I recently had the opportunity to interview former UCLA Bruins RB Brittain Brown, who currently plays as a running back for the Las Vegas Raiders. Reflecting on his time under Coach DeShaun Foster as a position coach at UCLA, Brittain shared valuable insights into Foster’s leadership and the impact he had on his career.
Former UCLA Bruins RB Speaks On Relationship With DeShaun Foster And His Leadership Ability
Question
Obviously, you had some sort of relationship with Coach Foster. And we saw the initial reactions from the current players seeing him being named head coach. What was your initial reaction when you heard about it?
Brown’s Answer
My initial reaction was, that it was kind of crazy because at first, he was coming to Vegas to be the running back coach. So you know, we had a little convo about that. And I was super excited to have him over here and just be reunited kind of thing. And then I got the news like a day later. And it was like, Okay, Coach Foss is now the head coach at UCLA after Chip Kelly had left for Ohio State. I was happy for him. And I think it was the right move for him. I think that’s what he really wants to do. Like him being our position, Coach, I can see him as a head coach, and he just loves the game. He loves all the guys at UCLA. All the guys love him. So it’s a perfect fit
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Question
What qualities would you say made him such an effective leader? And how do you think he’s going to use those qualities to shape the future of the program?
Brown’s Answer
I mean, he’s just confident and everything that he coaches us with is from the experience that he has in college and in the league, his knowledge of the game, and then like, just the staff that he builds around him as well. And the fact that the players are going to want to play hard, and the coach is going to want to do good for their first year with staff as well. So I think a combination of all those things, I mean, they’re gonna have an uphill battle, the Big 10 is just gonna be different than like, flying over there. And I know people might not realize that as much. Besides that, I think UCLA’s gonna be ready. He knows how much transition from the past level to this new field of play with all these different teams. I think they’ll be pretty successful this year.
Question
What was something really valuable that he taught you? And then is there anything that he taught you that you still use right now?
Brown’s Answer
He really taught me to be consistent. If you are great one day, you have to be great every single day, or else you are just kind of going to be labeled as potential. And I think about that all the time. You don’t want to be the guy that was potentially going to be great. It’s got to be consistent. I think about that when I train and I got to the league.