.
Daily News reporting that UCLA has fired EB. USA Today's article about Lamaleava flipping to Arkansas stand that his father said that the then rumor, of EB being fired, was the main reason the two players flipped to Arkansas. So it was apparently keep EB, ho you want fired, or the two players flip to Arkansas.
he flipped because of the possibility that Bieniemy gets canned
Correct, USA Today reports that is the reason according to his father. So between a rock or hard spot--keep EB or lose the kids to Arkansas.
there's other quarterbacks. Can't keep an OC because of one recruit. He's not a very good OC. But we suck because we have no talent, and that's not his fault.
All excellent points!