July 31 marked the opening of UCLA football’s fall camp – just two days before the Bruins officially joined the Big Ten.

The conference’s 18 teams will undergo significant transformations in the wake of the largest realignment period of athletic conferences.

But the Bruins – who will traverse more distance than any team in the Big Ten – will face an even more substantial transition as they embark on their first season under coach DeShaun Foster.

And while it may be his first time around the block at the head of the mantle, the start of fall camp isn’t a new endeavor for Foster.

“I’ve come to training camp as a recruit, I’ve come to training camp as a freshman,” Foster said on the second day of fall camp. “Then I left as a senior, came back as an assistant coach, came back as a position coach and now I’m the head coach.”

Foster said he knows the team will face a massive transition in the upcoming weeks and months, but the former Bruin running back added that his extensive background in Westwood will be key to easing the shift.

“It probably would have been a harder job if I hadn’t had any history with UCLA,” Foster said. “I missed the coaching aspect of it. I love the development of running backs and helping my guys, but it’s just a different role, so you’ve got to embrace it.”

The head honcho isn’t the only Bruin stepping into a new role in the 2024 season. After starting all 13 games at right guard in 2023, rising redshirt senior Josh Carlin will permanently transition to playing center.

While Carlin hasn’t played the position since high school, he said he is excited to step into his new post as the “general of the O-line.”

“It’s great when you can have that leadership role, but on top of that have a smart, intelligent, tough center like him,” offensive coordinator Eric Bieniemy said. “It makes everything a lot easier when you’re putting the offense together.”

Foster added that hands-on training throughout the summer allowed the team to hit the ground running in the fall.

The Bruins took command of their training in the summer, carrying energy from spring camp to sustain their upward trajectory. Rising redshirt senior quarterback Ethan Garbers directed the team in running installations, helping ensure a fluid and familiar start to fall camp.

“It is transitioning to that (a player-led team) for sure,” said rising redshirt junior defensive lineman Keanu Williams. “And I’m happy it’s getting that way because we’re really holding each other accountable.”

While fall camp is hosted on Spaulding Field within Westwood, the Bruins return to a hotel in Woodland Hills, California, each night of the camp’s 20-session duration – an effort by Foster to cultivate camaraderie and cohesiveness.

“It’s an NFL model, really,” Foster said. “Let’s isolate ourselves and come together and become a team and then break out and let the world know.”

The onset of fall camp also signified the opportunity for rising redshirt senior running back Joshua Swift to begin donning the No. 36 jersey, worn in honor of former Bruin wide receiver Nick Pasquale, who died in 2013.

Typically awarded to a walk-on with the potential of earning a scholarship, like Swift who enters his fourth season as a walk-on, the number was previously worn by Alex Johnson and Ethan Fernea.

“To represent something bigger than yourself, I think that’s what it’s all about,” Swift said. “That’s what this sport is about, that’s what life is about, so I’m extremely grateful. It’s a great honor.”