UCLA head coach DeShaun Foster makes extremely awkward introduction into the Big Ten conference

At Big Ten media day , the UCLA Bruins were officially welcomed to the conference. Head Coach DeShaun Foster was on-site at Lucas Oil Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana on Wednesday. He was joined by Bruins quarterback Ethan Garbers, wide receiver J. Michael Sturdivant, and star defensive lineman Jay Toia.

Coach Foster took the podium for media availability, with the opportunity to boast about his program and thank the Big Ten conference for their inclusion. That began with an opening statement, which did not go quite how Foster planned. It led to perhaps the most awkward moment of any conference media day so far.

Tongue-tied and frazzled, Coach Foster wasn’t able to adequately put his thoughts into words. Instead, he was left to continuously speak about his excitement for the opportunity in front of him. The always pauses did zap the optimism for UCLA football out of the room.

While it wasn’t the most ideal introduction to the Big Ten media, there are still a lot of people excited for the future under Coach Foster. After Chip Kelly opted to leave the program to take over as offensive coordinator with the Ohio State Buckeyes , the Bruins turned to Foster who had previously served as the team’s running back coach.

From 1998-2001, Foster was a star running back for the Bruins program. During that stretch, he ran for 3,049 yards and 39 touchdowns. He added another 535 yards and four touchdowns through the air on 57 receptions. That tremendous career with UCLA led to Foster being selected by the Carolina Panthers with the No. 34 overall selection in the second round of the 2002 NFL Draft.

Foster spent six seasons in the NFL, five of them with the Panthers. He ran for 3,570 yards and 11 touchdowns during his career, helping lead Carolina to Super Bowl XXXVIII against the New England Patriots. Following some years away from football, Foster made his initial return to UCLA under head coach Jim Mora Jr. Now he leads his alma mater into the future.