CHANGING THE CALCULUS: UCLA BRUINS 2025 SEASON PREVIEW

Written by Chris McLean

The disastrous Big Ten media days were an harbinger for what was to come for the Bruins in the 2024 season.

Lost. Unfocused. Listless.

Offensively, UCLA was so putrid that they averaged only 18.4 ppg. Only 13 schools in the country averaged less than 20 ppg, and to share that dubious distinction with those other programs was not something that head coach DeShaun Foster had in mind when he took over the reins.

So he fired offensive coordinator Eric Bienamy, the two-time Super Bowl winning coordinator, who was unable to make the most of the roster Chip Kelly left in Westwood. Foster brought in his long time friend and offensive genius, Tino Sunseri, who was previously the co-OC and QB coach at Indiana.

Sunseri helped lead IU to 426.4 ypg, good for 34th in the country and 41.3 ppg which was only behind Miami in all of FBS. Under Sunseri's tutelage, the quarterbacks he has coached have seen great improvements from the year before he was involved with them. Notably Kurtis Rourke at IU. Rourke went from a decent MAC gunslinger to one of the best QBs in the Big Ten and who finished top ten in Heisman voting last year.

The second part of the upheaval in Westwood, was the arrival of quarterback Nico Iamaleva from Tennesee after a messy separation. In his first year as a starter, Nico threw for over 2600 yards with a 19/5 TD/Int ratio. He also had a completion percentage of 63.8 and 358 yards & 3 TDs on the ground.

His 6'6" 216 pound frame has the Bruin faithful salivating at the possibilities. Last year there was inconsistency throughout the entirety of the offense. Drives would stall. Interceptions were thrown. Third downs were a death sentence. To go from that to what Nico and Tino bring to the table, UCLA fans are counting their lucky stars for the turn of fortune.

One of the other reasons for the faltering offensive production, was the ineptitude in the run game. TJ Harden and Keegan Jones combined for 685 on the ground. Rough. Jalen Berger was poised for a big season but saw limited time due to injury. With Berger, comes Anthony Woods (Idaho) who averaged 5.6 ypc on a total of over 1100 yards and speedy Javian “Jet” Thomas (Cal), who averaged 6.3 yards per carry. Freshmen Karson Cox will fill out the rotation.

Protection was another area of concern last year. Shout out to Mike Regaldo from Bruin Report for this factoid, the offensive line averaged roughly 300 pounds the last three years. Coming into fall camp, they are averaging 316.9. The five transfers brought in will compete with the holdovers from last year to see who gets to start. According to Connor Moreno at UCLA Bruins on SI,  the line will likely be RT Garrett DiGiorgio, RG Julian Armella (FSU), C Oluwafunto Akinshilo (Iowa St.), LG Eugene Brooks (Oklahoma), and LT Courtland Ford (Kentucky, USC).

The receiving corp will see the departure of 4 of the top 5 producers, including Moliki  Matavao, TJ Harden, Logan Loya and J Michael Sturdivant. However, Kwazi Gilmer and Titus Mokiao-Atimalala return along with their nearly 60 receptions, over 600 yards and 3 TDS. They also bring in a large number of transfer receivers which, however, will not include Kaedin Robinson from App St., as he was denied another year by a judge just yesterday, 8/18.

Jack Pedersen and Hudson Habemehl will lead the tight end room.

Defensively this Bruin team will see their leader return for the first time in 5 years. Defensive coordinator Ikaika Malle steadied the ship while the defense settled in last year. They back slid into 25.3 ppg and 341 yards per game, but should be able to improve with the continuity of the same coaching staff.

Along the defensive line, the Bruins lose Jay Toia and Oluwafemi Oladejo. Incoming transfers Nico Davillier (Arkansas), Gary Smith (Duke), Anthony Jones (Indiana) will be paired with one of the lone returning starters, DT Siale Taupaki. As a team, they only produced 22 sacks in 2024, so an emphasis on getting to the quarterback is a must for this campaign.

There was a massive hole to fill in the linebackers room when Carson Schwesinger left for the NFL. Pile in Kain Medrano and the Bruins are looking to restock the cupboard. Transfer Ben Perry (Louisville) has been standing out so far in camp. JonJon Vaughns at middle and Jalen Woods at weakside will likely top the depth charts coming to Week 1. Isaiah Chisom (Oregon St.) has a good amount of eligibility left and was a proven commodity in action last year, he should get some burn during the season.

Key Lawrence (Ole Miss) and Byron Threats (UCF, Cincinnati) will anchor a much depleted secondary. 4 other transfers will vie for playing time with some of the young talent that UCLA has on the roster.

This Bruins team, has on paper, some of the best talent they've had since I moved to LA during Chip Kelly's first year. Coach Foster is learning on the job, but that doesn't necessarily mean he is destined to have missteps. It's possible, even if Chip Kelly was back for 2024 there would have been a noticeable down tick in performance. The OC choice didn’t work even though it looked like it should have. However, bringing in Sunseri rectified that mistake and if the defense is effective again, look for the Bruins to be competitive in all their games, even in ones against the top tier teams of the Big Ten, like Penn St. and Ohio St.

I was dead set on putting up a prediction of 7-5 during all my research, but after watching the UCLA episode on the Big Ten Network’s Season Previews, I am recalibrating my choice. Sunseri is destined to be a head coach and hearing him talk is making me way more convinced that the Bruins will have a pretty good year. The guy has been around football players since he was very young and knows the game extremely well. He is very intelligent and well spoken. Add in a potential star in Nico, and the Bruins have a recipe for a big turnaround. At this point, I feel confident in making a prediction of 9-3.

Foster might have gaffed in his first media days, but he’s been making a lot of correct decisions lately. As a UCLA alum he will have a long runway to right the ship. Hopefully Bruins brass won’t care about the virality of a guy’s first steps. Because he’s got them in line for potential greatness.

CHECK OUT OUR UCLA SEASON PREVIEW EPISODE:


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