Spring football is a lot like the grocery store.

It is coaches, players, fans and media all counting their eggs before Easter – and chickens before they hatch.

“Grade A,” “no added hormones” and “cage-free” get replaced by “high-motor,” “disciplined” and “football IQ.”

UCLA football held its second spring practice – and the first fully open under coach Bob Chesney – at Spaulding Field on Saturday from around 11 a.m. to 1 p.m.

“We are not winning any games in spring ball, (but) we can lose games by not attacking each day,” said offensive coordinator Dean Kennedy. “You have to love what you’re doing. … When you get 50, 60 people doing it, it becomes contagious.

Practices like these are a presale.

A kickstarter.

From day one until at least the end of summer, UCLA has the same record as Michigan, Ohio State and Alabama.

Some of the most iconic lines from Field of Dreams are “If you build it, he will come,” and “People will come, Ray.”

But Saturday, it seemed people had already shown up while the program was still under construction.

Hordes of recruits, relatives, media members and staff lined the practice field’s perimeter.

Event security did not even know UCLA’s Athletic Communications personnel.

Every program has had new beginnings filled with high hopes but few live up to those dreams.

Whether Chesney Era is legit can only be answered with time.

Still, the back of this unopened carton may be worth a read.

Yes, the Bruin faithful got excited for Chip Kelly, then Eric Bieniemy and most recently Tino Sunseri – but Kennedy is being sold as something brand new.

And maybe he is.

Unlike Sunseri, Kennedy has experience being the lone offensive coordinator – three of his previous four seasons as an offensive coordinator came under Chesney, with stops at Division II Holy Cross and Division I James Madison.

Unlike Bieniemy, Kennedy made a name for himself in the collegiate ranks rather than the NFL – and his success was not tied to Patrick Mahomes.

And unlike Kelly, Kennedy was not taking a demotion after getting fired from the NFL. Instead, leading UCLA’s offense will be his first time as an offensive coordinator of a Power Four team.

That is not to say he is completely without experience in a major conference. Kennedy had other roles at Mississippi State and Florida before joining Chesney at Holy Cross in 2022.

The Bruins are getting the playcaller of last season’s sixth-best offense by points per game and 15th-best by yards per game among FBS teams. And he said Saturday that presumed starting quarterback and redshirt sophomore Nico Iamaleava’s willingness to learn has stood out.

“Every day he has a page, two pages, and we’re talking about 30 minutes, 45 minutes, double that,” Kennedy said. “He has them color coordinated. … You have to prepare like you are the greatest and you have to prepare for every situation. … If you’re willing to work and you’re willing to prepare like the best, he can do wonders.”

Similarly, after throwing D’Anton Lynn and Ikaika Malloe into their first jobs as defensive coordinators in 2023 and 2024, respectively, Colin Hitschler comes to Westwood with experience at his post.

Admittedly, 2025 at James Madison was the only season Hitschler had been the sole defensive coordinator.

But 2025 is also when the College Football Playoff-bound Dukes gave up the sixth-fewest yards per game in the FBS.

For all the people who love the “continuity” stamp of approval, Hitschler is branded in gold.

Though new to Westwood, Hitschler may be about as familiar with Chesney as one could get.

He first worked under the head honcho at Division III Salve Regina in 2011 before reuniting in Harrisonburg, Virginia, last season – making UCLA their third shared program.

“I’ve been in a number of different places,” Hitschler said. “It’s best when you have relationships, and the opportunity to be back with him and stay with him and keep our relationship the same and growing. There was no way I was going to leave that.”

April football comes with a number of caveats.

It is just practice.

Contact is carefully limited.

Everybody on the field is playing for the same team. Some players on the field have been ordered not to go near their max capacities. Playbooks aren’t fully installed. Depth charts hardly exist.

It may be most sensible to simply wait and see.

But a new regime and a new spring seem to give people a reason to believe.