This post was updated Aug. 24 at 6:47 p.m.

Unconditional love is the basis for brotherhood.

And heading into his second year at the helm of the Bruins, Head Coach DeShaun Foster made it a point to make brotherhood a pillar of his program.

Foster has used team meetings to cultivate camaraderie throughout UCLA football’s fall training camp in Costa Mesa, California. These meetings consisted of players and coaches openly discussing their life stories, both on and off the field.

The conclusion of Foster’s off-site training experiment – which spanned from July 30 to Aug. 16 – bore success extending beyond the field.

“It was awesome to see guys being vulnerable and letting their guard down because they saw the coaches doing it,” Foster said. “That really brought us together.”

Foster added that athletes and coaches alike shed tears during these discussions, showcasing the talks’ emotional impact.

The meetings also helped unify the squad and strengthen the brotherly bonds Foster sought to tie.

Building chemistry constituted a priority for Foster, particularly with the arrival of eight new assistant coaches and 66 athletes strolling through the transfer portal’s revolving door.

“You have a bunch of new pieces,” said redshirt junior Julian Armella. “We’ve done a great job being able to really build in and have that brotherhood.”

Armella represents one of the incoming transfers. The former Florida State offensive lineman filled both tackle and guard positions during fall camp, carving out a versatile role on the offensive front. The Miami local was mainly limited to the special teams squad during his past two campaigns, blocking on the placekicking unit.

Armella added the culture that Foster has established also contributed to his UCLA commitment.

“The brotherhood and culture that I saw amongst the guys in the locker room was something I’ve never seen before,” Armella said. “It was the unitedness of having everybody mixing with each other.”

The goal of these “brotherhood meetings” is to encourage players to interact regardless of their respective position groups – helping to form a collective whole that blurs on-field unit boundaries.

Although the Bruins often meet within their position room, the fall training camp gatherings forced players to engage with coaches and personnel specializing in other areas.

Redshirt senior tight end Hudson Habermehl said that the novel team-building approach motivated first-year Offensive Coordinator and Quarterbacks Assistant Coach Tino Sunseri to coin the motto “we over me” heading into the 2025 season.

Habermehl experienced Foster’s culture shift firsthand.

The six-foot-seven-inch pass catcher tore his ACL and meniscus during spring training camp prior to the 2024 season, which sidelined him for 15 months. The Roseville, California, local said he thought that he may never play football again.

But UCLA’s coaching staff and teammates supported him throughout his recovery, which helped him persevere through the hardship.

“I wasn’t able to put any weight on my leg for about two months,” Habermehl said. “Coach Neuheisel and Coach Fos (Foster) offered me rides if I needed to go to rehab. They did everything. These are true friends who want to take care of me.”

The seventh-year senior is entering his final season of eligibility and appears poised to compete for the starting tight end spot, especially with 2024 starter Moliki Matavao’s departure to the NFL.

Habermehl reflected on his time off the field, centering his thoughts around his football passion, the gratitude he garnered for Foster and the head honcho’s first-year growth.

“I’ve been here to see Coach Fos (Foster) grow,” Habermehl said. “It meant a lot seeing how hurt he was for me. It means the world to have a head coach that looks out for his players like that.”

And it is this authentic care that has seemingly driven the Bruins’ focus heading into the 2025 campaign: brotherhood above all else.

UCLA will kickstart its 2025 campaign against Utah on Aug. 30 at the Rose Bowl.