UCLA football picks up the pace as season opener at Hawai’i approaches

LOS ANGELES — UCLA head football coach DeShaun Foster has a gentle and calm demeanor about him.

But even he couldn’t help but crack a slight smile Monday morning when talking about how excited his players are to finally reach game week.

“You got to be enthusiastic out here, got to be excited to be able to play a game,” Foster said before practice. “I’m fired up, I know they are and I’m not holding them back. If they’re going to let it out, let it out.”

Foster expressed that enthusiasm even louder once practice got going, clapping and shouting exuberantly as the punt team was letting kicks fly.

It looked as if he had an extra pep in his step as he was moving from one area of the field to the next, monitoring the different individual drills.

“Excitement and a need for aggression. He’s stressing, this is week one, we’re really starting to go. He’s really pressing the tempo for us,” starting right tackle Garrett DiGiorgio said about Foster. “He wants us to come out fast, he wants us to play fast right off the ball. I think that being there as a mentor and a person you can go to but also pushes us as hard as we can is a really good combo.”

With the first game of the season on the horizon, the team’s morning meeting was different than usual. DiGorgio said the coaches and players were eager to finally go over specific game plans for the season opener against Hawai’i on Aug. 31, instead of a general football discussion.

But while the anticipation is percolating amongst the team, the players haven’t lost sight of the job that needs to be done this week.

“It’s something that coach Foster and pretty much all the coaches preach here, is having a routine,” starting defensive tackle Jay Toia said after practice. “Doing the same thing over and over, being the same person every day. Just not try to get outside of ourselves, try to keep it in.”

Toia and the rest of UCLA’s defense will be tasked with stopping Hawai’i quarterback Brayden Schager, who threw for 203 yards and two touchdowns in the Rainbow Warriors’ season-opening win against Delaware State on Saturday. Schager added 38 yards and two scores on the ground in the 35-14 victory.

Foster said the focus will be on the defensive front being able to put pressure on Schager and knock him off his rhythm. If the line can get a few hits on him and force him to leave the pocket, it will make things easier for the defense as a whole.

Ultimately it doesn’t matter who is under center for the opposition Foster said, as long as UCLA comes out and plays their brand of football and doesn’t acquiesce to Hawai’i’s style of play.

“I just told my guys no matter our opponent we just got to go out there and play,” he said. “It really doesn’t matter who we’re going against, just play our Bruin standard and we should be good.”

“He’s obviously a great player,” Toia said of Schager. “But we just focus on what we can control, what we can do as a team and our game plan.”

UCLA scrimmages at Rose Bowl

The Bruins ran a mock game on Saturday at the Rose Bowl, simulating what it would be like on an actual game day.

The idea was to get the players and coaches familiar with the communication and technology used at the stadium so it’s not a surprise when they play their first home game of the season.

“The whole communication from coach to player, using the iPads, see who we have in the box, communicating like that,” Foster said. “Just kind of wanted to get out there and just kind of give them a little mock game just so they could have the special teams tied in with the offense and defense.”