LOS ANGELES – UCLA All-American and NFL standout DeShaun Foster will return to Westwood and join the football staff as running backs coach, head coach Jim Mora announced today. Foster's reunion with his alma mater comes after spending one season as running backs coach at Texas Tech.
"DeShaun is a Bruin through and through, which makes this such an exciting addition to our staff," said Mora. "On top of being a tremendous alum, consummate professional, trusted voice and valued mentor, he is an exceptional football coach whose pedigree and knowledge of the game command respect. We're thrilled to welcome Deshaun back home where he belongs."
Prior to joining the Texas Tech staff, Foster began his coaching career as a volunteer assistant at UCLA in 2013 while also returning to school. In 2014, in addition to his work on the field, Foster completed his degree and graduated from UCLA. In 2015, he was promoted to Director of Player Development and High School Relations.
The Bruins were among the top programs in the country during Foster's tenure assisting with the running backs, going 28-11 overall with three bowl appearances during that span. Foster was instrumental in the development of Paul Perkins, who capped off his career third all-time at UCLA in rushing yards.
Foster joined the coaching ranks not long after a successful seven-year NFL career with the Carolina Panthers and San Francisco 49ers in which he recorded more than 4,500 total yards and 16 touchdowns – 3,570 yards and 11 touchdowns on the ground and another 1,129 yards and five touchdowns through the air.
Foster's strong pro numbers came after he missed his rookie season due to a preseason injury. A second-round selection by the Panthers in the 2002 NFL Draft, he recovered from that first-year setback to rush for over 600 combined regular season and playoff yards as Carolina advanced all the way to the Super Bowl. In Super Bowl XXXVIII, Foster rushed three times for 43 yards, including a 33-yard run into the end zone to pull Carolina within a single score against the New England Patriots early in the fourth quarter.
Foster put together his best three professional seasons from 2005-07 to close his career with the Panthers, surpassing the 1,000-yard mark for the first time in 2005 with a combined 1,084 yards on the ground during the regular season and two playoff games. Foster rushed for over 100 yards in back-to-back games late in the year, totaling 165 yards in the regular-season finale with Atlanta before pounding out 151 yards in Carolina's 23-0 shutout of the New York Giants to open the NFC playoffs.
Foster followed up his 2005 campaign with a regular season-high 897 yards in 2006. The following year, he closed out his tenure with the Panthers by posting 876 yards before signing with the San Francisco 49ers in the offseason, where he would play one season before hanging up his cleats.
Foster is one of the most accomplished UCLA running backs in school history. He completed his career second on the all-time touchdowns scored list (44), third on the school's all-time rushing list (3,194 yds) and fifth on the all-time Bruin scoring list (266 pts). Foster was ranked 18th on the Pac-10 career rushing list when he left Westwood, and his 722 career rushing attempts were the most in school history. His 13 100-yard career rushing games ranked fifth on UCLA's all-time list and led to his earning first-team All-Pac-10 selections following the 2000 and 2001 seasons.
As a senior in 2001, he led the Pac-10 in rushing with a 138.6 yards per game average, in scoring with a mark of 9.75 points per game and in all-purpose yardage at 154.75 yards per game. He rushed for 1,109 yards, the 10th highest total in school history, after becoming the first Bruin to reach the 1,000-yard mark in as few as seven games. On Oct. 13, playing against a University of Washington defense which had not allowed a rushing touchdown all year, Foster exploded for a school-record 301 yards and four touchdowns on 31 carries. His final scoring run of the contest came on a 92-yard jaunt, the second-longest in school history. He became just the third Pac-10 player, at the time, to have rushed for over 300-yards in a game.
In 2000, he ran for 1,037 yards and scored 13 touchdowns. In the season-opener against Alabama, he tied a school record with 42 carries and finished with 187 rushing yards and three touchdowns. In 1999, he was limited to 375 rushing yards after suffering a severe ankle sprain early in the season. He also played five defensive snaps in the Bruin secondary that season.
In 1998, Foster burst onto the college scene with a school freshman record 673 yards rushing and scored 12 touchdowns. He was the first true freshman to lead a UCLA team in rushing since Skip Hicks in 1993. He scored all four touchdowns (three rushing and one receiving) in UCLA's 34-17 win over USC to tie the school record and set a new mark for Bruin true freshmen.
A local product, as a Tustin High School senior, Foster rushed for 3,398 yards and scored 59 touchdowns, ultimately setting single-season (55) and career (90) CIF Southern Section marks for rushing touchdowns.