DeShaun Foster was officially introduced to UCLA players on Monday afternoon, and it was a loud and raucous response.

Before Foster walked out, Athletics Director Martin Jarmond spoke about why Foster was hired. ESPN’s Pete Thamel reported that Foster’s contract is for 5 years as the Bruins get set to play in the Big Ten.

“We want somebody that wants to be a Bruin,” he told the players. “Well, we didn’t get somebody that wants to be a Bruin. We got a Bruin. Come on out, coach. Your new head coach.”

And with that Foster was swamped by players after he was was named head coach on Monday to take over the program after Chip Kelly left to become offensive coordinator at Ohio State. Foster was a Bruins assistant the past 7 years, but left last month to become the Las Vegas Raiders running backs coach.

This is Foster’s first head coaching job after he spent 11 years as an assistant in college, including 10 at UCLA. He was the running backs coach at Texas Tech in 2016.

Foster was promoted to associate head coach last season as well as running backs coach. In 2022, he was a nominee for the Broyles Award, presented annually to college football’s top assistant.